About the Project
We were approached by CrownCruiser who had the idea to produce a new style of carbon fibre e-bike; a fusion of classic cruiser looks with modern composite materials. He’d had some initial designs produced but they lacked the aesthetic and technical quality to take the project forward effectively.
The Challenge
The challenge for this project was two-fold; firstly to develop a design which effectively brought together the classic and modern elements of the bike, whilst ensuring that it was both practical and a dynamic experience for the rider. Secondly to help source the components and production partners to enable the bikes to be produced to a budget.
The first stage was to research the looks of classic cruiser motorbikes and bicycles in order to establish the overall design style and elements to bring together for the CrownCruiser. From there 3D scanning was used to digitise some existing components so they could be incorporated into the design.
The next stages were to develop the design within a Computer Aided Design (CAD) package, evolving both the look of the bike but also effectively packaging key elements of the e-bike including the electric motor, the battery and the powertrain.
At the same time work took place to source off-the-shelf components such as wheels, tyres, brakes etc, and identify production partners for the custom elements, such as the carbon-fibre composite components.
The Crowncruiser carbon fibre e-bike features high performance specs, including the long-range battery which lets riders cruise for up to 100 miles and get up to high speeds of 31mph*. Combined throttle* and power assist pedals gives you a choice of 2 cruise options. This is teamed with a powerful 750w rear hub motor which has a peak output of 1000w.
An initial prototype was then constructed and tested, with refinements made for subsequent prototypes. CrownCruiser was launched on the Indiegogo website in summer 2021 and raised over £200k from initial interested customers. A review in The New York Times at launch said the Crowncruiser “looks as if it rode off the set of ‘Bladerunner’…”
The first production bikes are due for delivery to customers in early 2024.
(* Power output and features vary in different countries due to e-bike legislation)