The world of both two and four wheels is gradually shifting, although probably not gradually enough for us petrol heads. EICMA is a great place to watch things evolve, year by year, if it can be electrified it will be. Unsurprisingly the Chinese and Taiwanese are leading this modern tech-led, environmental scapegoat revolution but Europe and the Italians are making in-roads using tech of their own making.
We haven’t the time, (or inclination) to list every new electric scooter on the market here. We’ve already featured our favourite from the show – the FELO FW-03 but there were plenty of other machines to choose from. Scooters, electric bikes, lots of toys, hoverboards, your own mini spaceship, electric cars, 3-wheelers, utility vehicles and mountain bikes (I managed to crash one of those on a cyclocross course whilst I was there).
Here’s a gallery of some of the better-looking machines and a few of our favourites.
Emula – noise generator
I’ve ridden quite a lot of electric scooters and bikes and the thing they all lack is character. The silent world doesn’t have that raw emotion we’re used to with a petrol vehicle. Silence is also deadly, pedestrians walk out in front of you, oblivious to the fact you’re there. Whilst filtering people will walk from between vehicles, car drivers don’t hear you and switch lanes more often. As the use of electric vehicles increases the towns and cities will become killing grounds. It’s already happening.
Using McFly Core technology, Emula has fused the world of gaming and real-life by creating this immersive and very, very realistic bike emulator. It not only provides surround sound using a series of speakers and a subwoofer but it also brings back some vibration and will simulate clutch and gearshifts. It can be fitted to any electric bike with direct transmission. Very cool tech. You can find out more here: Emula One.
Polini
Italian tuning company, Polini are making big waves in the eBike world with their own eBike motor. The E-P3 will certainly see the company moving further in that direction in the future. The pedelec market is growing very quickly, whilst engine tuning is rapidly shrinking. You can find out more details on the Polini E-P3 here.
Cabeasy three-wheeler
Ok, it may be a car (sort of) but this electric Cabeasy certainly takes some aspects of the design from Piaggio’s Ape. The handlebar layout inside the cab is more scooter than car for sure and includes a rearview camera.
Carbogatto
This futuristic transportation device may look more space-age cycle than motorcycle but it’s actually classed as a moped. Note the lack of pedals for starters. It features a carbon fibre monocoque frame and you can configure your own bike with over 700 combinations to choose from. I don’t care what it is, it looks pretty damn cool. Check out Carbogatto for more details.
Lem Motor
When beach buggy meets electric motor and the toy cupboard you get the LEM Motor E-Bike Cruiser, a 48-volt, €3399 big boys toy.
The next big thing
The electric revolution is here and whether we like it or not one day we’ll be forced to embrace it. At least now the tech side of things is sorted (until the next big thing) the designs are improving and we should start to see more and more fun machines over the next couple of years.
For now, just feast your eyes on the gallery below and if you need any more information we’ll try and fill in the blanks.
Rock down to Electric Avenue – Gallery
