New electric motor components for fixed-gear bicycles

Cyclists who love the “fixie” (a fixed-gear city bike with no mudguards) could soon enjoy the comfort of a streamlined and quiet electric start-assist motor. CEA-Leti invented and patented elementary motor components that can be adapted in terms of size, number, and arrangement to suit the target application. Each component is made of excitation coils and a magnetic-field detection system. For the fixie, for example, they measure 5 cm x 3 cm x 1.5 cm and are housed in a high-profile wheel rim.

The result is a flat, invisible 250 W motor powered by supercapacitors that store the energy generated during braking. The system weighs in at around 3 kg, just half the weight of an equivalent system built on a conventional lithium-ion battery.

Contact: camille.giroud@cea.fr

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