Smart bikes provide safer cycling
Sudden uncontrolled braking on a bicycle can lock the wheels, causing accidents. For example, locking of the front wheel makes the rear wheel rise, tipping the rider over the handlebars. Hence, there is a clear need for ABS technology to be fitted as a standard safety feature on e-bikes, which is reflected by the willingness of customers to pay for such a device. The EU-funded BB6S Active project developed, manufactured and marketed an ABS for e-bikes to prevent the front wheel from locking and raising the rear wheel, thereby ensuring the rider’s safety during braking. “E-bikes represent the future, the key is to make them as safe as possible to facilitate the transition towards greener and healthier mobility,” observes Fabio Todeschini – project coordinator and founder of SME blubrake, a high-tech European SME specialised in active braking control in two-wheeled vehicles. In response to this market demand, researchers developed the lightest ABS for e-bikes, working closely with braking system manufacturers who have successfully integrated the technology into their products. “We verified the performances of the system, testing it on different real road surfaces such as dry and wet asphalt, gravel and off-road conditions in an operational environment,” Todeschini explains.
Promotion of sustainable transport
As well as the fully integrable ABS for e-bikes, blubrake also developed the first and only ABS for e-cargo bikes on the market. “Be it for personal, family, commercial or delivery purposes, e-cargo bikes have taken off over the last few years,” comments Todeschini. “They are conceived to carry heavy loads and reach high speeds hence safety is an important issue when discussing them.” Blubrake’s ABS for e-cargo bikes has been specifically developed with this kind of bike in mind. It features two main characteristics: firstly, the system is open and versatile, meaning that e-cargo bike manufacturers can easily integrate it into every e-cargo model as it is compatible with every braking system, battery and wheel size on the market. Furthermore, the blubrake ABS can be integrated inside the frame of every e-bike, so that all manufacturers can adopt it without altering the design of the e-bike.
Application of technology
The second factor is that the system is smart, as its sophisticated algorithms can predict every dynamic and the system functions correctly on every kind of terrain and whether the load is full or empty. According to Todeschini: “At the moment, we are on the market with 3 leading e-bike manufacturers and the e-bikes powered by blubrake’s ABS are available in more than 1 500 stores across Europe.” After years of research and thanks to the contribution of a talented team of people, blubrake was able to develop and produce the most advanced safety system on the market. “The ABS makes e-bikes safer and the riding experiences more enjoyable and every e-bike rider or potential user can benefit from this technology, and we strongly believe that with our technology we can ease the transition towards a greener and more sustainable mobility.”
Keywords
BB6S Active, e-bike, ABS, braking, e-cargo, safety, mobility, anti-lock braking system, cycling
