CBT Italia is a boutique bike brand headquartered in Cuneo, Italy, which specializes in the production of racing bikes and carbon fibre frames.
It is currently launching an e-bike on the European market. Going by the name of ARTIK-09, it features: a (patented) high-tech rechargeable battery, an efficient motor positioned on the wheel hub and an app that is able to control power output based on the rider’s heart rate and the gradients being tackled.
ARTIK-09 has a carbon fibre frame with the standard geometric shapes of traditional CBT Italia models. The battery of the new e-road bike has been entirely designed and produced in Italy. Incorporated in the sloping tube of the frame, it is easy to remove and may therefore be recharged without having to carry the bike around.
It weighs 2,300 grams, thanks to an aluminium case of just one and a half millimetres in thickness, and its powerful energy charge places it at the top end of the market: in fact, it guarantees a nominal 378 Wh and an amazingly effective performance of 430 Wh. This means 52% extra charge compared to the traditional models.
CBT Italia notes that the customization of the motor on the ARTIK-09 sets out to satisfy three requirements:
- The aesthetic requirement (an e-road bike with pared down lines to recall a traditional racing bike);
- A functional requisite (high power output); and
- An improved distribution of weight, in order to offer a product which, if used without the battery charger, is not inferior to the non-electric road bikes sold by the brand.
With the drive on the hub, there is no dispersion of power deriving from chain transmission and all 250 added watts are discharged onto the wheel: in this way, the company claims that motor efficiency reaches 91%. Furthermore, the rear power drive positioning provides a balancing of weights, as well as allowing the frame to flaunt a streamlined design.
With its removable battery and rolling resistance equivalent to that of a bike with a normal hub, ARTIK-09 can also be ridden with no assistance; and by replacing the dropouts, it is possible to mount a traditional racing wheel.
The dedicated app (‘CBT E-bike’) enables the required output to be personalized by associating it with the rider’s heart rate or, by means of a gyroscope, with the road gradient. Traditional assistance levels may be set to three or five different outputs.
The ARTIK-09 weighs 12.6 kg in size 54. Produced in five sizes, from 49 to 58, the ARTIK-09 e-road bike has a retail price of €5,100.
