Reasons for creating components for e-bikes
E-bikes have such a big presence right now, that we no longer talk about their promising future, because we all well know their enormous potential. Motors and batteries begin to coexist on the roads, panths and mountains with the rest of bikes, with almost no one feeling threatened. One thing that ROTOR supports is pedaling, so, for ROTOR, manufacturing components for e-bikes is a logical step that we started months ago with the eKAPIC cranks.
Sales of e-bikes keep going up
In 2019, worldwide sales of E-bikes totaled global numbers of 3.7 million units. In 2020 those numbers rose 23% and it is expected that in 2030, 17 million E-bikes will be sold worldwide. Figures that are overwhelming, but very enlightening as to how the world panorama of E-bikes is unstoppable.
There are brands specialized in mountain bikes, which in 2020 have sold 70% of E-bikes, compared to 30% of standard models. A figure that continues to rise in 2021. That is why at ROTOR, we like to face challenges that the market proposes to us, or challenges that we propose to ourselves to improve or create a new category.
Starting with the cranks
We have already started in the world of E-bikes a few months ago with our own specific eKAPIC cranks for the brands Bosch® Gen 4, Brose® MAG, Fazua® Evation, and Polini® E-P3 144 mm motor systems. A specific product created from scratch to meet the needs of e-bikes, in which we prioritize a narrower Q-Factor, to improve the pedaling experience in motorized models, where the width of the cranks is greater than on a standard bike.
For this reason, the Q-Factor in the new eKAPIC cranks has been lowered as much as possible to reach the following measurements, depending on the manufacturer: Bosch®; 171mm, Brose® MAG, 170 / 184mm, Fazua® Evation, 169mm and Polini® E-P3, 174mm.
The eKAPIC cranks have joined our chainrings with direct mounting system (DM) in our specific range for E-bikes, for the 4 engine manufacturers that we mentioned before and there are many open projects that we hope will see the light soon.
Everything to develop
The eKAPIC cranks are just the beginning of ROTOR’s plans for e-bikes. One of the main reasons why we have decided to create components for e-bikes is ROTOR’s DNA for research and development of new products that characterizes us so much, which pushes us to seek unique and advanced solutions, to create the best components for every type of cycling.
In addition, we know that many of our ROTOR customers maintain a very high level of loyalty and are looking forward to mounting more ROTOR components to their E-bikes, regardless of the type; mountain, road or gravel. Our experience in complete transmissions such as the 1×13 system, also serves as a starting point to explore new possibilities within e-bikes.
At ROTOR we see enormous possibilities in e-bikes as part of the solution to improve sustainable mobility in our cities, so this line of work is very inspiring for us. Taking care of our environment, both at the level of taking daily trips, and at the company level when producing our products, is something fundamental and something we try to improve every day. That is why a few months ago we launched the new eco-friendly packaging line, using recycled materials and at the same time reducing the number of product references, so that our environmental impact is more controlled.
The next few years will be a very important challenge for ROTOR in which we will try to contribute the best version of ourselves within the e-bike category.
