Superstrata e-bike assessment: Insurgent with out a trigger

Superstrata’s e-bike is an odd specimen — there’s no two methods about it.

In some ways in which is smart; the bike’s idea, borne out in seamless 3D-printed carbon fiber, springs from an equally unusual premise. We’ll get into that.

Speaking to Sonny Vu, founding father of Superstrata’s dad or mum firm Arevo, the bikes had been crafted not out of a love of biking, however moderately for the hunt for a climate-friendly city transportation resolution or any conventional justification for going to all the difficulty of constructing an e-bike.

So Vu created the Superstrata e-bike (and its non-electrified counterpart) as a proof-of-concept for Arevo’s carbon fiber manufacturing course of. In that gentle, how the bike wound up makes excellent sense — even when shopping for one most likely doesn’t.

“Everybody thought we’re an e-bike firm, however we’re not. We’re a complicated manufacturing firm,” Vu informed TechCrunch. We definitely can’t blame e-bike fanatics for being confused.

Superstrata is deep into what Vu calls “deep tech” — mainly manufacturing processes so innovative that they haven’t even proven up in shopper merchandise but. “This isn’t your typical 3D printing system — it’s constructed for industrial pace and scale,” Vu mentioned.

Arevo, Superstrata’s dad or mum firm, is exploring aerospace purposes sooner or later and probably UAVs. Superstrata and Arevo spun up the e-bike as a shopper proof-of-concept to fill the hole whereas they wade via the regulatory purple tape that defines extra complicated industries. The corporate’s bike frames are at present printed in Vietnam, although Vu has plans for print farms within the U.S. and Europe to cut back transport occasions and customarily make its complete carbon fiber printing operation extra environment friendly.

So, carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is one frontier of local weather expertise, promising fuel-saving light-weight supplies at the price of a reasonably energy-intensive manufacturing course of. Superstrata’s silky, unibody bike frames are made out of industrial-grade 3D-printed thermoplastic carbon fiber composite moderately than “thermoset” — a extra frequent polymer course of. Whereas Vu was wanting to dive into the technical benefits and the manufacturing course of, on the finish of the day what you could know is: That is an e-bike and its body is made out of very fancy 3D-printed carbon fiber.

Right here’s the fundamental pitch. The Superstrata e-bike is a carbon fiber unibody bike that’s {custom} printed to satisfy your preferences, souped up with a 250W pedal-assist motor and shipped in an array of enjoyable prints and colours. The smooth, angular design of the bike’s body and its conspicuous absence of a seat tube — the a part of the body that will usually circulation down from the place the saddle sits — is pleasantly futuristic or downright odd, relying on who you ask.

A luxurious worth

Whereas early critics raised alarms about Superstrata’s lacking seat tube, which might usually join the highest tube and down tube to kind a robust triangle form to carry the rider’s weight, Vu assured us that the one, seamless piece of carbon fiber is rated as much as 750 lb and is greater than sturdy sufficient to carry a bike owner. Driving the Superstrata, I wasn’t involved in regards to the energy of the carbon fiber, although the potential for smoothing the experience with changes involving a seat tube are a missed alternative. The body is powerful and the experience is stiff — and that’s simply how it’s.

(The body’s design is eye-catching even with out the lacking tube, and does bear some hanging similarities to Greg LeMond’s excellent-looking e-bike the Prolog. It’s doable that Superstrata printed these frames however the firm isn’t listed wherever and so they do boast a way more conventional geometry.)

The lacking chunk of body turns heads, however Superstrata’s different aesthetic decisions additionally set the bike aside visually. The corporate is all about customization and that applies to the paint too. My assessment unit was an intense purple, possibly a periwinkle. Truthfully, as somebody who wears all black most days, the colour damage my soul a bit however my spouse discovered it interesting.

Among the particular paint jobs you’ll be able to order are very cool — together with two that appear like starry skies and one other designed to evoke the aurora borealis — however they’ll run you an additional $1,250. That further value would get you a lot of the solution to a extra inexpensive e-bike made by rivals like Cost or Rad Energy. This isn’t a motorcycle for the pockets aware (most of us).

That selection and different points of the Superstrata really feel a bit “It’s one banana, Michael. What might it value?” I’m not satisfied the bike is basically designed to be offered to a lot of anybody and that’s only a bizarre takeaway to have when reviewing one thing.

Superstrata’s e-bike is clearly meant to current as a luxurious product, however the expertise of the experience and the deeper design doesn’t precisely give off an opulent, cohesive vibe. On the finish of the day, if you happen to requested, What’s particular about this bike? the total reply is “the 3D-printed unibody carbon fiber body.”

At this worth level — the e-bike begins at $3,500 — Superstrata’s base providing provides you numerous much less on your cash than what you’d get with a way more totally featured electrical bike just like the Cowboy ($2,990), VanMoof’s new mannequin ($3,498) and even its last-generation fashions, which float round $2,000. These tech-forward bikes pack perks like built-in interfaces, companion apps, embedded automated back and front lights, cellphone chargers and alarm programs for at or round what you’d pay for a base-price Superstrata bike.

