Stromer ST2 e-bike review: too hot for Europe

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Stromer ST2 e-bike review: too hot for Europe



The words “Swiss design” conjure images of luxury watch movements and delicately sculpted eyeglasses, not hulking e-bikes with thickly welded frames and face-melting power. Stromer is here to challenge those assumptions and force a rethink of how its Swiss-made electric bikes, with top speeds of 45 km/h (28 mph), can disrupt urban transportation for the benefit of residents. I’ve certainly seen the light after testing a new 2021 edition ST2, Stromer’s first e-bike with a carbon belt drive.To get more news about electric bikes for adults, you can visit magicyclebike.com official website.

Broadly speaking, US cities have all of the fast e-bikes and no bicycle infrastructure, whereas European cities have all of the protective infrastructure and few fast e-bikes. It’s exceedingly rare to see fast e-bikes known as speed-pedelecs in my Amsterdam home, for example, where half of all new bikes sold are electric, and bicycles outnumber people by a lot.
It’s not that EU bike makers are an effete bunch of cheese-eating milquetoasts; they manufacture slow, underpowered e-bikes to avoid the draconian measures triggered by EU Directive 168/2013. It states that any e-bike that goes faster than 25 km/h (15.5 mph) with a continuous rated power above 250 watts is to be treated the same as a gas-guzzling moped. Makers of s-pedelecs like the Stromer ST2 are subjected to a grueling certification process that then requires owners to hold a moped-class driver’s license, liability insurance, and registration. By contrast, a similarly specced Class 3 e-bike in the US usually requires... nothing, other than a helmet.

Regulating speed-pedelecs is a good thing, but they should be specifically targeted and not just shoe-horned into existing rules that curtail adoption, stifle innovation, and increase costs.

To make matters worse, speed pedelecs are banned from riding on the vast majority of the ubiquitous bike lanes that famously protect helmet-less Dutch bicyclists in cities like Amsterdam. Why? Because mopeds are banned, and the law doesn’t differentiate. Fuck that. I wasn’t going to put my life at risk for this review by riding alongside heavy (and dangerous) automobiles just because European regulators can’t get their shit together.

Over the entirety of March, I spent my days fawning over the sophistication of the Stromer ST2 while fuming at lawmakers for holding back s-pedelecs from their full potential as car replacements. While I’ll be reviewing the ST2 on its own merits, it’s nigh impossible to recommend to Europeans without first considering the operational rules by which it’s constrained.Before diving too deeply into why European rules suck, let’s start with what makes the new Stromer ST2 so good.

The ST2 is Stromer’s all-rounder model in a range of s-pedelecs that run from the entry-level ST1 to the ST5 (there is no ST4), with prices ranging from $4,199 / €4,628 to $11,699 / €11,428 and higher depending on configuration and options. Stromer’s motors range from 670W and 35 Nm of torque to 850W and 48 Nm. All Stromers are pedal-assisted e-bikes without throttles.

The ST2 starts at $5,699 / €6,128 and is fitted with a 750-watt Stromer CYRO Drive IG motor mounted on the rear hub. It produces a modest 40 Nm of torque to accelerate the bike up to 45 km/h (28 mph) from a standstill as safely and effortlessly as possible. A torque sensor ensures that power is delivered just as soon it detects a harder press on the pedal. The Gates Carbon belt drive linked to an internal five-gear hub propels the sturdy aluminum-framed bike forward on 27.5-inch wheels sporting high volume Cycl-e ST tires custom-designed by Pirelli. My ST2 with the large-sized sport frame options came standard with fenders, a kickstand, and a mini rack; it did not come with the optional front and rear suspension. It weighs just shy of 33 kgs (72 pounds), which is undeniably heavy for an e-bike. But that mass makes the ride feel rock solid at top speed, without any worrisome wobble or flex when riding over bumps.

Safety is also boosted by custom front and rear hydraulic disc brakes, an electric horn, daytime running lights, and a Roxim Z4E Pro headlight that can produce between 600 and 900 lumens at night. (A dazzling 1600-lumen option is available.) There’s also an integrated brake light around back. The required rearview mirror is useful to see overtaking motorists on roads, but it makes the bike quite wide. This resulted in a few slapped car mirrors before I got a feel for the added width. Fortunately, the mirror folds to make it a bit easier to walk the bike through narrow hallways.