High-end Italian eMTB maker Thok is currently working on a new carbon-framed model, and has tapped the additive-manufacturing expertise of Belgian industry veteran Materialise to prototype the frame design.
The Project 4 – or P4 – prototype will eventually be realized as Thok's first "light eMTB" in carbon fiber when it launches next year, but is already being put through its paces on technical trails in Finale Ligure on the Italian Riviera as well as further north at the company's home in Alba.
The frame is 3D printed in an aluminum and silicon alloy using Selective Laser Melting, where a high-powered laser melts metal powder layer by layer following a sliced computer model. The process makes for rapid prototyping of components and is relatively low on waste.
Thok's development team is still working on the final design of the upcoming eMTB, which is expected to feature a lightweight Bosch Performance Line SX mid-drive motor that produces 55 Nm (40.5 lb.ft) of torque and peaks at 600 watts. The setup can also be optioned with 400-Wh, 545-Wh or 725-Wh batteries plus a range extender.
Previously, the company would have had to produce a number of prototype frames before the first version was tested on trails. But the 3D-printing process allows the team to assess different component configurations or try out various geometries, and even decide whether to fully integrate or partly integrate the battery pack. All while making parts that are of a similar weight to the final product.
"It is impossible to obtain a running prototype and reproduce the necessary battery and motor integration with a traditional method," said Thok's industrial designer, Luca Burzio. "There are components that are made by hydroforming, which require molds, and which would not otherwise be prototype-able. Even carbon prototypes are not functional, they do not hold up on long field testing sessions. In this sense, the first fully molded full-suspended e-bike we made solves a big problem."
Elsewhere, the current prototype rolls on 29-inch carbon rims wearing Schwalbe Magic Mary (front) and Nobby Nic (back) tires, there's a Fox suspension fork and mid-section squish, a battery level indicator is mounted in the top tube and a Bosch display mid-handlebar, and disc braking also features, along with a mechanical gearset.
It's still early days for the project, so there's no talk of pricing or a release window as yet – but whenever the P4 is renamed and launched with its carbon frame, it's unlikely to be pitched at the low-to-middle end of the market if the recent Gram RC model is anything to go by. You can see a rider's POI clip of prototype testing in a Shorts video here.
Source: Thok
