Cyclists on the Seine River by the French capital are not a common sight.Just outside of Paris, New Zealand-based company Manta 5 is demonstrating its latest water e-bike for the first time."We have been told by others that this could be an alternative to what we typically see in jet ski-like products," says Louis Wilks, head of marketing, Manta 5."The key point of difference is that our bike has no emissions, no wake. You don't need a trailer. It's super, super easy to ride. It's all-around better. Yes, maybe you don't go as fast, but you don't need to go fast sounding like an absolute hooligan when you want to enjoy the coastlines and the lakes and rivers and also get a great deal of fitness as well."Equipped with a 2.5 kw electric motor and a Bluetooth ride and throttle controller, the Manta 5 SL3 is the company's second generation of water e-bikes.Depending on the battery configuration and fitness level, riders can expect up to four hours of cycling high above the water.But riding on the Seine doesn't come without a cost."For the 10,000 euros ($11,000 USD,starting) price tag, it's not dissimilar to that of a high-end e-bike that you would get for the road. However, this bike, it's customisable and you can adjust that for different-sized riders. So you could buy one bike for the whole family from dad to 16-year-old son and daughter," says Wilks.Except that for that price, instead of sharing, most families could get a conventional e-bike each.Manta 5 says it hopes to lower the price as it scales up production.For now, it offers a product that doesn't fit into any category, and it could seduce anyone from watersports fans to nature lovers.The e-bike demonstrations are organised on the sidelines of VivaTech, France's biggest tech fair.Speaking from the event, Jérôme Colombain, a technology journalist, says this type of product could have a future:"Yes, tech can help us to discover, to be more in tune with nature. I've got an electric bike that's hyper-tech, that's connected, that's got GPS. And it's a real pleasure to be out in the open air on a thing like that. I think there really is a marriage to be made between the two. Of course, there's the question of the environmental impact of all that, the use of rare earths, rare metals, etc. There are all these issues."Laurent Florès, an associate professor of marketing at Paris-Panthéon-Assas University, came to try the bike for the first time at the rowing base.With the help of a demonstrator, he got the gist of it within 10 minutes.The SL3, unlike the previous generation, features what Manta 5 calls "Easy Launch Technology".Thanks to that, riders can learn how to launch more quickly, around 40 minutes, instead of three hours, the company claims."I will describe it as a magic carpet for you to actually be like Aladdin to some extent, to actually get out of your office, put the bike on. And instead of riding roads, you actually ride 'la Seine,'" says Florès.Florès says he'll seriously consider buying one - he already owns an electric foil."It may be a bit bulky, but as you get probably better, it may not be as bulky because the foils and there may be shorter and I stay as such, it may take probably less weight and more importantly, less room."The SL3 can be de-assembled into five parts to lay it flat.The company website says it "fits in any vehicle with the seats down or in the boot space of larger SUV vehicles".
from Times of India https://ift.tt/7r94Dyv
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