Test Storck E:nario: What conventional additional drives couldn't do, the still young Evation motor from the Munich supplier Fazua manages quite well: racing bike feeling plus powerful thrust on the mountain with an acceptable additional weight.
Epoch-making innovations have always made life difficult for road bike traditionalists. Even major innovations such as the clipless pedal and the brake shifter were initially fended off ("None of them needed"), then ignored and at some point tacitly appropriated. It was a similar story with GPS bike computers and electronic shifters, and the tenth, eleventh and twelfth sprocket can also sing a song about it: "What's the point of one more gear now?" asked the traditionalists again and again, but with this attitude we would still be Drive quintuple sprockets.
Now, however, an era is dawning that could change racing bikes more than anything listed here. The bicycle innovation of the early 21st century could be the electric support motor. After he first incorporated everyday and touring bikes and then mountain bikes, it's now the turn of racing machines.
At first it looked like this wasn't even possible. In 2011, Haibike presented the "EQ Race", a pre-series model with a 350-watt motor and a top speed of 45 km/h, which was quite fast, but not practical due to the legal restrictions for S-Pedelecs. The new Cannondale Synapse Neo makes more sense with its low-resistance "Bosch Active" motor, which supports up to 25 km/h - but the real lightness of road cycling did not appear during a test ride, not least because of the relatively high vehicle weight. This becomes noticeable at the latest when the 25 km/h threshold is exceeded and turns the Bosch racer (like every pedelec) into a rather cumbersome vehicle.
Harmonious e-racing thanks to Fazua?
So breathe a sigh of relief from the traditionalists - but only briefly, because a still young supplier has set out to stimulate the market for sporty electric bikes. "Fa' zua!" resounds at the crossroads in Bavaria when you don't get from the spot fast enough when the green light turns green - and Fazua is the name of the inventor of the "Evation" motor, which offers an innovative solution for additional drive and battery and on the side created a whole new driving experience.
Both the battery and the drive have had quite an odyssey on the bike. Early touring bikes carried the battery on the luggage rack and were pulled by a hub motor in the front wheel; The combination of rear hub motor and battery on the down tube was popular for a long time – for example on the first E-MTBs. The standard solution for everyday bikes was the mid-motor with battery pack behind the seat tube, and today the combination of bottom bracket drive and intube battery seems to be gaining ground.
This is where Fazua comes in. The Munich-based company not only hides the battery in the down tube, but also packs the motor right in – in a slim unit that can be completely removed. All that remains on the frame is a bevel gear that transfers the power of the drive to the bottom bracket shaft - and of course the control unit on the handlebars, whose two buttons allow you to change the support modes.
It is obvious that this drive unit is extremely compact and light. The test bike weighs exactly 3.280 grams, to which you have to add the switch on the handlebars and the frame-mounted gearbox, which according to the manufacturer weighs a good one kilo. It also seems clear that sacrifices have to be made in the form of range. With 250 watt hours, the capacity of the batteries is comparatively low - a statement that will be returned to later.
What makes the Fazua system unique, apart from its design, is the planetary gear in the drive unit, which imperceptibly and completely decouples the motor from the bottom bracket above 25 km/h. When the driver then pedals, he still moves the bevel gear and the star wheel that connects to the motor, but nothing else. This means that the Fazua drive is practically resistance-free above the control range - and this is what makes electrically assisted road cycling, which usually takes place above 25 km/h on level terrain, possible in the first place.
The new Storck E:nario – racing bike? E bike? Both?!
As far as the theory goes - Velomotion was able to determine how the Fazua drive works on the road with the brand new Storck E:nario. The carbon racer, equipped with high-quality P1800 wheels from DT Swiss and Shimano Ultegra components, is one of the more inexpensive Fazua bikes at 4.800 euros. The large tire passage at the front and rear allows the bike to be equipped with tires that are almost two inches wide, which mutates it into a full-fledged gravel racer - Markus Storck rides this bike himself, and co-tester and professional cyclist Florian Nowak also found a lot of riding fun from this combination. I, on the other hand, am particularly interested in how the drivetrain performs on asphalt and mounted 30 Schwalbe G-One Speed on the tubeless rims.
First of all, stepping onto the scales: the electric racer weighs 13,17 kilos, plus around 300 grams for the pedals and bottle holder. This is ample for a racing bike, but record-breakingly little for an e-bike. If you remove the drive unit, the weight is reduced to almost ten kilos without pedals, whereby you have to open a cover flap for the shaft in the down tube. And with that, the non-motorized bike would be acceptably light.
Apart from the thick down tube, the additional drive is only noticeable through a somewhat bulky button block on the handlebars, which has eleven illuminated dots. These show the battery status and change color depending on the support mode. There is no on/off button - to activate the drive, you have to press the somewhat stiff release button on the down tube and let the drive unit fall out a bit. The background is that the drive goes into sleep mode after a few hours; if you could wake him up with the keypad, electricity would flow constantly and drain the battery.
A typical feature of bottom bracket motors can also be found on the Fazua bike: it has a front freewheel; if I spin the cranks backwards, the chainrings stand still. Of course, this is not noticeable when driving.
The sporty seat geometry with a 160 mm head tube and 582 mm long top tube with a frame size L is typical of Storck. Three spacers under the stem relax the sitting position somewhat, so I had to pull out the heavily flexing seat post a good 2 cm during the test ride to compensate for its "negative spring travel". . Support and 30 mm tires ensure a lot of comfort on the electric racer right away.
