Paradox Kinetics – high power e-bike motor

March 18th, 2015

By Joe Hayhow in Features,Tech

The bikes we recognise as MTB’s today owe a great deal to the back yard tinkerers and basement engineers of the 80’s and 90’s. Pretty much all early innovation came from the man caves of a few intrepid visionaries, who operated with limited resources and low budgets – but had swathes of enthusiasm for this mad little sport. A lot has changed since then. Bikes are big business and the major players invest unimaginable funds and resources into developing the latest must-have parts. Does this mean the days of small-scale, independent components developers are numbered?

With the ever increasing complexity of parts and the huge development budgets of the big brands, surely no basement spanner jockey can do things better than global giants like SRAM, Shimano or Fox? Well, just maybe there are a few types that can…


 

Balkan bike boffins

On a recent trip to Greece we happened to meet two intrepid engineers when using their workshop to set up our bikes after flying into Athens, and came across one of the most interesting grass-roots bike projects we’ve seen in a long time.

It’s not uncommon to see new manufacturers pop-up from time to time with replacement chainrings, a twist on the classic pedal design or some suspension mods – but Simos Effraimiadis and Tsailianis Giannis of Paradox Kinetics have quietly been working on something far more ambitious – an entire high power e-bike motor and drivetrain!

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The retrofit high power e-bike motor and transmission, designed and built by Paradox Kinetics

Among the usual Allen-keys and typical bike related tools, it was the oscilloscopes and voltmeters that gave away the real purpose of their workshop. The duo started working on their own system after being less than impressed with current offerings, and having spotted several apparent shortcomings. Deciding they could do better themselves, work began on the Paradox system.

Retrofit rocket pack

So what’s sets this system apart? Well, first of all it’s designed to be retro-fitted to pretty much any modern mountain bike. Secondly, it’s performance oriented – it’s not designed to get old ladies to Tesco or help you arrive at the office in less of a sweaty mess. It’s designed to make ripping up your local trails faster and a hell of a lot more fun. Simos and Tsailianis wanted to be able to ride their long-travel bikes all day without relying on uplifts, and cover more distance on rougher terrain that would be possible on leg-power alone. Regardless of your stance on e-bikes, it’s hard to argue with those motives.

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If you laughed your way up anything in your path you’d probably have a bald rear tyre too.

As you’d expect, making a system that is going to survive the same treatment as your DH sled, be compatible with the majority of bikes and keep it reliable and weather proof is going to present all kinds of challenges. But from what we saw, they seem to have developed innovative solutions for virtually every issue that’s presented itself – from handling moisture to weight management and durability. Amazingly, the high power e-bike motor and drive train components bolted to the frame add just 2kg/4.4lbs – which although weighty, virtually disappears when you ride the system.

Throttle jockey

We were lucky enough to get out for a blast off-road on some decent natural trails, and got to grips with the concept of the system. Unlike most E-Bikes that are currently on sale, this isn’t a pedal-assist system.

The electric motor has it’s own throttle which sits where your left-shifter once lived. Although it takes some getting used to, after a few minutes of experimenting and balancing your own pedal inputs and motor-throttle, it becomes surprisingly intuitive. The 1kW prototype version that we rode feels a bit like having a bit more than double your usual power on tap, but being able to throttle independently from pedalling drastically changes the way you ride.

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Simos Effraimadis of Paradox Kinetics enjoying some casual uphill freeride action….

Being able to ‘bump’ the front wheel over obstacles while keeping your cranks level makes technical climbing a joy not a chore – keeping momentum up on uphill or techy sections lacking in flow is a doddle – and you actively seek out challenging tech to climb up. Not a million miles from the way a moto Trials rider might ride. The obvious major selling point is being able to blast up long boring climbs and reaching the top fresh enough to enjoy the descent.

And another bonus – remember those 7”- 8” travel 26” wheeled free ride/DH bikes that went out of fashion when shorter travel bikes became the norm? Well you can pick one of those up dirt cheap these days, and turn it into a whole heap of fun.

Strapping on a few kW of motor power transforms them into big-bad motorised XC bikes – plucking them from obsolescence and making great use of old kit. Our demo bike was a chunky Foes RS7 with Rockshox Totems upfront. With the extra power bolted on, the Foes went from an out-of-date and slightly porky long travel bike in to the perfect high power e-bike for thrashing up any trail on. It was plenty stiff and strong enough to cope with the extra torque and speed, and with the motor assisting you on the climbs, the added weight and draggy tyres were no longer an issue – it was just so much fun to ride, no matter what you pointed it at!

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Long travel ‘freeride light’ bikes get a whole new lease of life with the Paradox Kinetics electric motor.

Whether you’re pro e-bike or think they’re pure sacrilege, the Paradox guys have developed an impressive high power e-bike motor system that turns that out-of-date heap in to a hell of a lot of fun. Admittedly, the trails around Athens are far quieter and less populated than any UK spot, so legislation and public acceptance may be deciding factors when it comes to the success of this type of system over here. But if you ignore the politics for a moment, and concentrate on having fun on the trails – these things let you ride further, faster and grin like an idiot the entire time! It seems they’ve hit the nail on the head.

Since our visit, numerous refinements have added to strength and weight saving, and an additional 4kW of power have been unleashed in the latest version – that’s over 6.5 hp on a bicycle! 

We can’t wait to see the full production version – from what we’re told it won’t be too long coming. Watch this space.

 

 

 

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