Seattle Cycles' MetroBike Electric Folding Bike

 Information about the MetroBike

I was able to spend several days at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas early this month (Jan. 2018) working with Mike Yap of Seattle Cycles and his new bike design--the MetroBike. This is a bit of a review and admiration for this lightweight, electric-assist, folding bike.

Uses for this bike

Every bike has a purpose. A reason for its design. This bike's reason for being is having a well-designed, balanced bike that is a joy to ride. It is a good-looking bike that who's attractiveness is derived from its clean lines and simplicity. It is electric-assist to allow it to be a useful vehicle without getting the rider overheated. It is folding so that it fits into small spaces easily.

Let's work through the many scenarios where this bike would be useful.

• Vanpools--it is not necessary to take a car to meet your vanpool no matter what the terrain looks like. Your bike folds neatly and fits in the storage area of the van without hogging all of the storage space. Once you get to the office, it either be rolled on the back wheel and frame wheels into the office. If you have a small distance to go to get your office building, it can be quickly set up to ride that distance in comfort. On the way home, you may be taking a long way home.

•  Metro Bus--it is an absolutely wonderful development that many metro bus lines have adapted and put racks that can hold two or three bikes on the front of the bus. This has helped with the first and last mile problem that riding a bus alone posed to commuters. The problem is that its success has created another problem--not enough bike rack space. It is almost a given that if you're in a hurry the bus you need to ride on will have full bike racks when it reaches your stop. Having a folding bike allows you to fold your ride to something the size of a pieces aircraft standard luggage and carrying it onto the bus with you. That way you make it to where you need to go on time. With this bike being light, you are able to lift and carry it easily into the bus. 
• Train--even though Amtrak is trying hard to recognize that bicyclists could be their best customer base, they aren't known for being focused on the customer or moving quickly on any aspect of their business. Folding bicycles kind of slip easily into a space that is made for a normal piece of luggage and Amtrak can deal with that. Things get complicated when you have to hang your bike on a rack in the luggage car or you have to pack your bike into a big box that has to be wrestled into the luggage car. Now that you know that you can get your bike on the train without an incident at the ticket counter, plan your next road trip by train.
• Small Plane--the problem with airports is that they usually aren't placed in the part of town that you want to be visiting. Sure there is Uber and Lyft and taxis, but why let your adventure stop once you land? This folding bike will fit into the tiny cargo area of your small plane but will provide you with a nice ride to wherever you want to go once you get the wheels on the ground. 
• Business Travel--there is only so much the hotel workout room can do for your well-being. And, after a couple of days, it feels more like a cell than somewhere you really want to be. If you bring your bike with you on that business trip and you've got something to look forward to after that long day of meetings or better yet before your day even begins. 
• RVing--instead of towing that small car behind your motorhome, bring your bikes. With your folding bike onboard your RV, you'll have a nice ride wherever you stop. And, it will be clean, dry and ready to ride.
• Direct Commute--it's a folding bike, but  it's also a real fine riding machine. One that folds and can fit under your desk.

 

Jay Guettler and Mike Yap

Design Elements

• Integrated Motor
• All of the motor control and sensing circuitry is sealed in the hub along with the motor. This sealed package keeps the electronics safe and dry no matter what the weather and riding conditions. It also keeps the operation and maintenance simple.
• Flexible Battery Solutions
•  Everyone's regular commute is going to be different. It may be flat or have a good deal of hills. The person may be 120 pounds or 220. You may not need to carry anything more than your cell phone and keys or you may have a couple of panniers full of stuff. Weight, terrain, needed speed to be traveling, and how much effort you're able or willing to put into the commute is part of the equation of how much battery energy you're going to need. 
• Battery current is measured in Amps. Current is the "juice" flowing out of the battery. The amount of current flowing from a battery over an hour is an Amp-hour--this is how batteries are rated. Voltage is the amount of "pressure" that current is under. The more voltage, the more "pressure." Watt-hours are the Volts times the Amp-hours.
• A small water bottle sized battery configuration provides about 215 Whr (36V x  6Ahr), a tall water bottle sized battery will provide around 300 Watt-hours (36Volts x 8.3Amp-hours)
• A 250-watt motor ran at full out for 1 hour will require 250 watt-hours of stored energy. It is unlikely that you will be running your assist motor at full out unless you are climbing a large, steep hill.