A characteristic that illustrates this properly is the truth that Superstrata initially deliberate to have built-in back and front lights — most of the bikes pictured on its web site nonetheless misleadingly present this — however that concept was scrapped within the completed model. The lights, the little pc for the electrical motor and any bells and whistles are all aftermarket, not built-in into the bike’s design.

After chatting with Vu — who was clear to the purpose of admitting the entire e-bike concept was simply type of for the hell of it — it didn’t significantly really feel like Superstrata was attempting to actively mislead individuals in regards to the headlight scenario or anything. The truth that Superstrata’s web site reveals a product you actually can’t purchase simply additional demonstrates that it isn’t this firm’s principal factor. The issue with that’s that most individuals making a purchase order this huge would really feel safer shopping for from an organization that lives and breathes bikes — not carbon fiber.

Customized carbon fiber

Again to the body — the meat of the innovation right here. The Superstrata bike is {custom} printed to order and that’s an enormous boon for people who find themselves on the extremes of the peak spectrum, together with adults underneath 5’2”, who apparently ordered the bike with gusto. For these of us, who’re hard-pressed to search out correctly sized bikes elsewhere, Superstrata’s body dimension choices are most likely genuinely a giant deal. For those who’ve searched excessive and low for a motorcycle to suit your unusually small or massive stature, Superstrata’s bikes is perhaps an ideal selection.

For anybody who falls within the normal-ish peak spectrum, the remainder of the customization course of is comparatively shallow. When counting on a motorcycle for commuting or city transportation functions, the true customization choices that matter supply utility — issues like baskets, entrance or again racks and tire width.

Constructing the bike, you’ll be able to select from an “city” or “sport” configuration for the bars, yielding an informal upright experience or a extra aerodynamic drop bar, highway bike model. You may go for a single pace or a number of gears, an choice that most individuals would most likely want however one which additionally provides $500. You may decide whether or not you’d need tires for the highway or for “paths” — possibly gravel and lightweight offroading — however there’s not a lot element supplied right here. Superstrata buries the parts listing, however the assessment unit we had packed Shimano disc brakes, Bafang powering the electrical facet of the bike and a seize bag of manufacturers for the remaining.

After that stuff is dialed in, you’ll be able to enter your particular peak and measurements for a custom-sized body. On that depend, we couldn’t actually make a dedication — my assessment bike was designed for somebody a bit taller, although it was nonetheless rideable and okay. What else? The expertise of using the bike is okay, however nothing significantly subtle. The body’s design makes for a really stiff experience, so be careful for being jolted by uneven terrain.

The battery life is greater than satisfactory for regular wants. Superstrata claims that it’ll final for 60 miles, however on the next help setting, you’re going to get considerably lower than that. Nonetheless, the battery would serve you for at the least 20 miles, even when drawing extra energy, which is greater than fantastic for many around-the-town wants. It’s additionally price mentioning right here that the Superstrata e-bike doesn’t have a throttle — mainly a button that provides you a burst of pace to energy the bike alongside. A throttle is a very nice solution to scoot shortly via harmful intersections or to get your bike to keep up the next pace and it’s powerful to return when you’ve used one. The Superstrata e-bike can go as much as 20 miles per hour however you’ll must work for it.

On that be aware, Superstrata’s state-of-the-art body is perhaps carbon fiber, however the e-bike doesn’t precisely really feel like a featherweight. As a result of the bike is so gentle within the entrance and so heavy within the again the place the motor lives, it truly feels heavier than it’s. It’s additionally extra awkward to hold than a motorcycle that’s uniformly weighted and also you’re not going to need to be lugging this factor down various stairs at a time.

The Superstrata web site claims that the e-bike weighs 24 kilos, however there’s no method this factor weighs that a lot lower than my common experience, a VanMoof X3 that’s a hefty however evenly weighted 45.8 kilos. Vu famous that the ultimate model’s weight varies, however the e-bike weighs in round 38.5 to 39.6 lb, sufficient to just about obscure the load financial savings of the carbon fiber.

Finally, the Superstrata could possibly be a strong choice for somebody who falls outdoors of regular peak parameters and desperately needs an e-bike. Superstrata’s bikes may additionally be a sensible choice for somebody who needs a custom-printed carbon fiber bike body and is assured about dialing in the remaining themselves, although shopping for the body alone isn’t an choice on the web site.

In both of those circumstances, the superior carbon fiber expertise doesn’t come low-cost and neither does this bike — particularly when in comparison with rivals constructing feature-rich, cohesive e-bike experiences. Superstrata ought to most likely concentrate on its {custom} unibody carbon fiber frames and let different corporations — or individuals — construct the bikes out. And since this complete factor was an experiment anyway, that may very properly be what the corporate plans to do.