Sondors x new bike the Metacycle

Grendelkhan

10 µW
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
6
https://sondorsx.com/pages/metacycle
Here you go, they just had their live press release on this bike. 8k rear hub motor, 4000 watt battery, 80 mile range all for the cost of 5k. I like the looks of it and at 5k seems to be a reasonable price.
 
This is very promising. I don’t see it being a game changer, the technology is nothing special. The price point is perfect. Hopefully they’ll make a “dirt” version with a better suspension. Maybe there will be a future option to double the battery and I’ll in the empty frame space. They could begin to compete with Zero if the battery was 8kwh.
 
I have sent in questions about the battery size with voltage and ah, who the hub driver maker is, does it have regen braking, and what type of controller it has. I'll post if they answer these questions.
 
Grendelkhan said:
I have sent in questions about the battery size with voltage and ah, who the hub driver maker is, does it have regen braking, and what type of controller it has. I'll post if they answer these questions.

It's 72v 4000 Kw 200 lb weight
 
Hey Theodore Voltaire, how have you been?
We missed you since the last launch of Sondors products, but we all knew you'd be back when Sondors was selling a new product.

Hey Theodore Voltaire, since you are the "unofficial" Sondors company representative, can I ask you how far will the new product go in terms of mileage for one charge?


Theodore Voltaire said:
 
Yermommy said:
This is very promising. I don’t see it being a game changer, the technology is nothing special. The price point is perfect. Hopefully they’ll make a “dirt” version with a better suspension. Maybe there will be a future option to double the battery and I’ll in the empty frame space. They could begin to compete with Zero if the battery was 8kwh.

No point with a hub motor.
 
Grantmac said:
Yermommy said:
This is very promising. I don’t see it being a game changer, the technology is nothing special. The price point is perfect. Hopefully they’ll make a “dirt” version with a better suspension. Maybe there will be a future option to double the battery and I’ll in the empty frame space. They could begin to compete with Zero if the battery was 8kwh.

No point with a hub motor.

IF they made a dirt kit, I wouldn't expect anybody to competitively race it. It would just be for the average weekend warriors whose definition of "off-road" means hopping a curb every now and then with the occasional ride down a gravel trail at their local state park. Lots of people on here have built capable dirt bikes with hub motors. Hub motors are not ideal for dirt, but there are lots of great builds that use them.
 
All my information about this bike comes from the video I posted above, which I found a few hours ago. My impression is this bike is strictly a street bike, which makes sense to me, because if you want to sell a lot of motorcycles they need to be street bikes. This is a light weight city commuter bike with capability to ride on a highway for short distances. I assume 55 amp hours @ 72v 8000w with 14,000w peak. 200 lb curb weight? Claimed $5000 price, and 80 mph top speed.

What's not to like? This is like a bigger faster Onyx for only a few hundred more dollars. Riding around town I would expect at least 40 to 50 miles range, but riding at speed on the highway probably more like 20 miles, just a guess. For this power level I think a hub motor is a good choice. I like low maintenance hub motors, but there's limit how far you can go without some form of cooling, and this is probably pushing the envelope.

Personally I'm happy with my Stealth because I can ride it at will in traffic without registration, and I don't really need to go on a highway. I have a 35 ah battery so my range is probably comparable, considering my 4500w and 120 lb curb weight, and I can keep up with traffic now so I don't see a huge advantage for myself. I think this bike would be well suited for someone that lives in a more restrictive area were registration would become desirable, and occasional 80 mph top speed is a trade off for the hassle of licensing. I agree with the reviewer that this bike fills a void in the middle between smaller, lower powered bikes like Onyx, and Sur Ron, and larger more powerful eMotorcycles costing twice as much or more. Being as familiar with Sondors products as I am, I expect this will be a pretty good bike, but that remains to be seen, just like any other new bike that comes out. When they become available and I find out more about them I'll let you know what owners think about them.

Considering that the seat looks like a motorcycle version of a ass hatchet, the range is probably good enough lol.
 
At least it looks pretty cool. We'll have to wait until somebody (we trust) actually test rides one. There's room in the frame for more batteries :wink:
 
This article has a little additional information.

https://jalopnik.com/the-sondors-metacycle-is-the-inexpensive-electric-commu-1846060600
 
31.5" seat height looks pretty good. For comparison that's about 1.5" lower than the seat height my bike, but my seat has padding.

Meta-Stealth-comparison.jpg
 
Speaking of padding, that new bike looks like whoever designed the seat thought it was going to be a Trials bike. Fail.
 
I honestly don't understand the hype as it's not really game changing nor it's market position or even it's design.

Design:
Essentially useless area in the frame which could have been used for greater capacity or at a minimum future OEM upgradability.
A hub motor "motorcycle" will never be on par with a true mid-motor motorcycle.
Weird seat style for its intention.
Honestly seems like the designer used a mountain bike running a hub motor for his inspiration.

Market position:
Won't sell in Europe because it can't be ridden on a 125cc/150cc license. If you have an A2 or full license might as well get something a lot more powerful.

I know I know, but the price.
For the price I'll forgive the hub motor but I honestly think they shot their own foot with the "futuristic" or whatever they want to call it design. Could have given it internal storage which would be a huge selling point or advertise some sort of range extender at an extra price.

It's definitely going to sell especially when compared to the horrible examples other manufacturers are producing at abhorrent prices.

Sondorsx, if you ever see this post.
Make another with an 11kW continuous motor with a hub motor designed to achieve 65mph top speed, modify the chassis design to allow OEM upgradability such as a range extender that serves as internal storage by default and I promise you they will sell like hot cakes in Europe at least. Would be on the limits of A1/L3e license capability while undercutting every single other choice by price & design (storage/range extender).

Edit:
Also what's with the website itself as well as all the news articles of this bike quoting the power in kWh :mrgreen:
 
"Imperial data"??? Geez... What the bike needs is a real damned seat. The app isn't a bad idea, either.
 
I like it a lot. Being a lifelong motorcycle rider, this bike has significant visual appeal, reasonable power and range, and the price is good.

That said, there are a few things about the bike that are pure concept. The headlight with the built in turn signals would not pass, nor will the rear light and signals, especially in the US. The seat will never make the cut to production either. Mirrors are too small, and I will bet that it will have rear passenger foot pegs. Rear fender will not go in any country, plus no license plate holder.

But, if they can keep it close to the look, and fix the few issues, I would buy it in a heartbeat!

Oh, and that cool hole, you just know they will have a battery to fit that and extend range, at a $1000 more, which I would also buy.
 
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