Storck E:nario: Moderate motor support - great effect
First of all, of course, it's all about the drive, and you can feel it from the first pedal strokes. In the strongest mode, he pushes hard and then takes it out imperceptibly - no jerks indicate that the support is fading; as promised, I roll along lightly under my own power. However, this already starts at 24,3 km/h, as the GPS speedometer shows - at this speed, no support is felt anymore.
At around 27 km/h I drive flat along the railway line; the decoupled drive cannot be felt. I have to brake at an intersection, which is easy with the strong Shimano discs; to accelerate I just stay seated and enjoy the thrust of the Fazua unit. This is how it goes up to the first climb – a good 1,5 kilometers with a difference in altitude of 105 meters and partly double-digit gradient percentages. With a medium load, I need about six minutes for the climbing section; my personal record is 4:49 minutes according to Strava. However, the motorized Storck made short work of this best time: it took me little more than four and a half minutes to reach the plateau with moderate effort. No wonder with a maximum of 400 watts of additional power, of which I only have to call up a small part - around 150 extra watts are enough to gain a minute on the short, steep climb. This already allows conclusions to be drawn about the possible range of the 250 Wh battery, because the drive does not even have to be pushed hard to enable a significant increase in speed.
It goes from flat to wavy, and my first impression is confirmed: As long as I stay in the saddle and roll, the E:nario feels like a normal racing machine; uphill, with the usual load, a significantly higher speed is possible. The fast descent down into the Ahr valley to Dernau brings another feature of the e-racer to light: on the wide, secure grip Schwalbe tires, the Storck runs downhill as if on rails; my impression is that the low-lying drive unit improves road holding - something that is always emphasized with e-MTBs.
Now there is another climb: almost 2,6 kilometers with 137 meters of climbing, again with double-digit gradient percentages. I don't aim for it, but ride the incline at the usual rhythm, so that I make a lot of effort, but I don't exhaust myself. Later on on the computer, I realize that I've taken almost two minutes off myself - as "the one with the electric bike" I'm ninth in the Strava classification with 7:15, without a motor I'm 122nd...
Storck E:nario: Not a scooter specialist
So far there has only been praise for the Munich drive and its Storck “host”, but a motorized racing bike cannot be had without its disadvantages. This can be seen on a briskly ridden flat section with slight waves, on which I want to switch to the out-of-the-saddle pedal – and the E:nario doesn’t like that at all. Where a light racing machine can be playfully moved back and forth, the Fazua bike is sluggish and stubborn - no wonder with four kilos more weight on the down tube and bottom bracket.
Another 35 meters in altitude follow, which I complete at just under 24 km/h in the normal range (instead of the usual 19 to 20). If an attack came now, I would have a hard time following it - the E:nario definitely lacks the liveliness of a seven-kilo racer. At this point, the possible area of application of the electric racer also clearly emerges: It is in its element when steep climbs – at least those that you don’t drive at more than 20 km/h – alternate with fast descents. The bike doesn't tolerate "roller mountains" that are completed on the big blade - under intensive load you don't want to go beyond the motor support, because then the additional weight quickly becomes noticeable. However, all of this only applies if you want to compete with non-motorized racing cyclists – if you ride solo, you adapt your speed to the circumstances.
The fact that the Fazua racing bike draws on the power of the additional drive almost exclusively uphill naturally also has an effect on the range that it achieves from the 250 Wh battery. Conventional e-bikes can hardly be ridden without a motor, so they constantly consume electricity - so it doesn't work without a large battery with 500 watt hours and more. Conversely, this means that the limited memory of the e-racer could be good for 50 to 100 kilometers, depending on the route profile. In purely arithmetical terms, 100 watts can be called up constantly for two and a half hours, and that's quite a lot - it turns you from a hobby cyclist into a well-trained amateur cyclist. After my 57 km test lap, not particularly demanding with a good 530 meters in altitude, the battery is still almost half full.
Fazua only for racing bikes? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that!
High intensities uphill, moderate speed on the flat and rolling downhill - cyclists naturally also experience this triad on the cross-country bike or gravel bike. The fact that my test E:nario was delivered with wide off-road tires was by no means an accident. This leads to another purpose, which the bike manufacturer Focus indicated with its first Fazua study: If you are a bikepacker with luggage, you can of course also benefit from the drive. This is where another advantage of the drive comes into play: the 1,3-kilo battery can be removed from the drive unit with a flick of the wrist, and a replacement battery costs little more than 400 euros. Cyclists can therefore double their range relatively easily.
Apart from sports and leisure, the Munich drive is also interesting. The Fazua motor is perfect for brisk commuters who previously only had the choice between a maximum 25 km/h "fast" e-bike and an impractical S-Pedelec - on the flat they roll along quickly under their own power, and on the mountain or when there is a strong headwind, they use the support. This clientele could also be interested in the option of using the bike with the drive unit removed - for example, if you go on sporty tours at the weekend. Rain jacket and mini pump then fit into the practical luggage compartment, which is created by omitting the drive. Corresponding models from various international manufacturers can be admired on the Fazua homepage; Unfortunately, the German providers currently only have sporting use in mind.
Unfortunately, because a moderately fit cyclist like myself hardly benefits from the e-racer, which is already shown by the data from my test ride: Without a motor, I cover the same distance at exactly the same speed. With subjectively the same feeling of exertion, I am of course much slower uphill on my standard racing bike, but in many situations faster. It might be different on really mountainous routes, but that's where the sporty self-image comes into play. Why ride climbs that I would not be able to complete on my own or only much more slowly? But I'm staying out of this discussion - everyone can decide for themselves whether for him (or her) the motor on the racing bike is the next big innovation after clipless pedals and brake shifters. The Fazua system is definitely a major innovation on the e-bike market.
