SEV eTRICKS Crosses The Alps – Almost

Brammo is not the only motorcycle making an impressive journey this month. The French electric vehicle company SEV recently completed the Traversée des Alpes on their eTRICKS electric moped. The Traversée des Alpes is a three day trip through the mountains and the highest road in France. Each leg of the trip must be completed without recharging. 40 electric vehicles participated in all. Snow prevented the teams from reaching the highest point of 2802 meters but Guillaume Amory and the eTRICKS took bronze. [See more pics and videos after the break.]

The eTRICKS is classified as a moped by SEV. Most of the components are bicycle based including the 20” wheels and 130mm front and 100mm rear suspension and pedals. The pedals sit where traditional motorcycle foot pegs would go, there are no bicycle crank arms.

The eTRICKS utilizes a 16 Ah, 48 Volt Lithium Polymer battery pack and the whole bike weights in at 79 lbs. Maximum range is 32 miles or about 2 hours of riding time for a top speed of around 16 mph. Recharge time is 3 hours. It appears the 32 mile range is achieved with a two battery pack system. The DC brushless motor is rated for 1000 W and delivers 48 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheel. One battery pack is in the frame and an auxiliary battery pack attaches under the frame for a clean, integrated look.

Compared to the eTRICKS closest competitor, the Ultra Motor A2B Excel the price is $1320 less at $3,980 USD (2690 €). However, I am not totally sure that price includes the auxiliary battery pack.

With the lower price of the eTRICKS you sacrifice range and have a considerably lower top speed than the 28 mph Excel. The eTRICKS has a 1000 W motor vs. the Excel’s 500 W but it is hard to say how that translates to power without riding the bikes or knowing how the motors are controlled electronically. The motor is located in the bottom of the frame between the pedals and has a chain final drive. This should lead to a better center of gravity and less unsprung weight than the rear hub motor A2B Excel.

At this point it does not appear the eTRICKS is available in the USA but it looks to be a good option for electric riders in France. Check the second video below, it looks like it does pretty well off road.