Trefecta is set to crowdfund a more affordable version of its colossally powerful electric bike that BikeRadar first saw a few years ago.
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The new Trefecta RDR — spotted at Eurobike 2019 — sticks to many of the principles of Trefecta’s first electric bike effort but does so at a significantly lower price.
Originally designed for use within police forces who couldn’t afford the staggering $25,000 starting price of Trefecta’s first bike, the Trefecta RDR model shown here in its prototype form is set to retail for around €10,000 when it goes live on Indiegogo in October.
The bike has been designed to have the capability of tackling almost any terrain thanks to sophisticated suspension, a powerful motor with an unusually large battery and the ability to carry heavy loads.
Rather than the insane 4Kw powerplant fitted to the DRT, the new bike uses either a 250w, 500w or 920w mid-drive motor from German brand TQ. Whichever power output you choose there’s a whopping 120Nm of torque on tap. That’s more than twice what some mid-drive motors will provide.
All that go requires some serious juice but the Trefecta RDR doesn’t come up short on battery power thanks to a 34 amp hour cell that slides into place beneath a locked compartment at the bike’s high pressure moulded aluminium mainframe. Trefecta isn’t putting out any official claims for this bike’s battery range yet but BikeRadar was told that the 34kg RDR should provide at least 200km of range.
The transmission features a Gates Carbon Drive belt to transfer power to an electronic Enviolo hub gear — a development of the continuously variable electronic components sold by Nuvinci.
The keen-eyed amongst you will recognise lots of standard bicycle components fitted to the Trefecta frame, many of which come from partner Magura. There’s an upside-down Magura Boltron fork and matching TS rear shock. Magura also provides the brakes and its Vyron electronic dropper seatpost.
The wheels, tyres, cranks and contact points are all regular mountain bike components too, helping to reduce the costs considerably from the bespoke parts fitted to the bike’s bigger brother. These bicycle components reduce the overall weight too, meaning the RDR totals a claimed 34kg.
Adjustable hardware for the lower shock mount allows a rider to tailor the bike’s handling and 26in wheels — rather than the standard 27.5in — can be fitted to better accommodate smaller riders.
The Trefecta RDR is even rated to carry up to 150kg of payload and can do so via a range of forthcoming suspended and unsuspended racks.
Whether or not you’re convinced by the RDR, it’ll be fascinating to see how many riders will back such a machine when it is crowdfunded later this year.
