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Riding the Ultra Motors A2B
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My continuing review of the Amp Brothers and their line-up of electrical bicycles and scooters - This time it's "Riding the Ultra Motors A2B"
The Ultra Motors A2B is an outstanding hybrid transportation device. It uses both electrical and biological power sources to provide transportation. That's "biological" as in YOU. It really is a very high quality bike plus a high quality, hub-mounted electrical motor, all in a modern, user-friendly package. It looks good, it feels good and it's timing is impeccable.
Tony and John of Amp Brothers Electric Cycles put me on the bike and told me that the throttle was a bit snappy. The throttle is located on the right handlebar on the inner part of the hand grip. They instructed me to be seated on the bike before I turned the center frame-mounted key to the "on" position. I mounted the bike and took a seat and moved the key to "on". I guess that I really didn't know what to expect as I twisted the throttle to begin moving off, but I was pleasantly surprised when I effortlessly sailed down the Amp Brothers' sidewalk. With a quiet whine, I was off. I took off down the sidewalk in front of their store and within something like 15 feet I was one with the bicycle. I looked over my shoulder to check traffic and took to the road, the wind (slowly) whistling around me. The feel of the road was great, firm and with seemingly good articulation of the front (80 mm travel) and rear (30 mm travel) suspension. I hit the neighborhood and experienced my first envious stares from passersby.
The A2B is a modern, minimalistic design and there is very little weight that isn't absolutely required. The full weight of the bike is an amazing 72 pounds. The light weight lets you simply ride this bicycle like a bicycle until you feel the need for an electrical boost. Then you slow or stop pedaling and hit the "gas". Away you go with what feels like 2 hp, and remember what little torque is there, it's there from the first revolution of the tiny, hub-mounted motor. This means that you can get away from cars at stop signs (especially if you pedal for a bit) and then silently cruise at top speed until it's time to stop again. Braking is very good with tiny, cable-operated discs front and rear. It does take some getting used to for scooterists, as the brakes are backwards (front is the left handgrip, rear is on the right) from a scooter which made things interesting, but two seconds later you are very familiar with the operation. The seat is comfortable and with the addition of a small headlight and blinking tail lamp, I'd take this bike anywhere.
The things that impressed me most about the A2B was it's overall fit and finish (top notch and jewel-like) and it's performance. Yes, it is slow for a scooter, but it's fast for a bicycle. It's also highly flexible, and under pedal power it's no slouch. Like many of us, I could stand to lose a few pounds and within a span of 10 minutes, I was thinking about getting an A2B and actually using it in a training regimen. Biking around town and working my way up to my 10-mile commute with the steady dependability of a 20 mph (and 20 mile range) propulsion capability is something that I find incredibly attractive in these interesting times (regular gas was $2.63 yesterday in SE Michigan!) The design is outstanding and the execution is high quality. The A2B is the Lotus of electric bicycles!
Another thing that impressed me about the A2B is parking. As scooterists, we are generally spoiled as far as parking goes, but imagine the even better parking! Every sidewalk is your parking space, and better yet, roll it up and through the door and take it inside. One more thing - although I dislike when bicyclists do it, certain traffic rules seem to not apply to bicyclists, and who is to know that the bicycle that you are pedaling also happens to have a powerful electrical motor in it's rear hub? The sidewalk is always there for you, although not under electrical power or when a pedestrian is present, but in a pinch... a Woodward traffic jam perhaps? And what about neighborhood stop signs? Every day I see bicyclists running stop signs, and although I would never do it (seriously, I'm a freak about it), the enforcement of these traffic rules for bicyclists is extremely low. It's a horrible idea to run ANY stop sign, but the possibility, no matter how remote, is there. Plus, you meet the nicest officers that way!
The drawbacks of the A2B are similar to the things that I liked about it: The design is ultra modern and attractive, and it would probably be attractive to thieves as well. Carrying locks or having to mount an alarm (heaven forbid) would add weight and complexity. What's more theft-worthy than a scooter? Probably an A2B. The performance is also an issue, but you have to be realistic about your expectations. It is a bicycle, after all. Yes, it could be faster, and my research for this article indicated that faster speeds might be attainable via some tweaking in the near future. It's certainly something to think about, just as the first scooter-riders wanted a little more "oomhp" to make their rides a bit more usable.
The last drawback is the price - at a listed $2699, the A2B is a dramatic investment for people like me. Break it down and it's not so bad, as you're getting a very high quality bicycle (7-speed, twist-shift Shimano Alivio Derailleur, Avid BB5 disc brakes, TIG welded 6061 aluminum frame, etc.) plus a 36-volt lithium-ion battery and hub mounted high torque motor and the engineering and systems integration that is necessary to make that combination of parts into a credible transportation device. A bargain, I'd say. That doesn't mean that I can afford one, but it does make me think about it!
You can probably guess which electrical two-wheeler I'm interested in owning. While the e-Moto Volt G3 is a credible alternative to a moped (minus the pedals), the Ultra Motors A2B is an entirely new class of usable transportation - cool, fun and green. Head over to your local electric bicycle shop and find out for yourself. Bring a helmet!
Part 1 of this series
Part 2 of this series
Part 3 of this series
More on electric bicycles from David Herron, the Green-Transportation-Examiner
What's next: Mods and Rockers, Detroit style!
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