eVTOL's and Safety When In The Sky
Green Transport
Stark Drive is committed to advancing green fossil fuel free transportation technologies and when we launched we wanted to provide our customers with the most affordable electric bike solutions in the eBike marketplace.
When we first launched our $399 US electric bike people were sceptical that such a price-point was even possible. Our ambitious goal of lowering the barrier to being able to own a means of transportation that helped primarily people living in cities use it as their primary means of transportation or in conjunction with public transport was thought to be impossible however we defied the skeptics and not only launched Stark Drive's 'City' Range of bikes but also delivered on our promise.
Since then we have been working towards achieving our master plan which included launching Stark Drive Mini which was even more affordably priced at $299 which we thought to be the perfect companion to those that wanted to eschew the rental scooter revolution which has spread worldwide to many cities often treated poorly by the users, improperly parked on sidewalks with there even being questions about the maintenance of the scooters which could result in safety concerns for riders that rent this form of transportation. In conjunction with this, scooters are by design prone to launching the rider forward in the event they hit an obstacle that is larger than the wheel diameter which can often result in serious injury as it is common to see riders of these public scooters forgoing safety gear such as helmets. We at Stark Drive believe that the bicycle has a much better weight distribution for the rider to ensure balance when riding even when obstacle's such as potholes or the like are encountered ensuring rider safety.
After the launch of Stark Drive Mini we then went on to design our first registered custom frame design that incorporated high quality and powerful Bafang mid motors to drive the bike further centering the balance of our bikes by eliminating the heavy rear wheel hub based motor and of course taking into account that our entire range of bikes have the battery pack hidden in the frame of the bike centered on the bike.
Furthermore we have produced the first prototypes of Stark Drive Carbon which is going to be the first 20'' Tire based folding Mid-motor eBike that achieves significant weight reduction by using carbon fibre as the frame material instead of the traditional aluminum that is commonly used in the marketplace. We will in short order be releasing videos of both Stark Drive Torque as well as Carbon demonstrating their raw performance as well as describing the features that we have incorporated into these new models which are typically only found on eBikes at a significantly higher pricepoint.
Shanghai Bike Expo 2023
Our CEO was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Shanghai Bike Expo this year and with that we have been impressed with the amount of integration that is occurring within the eBike industry. Instead of separate components being frankensteined together to build an electric bikes, more and more our suppliers are working to integrate components in more seamless ways so that they not only look better but also improve performance. Some examples of this are turn signals incorporated right on the frame of the bike, rear lights being built into the rear rack. The amount of innovation within the industry is mindblowing and the expo was a good demonstration of this with hundreds of companies showing their wares and their ideas of how to build a better eBike. We have spoken with dozens of companies and will be designing our future products with these innovations in mind.
Our Future In The Skies
There is an burgeoning eVTOL sector that has been gaining momentum in the last several years which we consider to be very interesting when talking about transport for our customers. More and more companies are developing their concepts of battery based aircraft and we would compare this to be a bit of a wild west with many different concepts being designed and tested. The main benefits of the majority of these new styles of aircraft is redundancy in the form of multiple rotors with an inherent improvement in the level of safety when compared with more traditional rotor based craft like the helicopter.
Its more important now than ever to have safety and redundancy as the primary focus for the development of any aircraft design considering the fact that if some component were to function improperly, you not only have to worry about just stopping as you would with an electric bike but also the inevitable descent down to ground. Stark Drive takes these safety concerns very seriously which is why, for the last 3 years, have been working to perfect our design for an eVTOL and having it customisable based on the customers intended usage be it commuting or simply enjoying the feeling of flight.
The current generation of electrolyte based Lithium batters are entirely unsuitable for travel in the skies and we believe that the risks associated with using this technology is doomed to failure. Standard lithium cells are exceptionally sensitive to damage and when lithium is exposed to air leads to an unstoppable combustion process at extreme heat levels. Lithium cells are also exceptionally sensitive to temperature and must operate within a defined temperature range to function optimally. Any eVTOL that is using this technology is inherently unsafe and we believe that this style of cell will be regulated out of the marketplace for this application either through regulation or darwinism.
We look forward to providing you more details on our eVTOL design as well as test flights demonstrating Stark Drives concept of how we think we can democratize the skies. As always, Stark Drives eVTOL will be the most affordable in the market and have the added advantage of being customisable both during the order process or even once you receive your craft and want to upgrade it in the future.
