2021
In 2021, there were plenty of innovative ideas that came to the fore, primarily focused on weight reduction combined with a power increase. The prominent mid-drive motor manufacturers were all striving to release designs that incorporated these features.
It is quite incredible that manufacturers were working on automating the process of smoothing out the effort that a rider needed to put into moving the eBike, like driving an automatic vehicle, all the decisions being made for you
As well as lighter motors and gear assemblies there was a push for lighter-weight bikes overall with greater automation.
Rear hub motors did not miss out on innovation either, design work was underway to incorporate gears within the hub, so that was another task removed from the rider, selecting the optimum gear to use
2022
In 2022, the work on integrating gears with the motor was introduced. Bafang announced a combined rear hub and 2-speed automatic gear shift.
The rear hub motor integration with auto gear change from all accounts is progressing well, so how is this going with mid-drive motor offerings? Having a mid-drive motor gives a lower center of gravity which greatly assists the handling characteristics of an electric bike, so enthusiasts would be keen to see this development progress. Niche companies are working on this as are larger well-known companies, such as Valeo.
2023
2023 is turning out to be an interesting year with a huge increase in the number of commuter riders as well as recreational.
But here is the big thing commercial companies especially in larger city centers are moving toward eBikes, not just in the home delivery space for groceries and food, but for tradespeople, as well. Yes, think handymen or women, plumbing & electrical repairs. This is gaining momentum as fuel prices continue to soar, the task of getting about and then parking in high-density areas with clogged streets needs new and innovative solutions
the sales of e-bike in the year 2023 expected to be 40 million units and around 130 million bikes predicted to sold during the year 2020 and 2023. Henceforth, by 2023, total number of e-bikes in circulation across the globe estimated to be around 300 million units, a increase of 50% compared to 2019’s global e-bike figure i.e. 200 million units.
Precedence Research April 2023
Complicated stuff indeed.
The holy grail across the eBike industry is for a rider to be able to get on a bike and depending on a number of factors; the power expended by the rider on the pedals, taking into account the terrain, the gradient (flat, uphill or downhill) will be calculated and adjusted so that the energy required by the user is at the optimum. By that, we mean that it is not too hard to pedal and a large effort is required by the rider, or too soft so that the rider is pedalling but is getting minimal progress.
Obviously, this takes into consideration that the eBike, for instance, needs to climb a hill. You might imagine this is just a case of the bike detecting hills and applying more power (or less, as the case may be) however there are other factors that need to be considered in real-time which are much harder to calculate, is there a headwind and if there is this is not a constant nor is the direction, as this will vary as the rider follows the road or path and will have various headings, as well as the terrain; sealed bitumen, hard-packed dirt, loose surface, side camber and so on. These are much harder for electronic systems to detect and calculate the desired outcome.
2022 was an extremely interesting year in the continued development and evolution of eBikes, especially as more and more commuters, and enthusiasts took up electric biking as an energy-efficient and sustainable activity. This greater uptake is supported by stats and estimates from The Washington Post published in 2021
220,000 e-bikes were sold in the United States in 2017, compared to 263,000 in 2018, 288,000 in 2019 and 437,000 in 2020. He projects that sales will reach 550,000 this year (2021).
The washington post
Why are the manufacturers working on improving the design and usability? Well as can be seen from both quotes and the expansion of electric bike solutions into trade and support areas the usage of electric bikes is increasing at an exponential rate. This increase in take-up and usage is not restricted to the US but is a global phenomenon, so as well as being good for us (users) is good for the planet and the manufacturers as well