New Italian e-bike brand Noko is launching a trio of urban-focused e-bikes, claiming you’ll be able to get 200km of range out of them. You’ll need the extra battery though. And probably a decent amount of pedalling too.
E-bike range is a tricksy, woolly concept. Batteries vary in size, of course, and some bikes and motors use that stored power a lot more efficiently than others, but the range you’ll actually get when riding a given bike depends on many different factors.
The batteries supplied with Noko’s bikes are not that big (250Wh) and even with two of them, you’re not looking at anything out of the ordinary.
The bikes are however pretty light. At 14.8kg, they’re not in the same ballpark as the 9kg Super Leggera we reported on last month or even more run-of-the-mill lightweight e-road bikes built around either the Fazua Evation or Mahle ebikemotion systems.
They do however compare to city/hybrid bikes built with those same two motors, like the 14kg Ribble Hybrid ALe or the 16.5kg Juicy Bikes Ticket.
Noko’s bikes use FSA’s new hub motor system, which weighs 3.98kg, including the second battery. The main battery is integrated inside the downtube, while the extra one can be slipped into the bottle cage for longer rides.
The low weight most likely means a bike that you could quite happily ride without power assistance, which is where the concept of range becomes so tricky to pin down.
So let’s just forget about it and have look at what else Noko’s offering.
The three models are called Forza, Tempo and Vulcano.
Forza’s an urban e-bike with a Veer carbon belt drive and hydraulic disc brakes. It’s available with either flat or raised handlebars.
Tempo’s much the same, only with a step-through frame. Both of these will be available from €3,990.
Vulcano, meanwhile, is more of a gravel bike with drop handlebars and Sram Apex 1x11 gears. Prices for that one start at €4,350.
Noko’s e-bikes will be available from February via their website.