With the latest generation of the BionX drive, which Intercycle presented on the Wheeler e-bikes "Evo 2.0", a small but significant change is coming to the concept of the Canadian electric mobility specialist.

Freewheel on the motor
For the 2014 model year, the rear wheel motors are no longer equipped with a thread for mounting a freewheel cassette, but instead the freewheel, also known as the body, is located on the wheel itself - as is now the case.

This allows the manufacturer to fit standard 9- and 10-speed cassettes from Sram and Shimano. This means that a wide range of gear ratios and quality levels are now available; previously, the choice for the cassette with integrated freewheel was very limited. This "cassette motor" is available for the coming model year not only for original equipment manufacturers, but also for end customers.

Decoupling between controller and battery
Previously, BionX batteries had the problem that they could no longer be woken up by connecting them to the power supply via the charger when they were deeply discharged - the e-bike was just a bike.

From model year 2014, all BionX batteries in the "X" (extra-long range) and "L" (long range) series are equipped with a "Deep Sleep" function.
The deep sleep mode is used to save energy in BionX batteries. Depending on the state of charge of the battery and the level of inactivity - i.e. the number of days in which the battery or bike has not been used - the battery automatically switches to deep sleep. With a fully charged battery, this happens after 2 months, with partially discharged batteries increasingly faster.

In this mode, the control board is decoupled from the cell pack. This means that no more energy is consumed in idle mode. With a fully charged battery, this results in a storage life of at least 18 months.

All that is needed to activate the battery from deep sleep is to connect the power supply unit. This allows the battery to be fully charged.
However, BionX recommends charging the battery every six months if it is not used for a longer period of time. This maintains the service life and capacity of the battery over a longer period of time. The manufacturer emphasizes that this innovation represents a considerable gain in convenience for both the dealer and the end customer.www.bionxinternational.com