Its no secret that my favourite bike is the Mecatecno Dragonfly , so when i heard a little about there being a new adult sized electric bike bearing the same name i was very interested .

 

I fired off a message to Jordi Mila who is the owner of Mecatecno. He also has a nice collection  of original Mecatecno's as well....but that is another story ...but its clear where his inspiration for the company name came from . The new Mecatecno and Jordi lives in the same town as the original founder of Mecatecno and he bares the same christian name.....anyway i digress . Jordi Mila has a design company on the same premises above the electric bikes factory where he designs all sorts of things. He designed the new Montesa freeride bike , the 4RT plastics , the complete TRS , amazing furniture , humidity and temperature controlled atom bomb shaped electric gadget cigar storage units for the discerning smoker .....and pretty much anything else he lays his hands to . He is one of the more switched on cookies i have come across. With 5 kids all running around i guess he has to be .

 

 

I got a reply inviting me along . He didnt ask me to write anything ..im just doing it , because it deserves saying .

 

The project that he is fully immersed in is the adult sized Mecatecno Dragonfly which is in fully working 2nd prototype form. This guy is pushing the development of trials bikes forward no end and has designed the bike from he ground up. Yes , there is no engine sound for us petrol heads ...but this bike could be the bike that tempts me and you .

 

Although its electric the whole bike's ethos is to keep the riding experience the same . You wont be missing anything on this bike .

 

The engine is entirely custom Mecatecno with nicely cast and engineered casings. The engine is completely different from the current crop of electric trials bikes and is being designed for trials .....but its also suitable for road work .The  weighs 54kg . The seat height is crazy crazy low. That whole area where the engine is on a normal petrol bike , is just tiny tiny tiny here. It is all wheels and wheels...."Wheres that engine thing in the middle !?" . Im not allowed to say to much ....but the whole engine control of the bike is is far more traditional.You get my drift . Tested HP figures are more than ample.  Im told it is like riding a modern bike , but far lighter and better. 

 

Jordi says that photos of the bike will appear around May next year , but this could change .

 

Nope ..unfortunately it wont feature 3 spoke wheels like this baby of mine...but it'll be a lot lighter.

 

 

 

 

 

Teasing us eh?  No photos for 6 months? So no point in looking at a Dragonfly thread till then I guess!

 

Suggested retail price UK for a Dragonfly E, I have been quoted by a UK dealer £5,700, same as the French EM. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm waiting most impatiently to see this bike. It's not a matter of if I buy an electric bike but when.

Well sounds good and interesting. As posted on another thread the question is if it is 10 or 20 years before the electric bikes take over for real. And no, I love the noise  and smell of gas on any Sunday :-) And they can't fool us with speakers and artificial smell...

Aside from making the motor an integrel frame element to save weight I don't see there being much to improve on as electric motor development is pretty advanced. I think most future improvment is squarely in the battery energy density. Still looking forward to seeing this bike though.

Actually I can see one other big advantage to an electric bike and that is in the area of transport. Not having to deal with gasoline or gear oils a bike that easily breaks into two or three major pieces that can be transported in a small car without too much hassle would be a major change in the way most of us do trials. Plug the battery into the lighter for a last bit of charge on the way to ride, get to the venue, a few minutes to assemble and off you go.

the bottle necks for electric bikes are the battery's and the controllers , as you have said motors are nearly about as good as they can get atm and there are good motors and not so good motors and there are only slight differences :-) but basically they are the same in power output per weight. 

I was also thinking the lack of need for a clutch opens the possibility for putting the rear brake on the bars like the Clake setup.

 

I was also thinking the lack of need for a clutch opens the possibility for putting the rear brake on the bars like the Clake setup.

 

 

That's how all the Oset's come. All those kids growing up riding are doing it with the brake on the bars... same as a pedal bike. I think the only reason full size E bikes don't come that way is to cater to people who are just more used to the foot brake.

So where is the Dragonfly? Come on, you're killin' us here!

Apparently it will be launched at the dirt bike show in October.

That's how all the Oset's come. All those kids growing up riding are doing it with the brake on the bars... same as a pedal bike. I think the only reason full size E bikes don't come that way is to cater to people who are just more used to the foot brake.

 

That's actually the show stopper for me. I'm dying to buy an electric bike but I really want one with a proper functioning clutch. Sounds odd, but I don't want to learn to ride without a clutch because for every other riding discipline (enduro/mx etc) you need it. I can live without gears but not a clutch. 

Turkeys voting for christmas

That's actually the show stopper for me. I'm dying to buy an electric bike but I really want one with a proper functioning clutch. Sounds odd, but I don't want to learn to ride without a clutch because for every other riding discipline (enduro/mx etc) you need it. I can live without gears but not a clutch. 

why would you need a clutch for those other disciplines?   just curious.. :-)

I don't see the need for an electric clutch. On a gas engine the motor has to be turning at a certain speed to deliver enough torque. So the clutch is used to modulate the torque stored in the rotational mass of the engine spinning at a high enough speed to have sufficient stored energy. With an electric motor a great deal of torque can be delivered from a dead stop limited by the type of motor and available current. That should make control much easier as applied torque is a single control rather than the combination of two very different motions. If you feel the need to synthesize a clutch with an electric motor you simply reduce motor current with the lever effectively decoupling the stator/rotor but you get the same effect from just rolling off the "throttle".

Aside from making the motor an integrel frame element to save weight I don't see there being much to improve on as electric motor development is pretty advanced. I think most future improvment is squarely in the battery energy density. Still looking forward to seeing this bike though.

Actually I can see one other big advantage to an electric bike and that is in the area of transport. Not having to deal with gasoline or gear oils a bike that easily breaks into two or three major pieces that can be transported in a small car without too much hassle would be a major change in the way most of us do trials. Plug the battery into the lighter for a last bit of charge on the way to ride, get to the venue, a few minutes to assemble and off you go.

 

However Im more affraid of fires caused by the battery packs etc. More and more power comes with potential risks. (there is also risk in gasoline, I know).