May 13, 2009 Military-funded projects often pave the way for a much better consumer product, and although the original DARPA funding of the development of the Tactical Electric No Signature (TENS) Mountain bike for Marines and paratroopers is now over a decade old, hold onto your hats folks, because the design has been upgraded and will be sold in limited quantities with a 1000 watt propulsion system. The TidalForce M-750 x2.0 is based around the commercially available (and ingenious) Montague Paratrooper folding bike but has a top speed of over 30 mph and range on a single charge is 25 - 28 miles, using the electric power only. The E+ advanced propulsion system features nine forward power modes, nine resistance (exercise) modes, cruise control and anti-theft. It folds to 3 x 3 ft, so it fits in the boot, and the componentry is first class with RockShox Tora 302 Forks, Shimano XTR brakes, FSA Gossamer 30/38/52 tooth crank set, Crane Creek Thudbuster ST seat suspension and a WTB Speed-V Seat. Like we said - highly-desirable.
More than a decade ago, DARPA funded a Montague bike project to create a Tactical Electric No Signature (TENS) Mountain bike for Marines and paratroopers. The idea was that the bike could be parachuted with a paratrooper, offering him mobility on the ground, or used as secondary transport for other military vehicles. The resultant bike, sans electric drive, is available today as the USD$700 Montague Paratrooper fold-up mountain bike. It folds ingeniously (see video) and is one of the more desirable fold-up offerings in the marketplace.
Now comes the second generation of that legend- the TidalForce M‐750 x2.0. Electric Motion Systems (EMS), designer of the E+ Electric Bike, has teamed with French Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) company MATRA, to create a Limited Edition of just 240 units, each with the E+ 1000 watt advanced electric propulsion system and upgraded components throughout.
The TidalForce M-750 electric bike was originally developed for military and law enforcement applications and used the DARPA approved Montague ParatroopeR folding frame. The Limited Edition x2.0 is built on the last batch of 240 of these original, new M-750 frames. These are being made available to US customers by MATRA in collaboration with EMS. Each has been upgraded with Electric Motion Systems’ E+ 1000 watt propulsion system. Off road top speed reaches 30+ mph and range on a single charge is 25 - 28 miles, using the electric power only.
All E+ advanced propulsion system features are available on the x2.0 – nine forward power modes, nine resistance (exercise) modes, cruise control, anti-theft, etc. Each of these features along with a speedometer, odometer, and battery state of charge are easily accessible through the EMS advanced LCD display mounted on the bike’s handlebar.
Front hub mounting of the battery and rear hub mounting of the motor maintain the look and feel of a bicycle, and provide a very low center of gravity for high stability. Every bicycle component of the original M-750 has been examined. Improvements include RockShox Tora 302 Forks, Shimano XTR brakes, FSA Gossamer 30/38/52 tooth crank set, Crane Creek Thudbuster ST seat suspension, WTB Speed-V Seat, in addition to many other component upgrades and components.
“Since the founding of EMS in 2005, EMS and MATRA have collaborated on numerous projects,” said Sunil Gupta, EMS Product Development Manager. “The most recent was to develop this Limited Edition of the legendary TidalForce M-750, based on 240 of the original M-750 frames. It was wonderful working with our friends from MATRA on this project – the second generation of a legend. We are very proud of the result and honored to offer this Limited Edition in the US under the TidalForce brand.” “MATRA is very proud of the TidalForce brand,” said Jacques Bonneville, MATRA Executive Vice President, Worldwide Marketing. “The M-750 is a central part of that heritage. We believe it is fitting that these 240 original units find their home in the USA. Our friends at EMS have done a wonderful job in bringing them to life. We are very happy to see TidalForce back in the US with such a fine product offering. We look forward to further new and exciting TidalForce offerings in the US with our friends at EMS.”
The new TidalForce M-750 x2.0 is limited to 240 units. Each unit is numbered and will include the owner’s name engraved for a truly one-of-a-kind personalized x2.0.
The BionX PL500 does 30 miles per hour, already way to fast on a bicycle for my taste (and I do ride motorcycles at 140mph) Bicycles are just not made to go that fast (safely).
Bert, www.NYCeWheels.com
Frankly, it is awesome.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2128512&l=30a4219289&id=743425389
I just replaced front and back wheels with big fat downhill tires with self sealing inners though as I kept exploding them doing jumps and also added bigger handle bars and a claxon horn to get the couriers and team racers out the way haha... I would wager this TF would be a little more inconvenient to recharge as you would have to take the whole wheel with you. I just unclip my bionx battery from where it is held (on the 2 nuts of the water bottle holder) and carry it with me.
Best thing I ever bought :)