Superstrata’s e-bike is a wierd 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 mum or dad firm Arevo, the bikes have been crafted not out of a love of biking, however relatively 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 mild, how the bike wound up makes excellent sense — even when shopping for one in all probability doesn’t.

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

Superstrata is deep into what Vu calls “deep tech” — principally manufacturing processes so leading edge 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 stated.

Arevo, Superstrata’s mum or dad firm, is exploring aerospace functions sooner or later and doubtlessly UAVs. Superstrata and Arevo spun up the e-bike as a shopper proof-of-concept to fill the hole whereas they wade by way of the regulatory crimson 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 scale back transport occasions and customarily make its entire carbon fiber printing operation extra environment friendly.

Picture Credit: TechCrunch

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 relatively than “thermoset” — a extra frequent polymer course of. Whereas Vu was desperate to dive into the technical benefits and the manufacturing course of, on the finish of the day what that you must know is: That is an e-bike and its body is made out of very fancy 3D-printed carbon fiber.

Right here’s the essential pitch. The Superstrata e-bike is a carbon fiber unibody bike that’s {custom} printed to fulfill your preferences, souped up with a 250W pedal-assist motor and shipped in an array of enjoyable prints and colours. The glossy, angular design of the bike’s body and its conspicuous absence of a seat tube — the a part of the body that will usually movement 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 powerful 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 robust sufficient to carry a bike owner. Using the Superstrata, I wasn’t involved in regards to the power of the carbon fiber, although the potential for smoothing the trip with changes involving a seat tube are a missed alternative. The body is robust and the trip 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 placing similarities to Greg LeMond’s excellent-looking e-bike the Prolog. It’s potential 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, perhaps 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 may order are very cool — together with two that seem like starry skies and one other designed to evoke the aurora borealis — however they’ll run you an additional $1,250. That additional price would get you a lot of the strategy to a extra inexpensive e-bike made by opponents like Cost or Rad Energy. This isn’t a motorcycle for the pockets aware (most of us).

Superstrata actually must take away these deceptive pattern photographs with built-in lights. However: Cool paint. Picture Credit: Superstrata

That selection and different elements of the Superstrata really feel a bit “It’s one banana, Michael. What may it price?” I’m not satisfied the bike is admittedly 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 trip and the deeper design doesn’t precisely give off an expensive, cohesive vibe. On the finish of the day, in case you requested, What’s particular about this bike? the complete 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 a large number much less in your cash than what you’d get with a way more absolutely 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 computerized back and front lights, cellphone chargers and alarm methods 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 — lots 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 sort 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 state of affairs or anything. The truth that Superstrata’s web site exhibits a product you actually can’t purchase simply additional demonstrates that it isn’t this firm’s predominant factor. The issue with that’s that most individuals making a purchase order this large would really feel safer shopping for from an organization that lives and breathes bikes — not carbon fiber.

Picture Credit: TechCrunch

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 below 5’2”, who apparently ordered the bike with gusto. For these people, who’re hard-pressed to seek out correctly sized bikes elsewhere, Superstrata’s body dimension choices are in all probability genuinely a giant deal. When you’ve searched excessive and low for a motorcycle to suit your unusually small or massive stature, Superstrata’s bikes may be an important selection.

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

Constructing the bike, you may select from an “city” or “sport” configuration for the bars, yielding an informal upright trip or a extra aerodynamic drop bar, highway bike type. You’ll be able to go for a single pace or a number of gears, an choice that most individuals would in all probability want however one which additionally provides $500. You’ll be able to choose whether or not you’d need tires for the highway or for “paths” — perhaps 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 aspect of the bike and a seize bag of manufacturers for the remainder.

After that stuff is dialed in, you may enter your particular top and measurements for a custom-sized body. On that rely, we couldn’t actually make a willpower — 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 ok, however nothing significantly subtle. The body’s design makes for a really stiff trip, so be careful for being jolted by uneven terrain.

The battery life is greater than sufficient for regular wants. Superstrata claims that it’s going to 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 a minimum of 20 miles, even when drawing extra energy, which is greater than wonderful for many around-the-town wants. It’s additionally value mentioning right here that the Superstrata e-bike doesn’t have a throttle — principally a button that provides you a burst of pace to energy the bike alongside. A throttle is a very nice strategy to scoot rapidly by way of harmful intersections or to get your bike to keep up the next pace and it’s robust to return when you’ve used one. The Superstrata e-bike can go as much as 20 miles per hour however you’ll should work for it.

On that be aware, Superstrata’s state-of-the-art body may be carbon fiber, however the e-bike doesn’t precisely really feel like a featherweight. As a result of the bike is so mild within the entrance and so heavy within the again the place the motor lives, it really 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 quite a lot of stairs at a time.

The Superstrata web site claims that the e-bike weighs 24 kilos, however there’s no approach this factor weighs that a lot lower than my common trip, 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.

In the end, the Superstrata may very well be a strong choice for somebody who falls outdoors of regular top parameters and desperately needs an e-bike. Superstrata’s bikes may also be a good selection for somebody who needs a custom-printed carbon fiber bike body and is assured about dialing in the remainder themselves, although shopping for the body alone isn’t an choice on the web site.

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