• Front Wheel Stability
•  Many small wheel bicycles have an inherent instability or twitchiness about the front of the bicycle. For a long time, riders and designers believed that characteristic to be caused by the small wheels. Large wheel bicycles (26" for example) tend to be easily ridden without having hands on the handlebars. With smaller wheel bicycles, this tended to be a lot more difficult. 
• It turns out that it wasn't the small wheels after all but the rack or angle of the front forks. Having a steeper angle on the forks (more straight up and down) on the smaller wheel bikes made them more stable and easier to ride without having hands on the handlebars. Whether you plan to ride without having hands on your handlebars or not, a more stable bicycle is easier and more of a pleasure to ride.
  
• Smooth Rideability with or without Electric Assist
•  Can the bike be joyful to ride even without the electric assist being available or just not engaged? All motor-assist bicycles, by definition, can be ridden without the electric-assist being engaged, but some of them feel more than a bit clumsy without it. This bike is designed to be a smooth, joyful ride even without the electric assist.
• Rolling Wheels for Easy Rolling when Folded
•  Even at a weight in the low 30 pounds, it's easier to move the folded bike around that doesn't want to fall over if you let go of it for a moment. The wheels that are attached to the rack mounts on the frame allow the folded bike to be easily rolled around and to remain in an upright position when you stop without you having to hold onto it.
• Brake Type Flexibility
•  Like a lot of things bicycle, there are differing schools of thought on every aspect. Brake type debates still rage on and it becomes a matter of preference of which type each rider wants to have. The design of the bike includes the frame and fork mounts for both rim and disc brake systems to be installed.
• Motor Regen over 15-20 mph (??)
•  The chosen hub motor systems for this bike have the ability to create battery regeneration when it senses that you are not pedaling and yet going over 15-20 mph. (I could not find the motor specs and this capability needs to be confirmed)
• Accommodates a Wide Range of People Sizes
•  The low single member frame design allows for a wide range of rider sizes on the same bike. To make the adjustment between individual riders and their riding styles, the seat post, and handlebar stem can be adjusted to accommodate smaller riders (5'4") to larger riders (6'4").
• Standard Componentry
•  By using standard bicycle components, the cost of maintenance is reduced at the same time making it easy to make modifications and customization based on the owner's requirements.
• Drop Outs for Fenders, Front Bag Mounts, Rear Racks
•  If your riding requirements include having fenders, the drop outs are there for you to add standard 20" fenders. The drop outs for the rolling wheels are there to accommodate the addition of a rack. If you would like a front frame-mounted bag, adding a Brompton bag mount gives you access to their full range of stylish accessories.
• Tire Sizing Flexibility
•  Through recent testing on tire sizes, the idea that you have narrow tires in order to reduce rolling resistance has been dispelled. To take advantage of larger tires--up to 2"--the frame design and brake components were sized to allow for the space needed for the larger tires while working just as well with the narrow tires. http://www.bikeroar.com/articles/why-you-must-run-wider-tires-on-your-road-bike
• Simple Controls
•  Simple controls are easier to navigate while riding. The simple motor controls consist of large red LED numbers 1-5 indicating the levels of assist that you wish to have. Levels 1-2 for the flats and normal riding. Level 5 for serious hill climbing. These are set with a simple +- switch operated by your thumb.
• Stress Tested Frame for Safety
• Not all bicycle companies put their frames through a comprehensive stress testing--these bikes were as part of their design process.