Stark Drive Mini Launching on Indiegogo (Yes its true!) and Imitation is the Sincerest form of Flattery...
Welcome to the rebirth of Stark Drive. We have been working hard to get Stark Drive Mini into the hands of those who need it no matter where they may live. We had thought that Kickstarter was the way to go and launched on there a couple months ago but quickly discovered that malevolence is the name of the game there with people that 'donate' $1 in order to leave disparaging comments and unfounded accusations which as a campaign owner your not able to address and Kickstarter 'Trust and Safety' could care less. Reporting a comment is akin to blowing against the wind with the same effect.
We are pleased to announce however that we are going to be relaunching on Indiegogo
December 15th 2018 at Noon Stockholm Time
With round two of Stark Drive Mini. We have always found the IGG platform more well suited to running a campaign with upgrades, options and this is especially helpful with an electric bike like Stark Drive Mini being so configurable.
Imitation is the Sincerest form of Flattery.
Namely Carbo who has the worlds lightest electric bike at 12.9 pounds (0.1 pounds lighter then the base Stark Drive Mini) has come up with the idea to offer their bike with an airline compliant battery and we were sent a video chat from a fan of Stark Drive asking about the run down and questions about their 'guaranteed refund policy' video taped below.
Mid Motor Stark Drive Torque?
Those of you whom have been following us on instagram, twitter or facebook have seen photos of our prototype Stark Drive Torque units (fat tire and regular tire variants) which we have been testing. We will be going in depth about the amazing riding experience, range and sheer feeling of power in an upcoming blog posting soon.
Sincerely
Stark Drive Team
Stark Drive LLC
Proven: The Fastest Way To Get Around In A City is A Bicycle
If you build it they will come....
Ive long been a fan of public transportation but with the advent of electric bikes the range of travel has increased dramatically considering that most people use the bike as tool for commuting to another destination and not wanting to arrive tired and sweaty. There is of course public transport but you are frequently left with a lot of idle time while you wait for the bus or subway. One of primary reasons people choose to take a vehicle is that they dont have the luxury of time when they need to get something done.
Cycling has been an excellent alternative however until recently you were still left with several hinderances to using a bike such as weather conditions, and the simple distance that needs to be covered in a specific amount of time not to mention if you wanted to be carrying a load with you say if you were to go to the supermarket or out shopping. Then there was of course the problem of securing your bike once you get to your destination to ensure that your chosen environmentally friendly mode of transportation will still be there when you return.
From the start of Stark Drive i have tried to find the best compromise with affordability and ease of use while focusing on the bike as the sole means of transportation. From my perspective it was clear that biking somewhere is the best way to travel and that a folding bike was your best option once you got there as you could either take it with you up to the office or secure the entire bike (not just a single wheel or the frame) to a piece of street furniture with a heavy duty lock to ensure that nothing happened to it while you were out doing your business.
Although for me Stark Drive was the perfect bike enabling me to take it with me wherever i go and ultimately to even bring it up with me to my apartment or up to the office I felt it could still be improved. Not only from from a cost perspective but also to make it even more portable as improvements in both battery technology and motor technology over the last few years has helped to shrink components while maintaining the same or better power levels and energy density.
Stark Drive Mini
Thus came our next iteration of Stark Drive: Stark Drive Mini which for now is my primary daily driver. It is exceptionally light coming in at about 13kg and also packs a lot of power with a motor of up to 350w which combined with a high capacity battery can get you where you need to go without even needing to pedal.
This was further discussed in a recent Forbes article linked to below:
With Stark Drive Mini you dont even need to worry about locking your bike, combine mini with one of our carrying pouches and you can bring it right in with you after you are finished your journey and the bag even doubles for carrying your shopping once you are ready to ride home. The Bag we have designed includes wheels so that if you do not feel like carrying Mini on your back you can roll it along with you not needing to break a sweat and feeling confident that your mate is safely with you at all times.
Stark Drive Torque
While we feel that both Stark Drive and Stark Drive Mini address a wide gambit of usage case scenarios, there is still one aspect that we feel was lacking and that was of the performance all terrain bike that will help you up those steepest hills and roughest terrain and we have been working hard to keep our schedule for releasing the next iteration of Stark Drive in both Regular and Fat tire called Stark Drive Torque.
Recently after receiving our prototype Stark Drive Torque models we have been testing them extensively. It's no suprrise when talking about a torque based electric bike that the torque system itself comprises a huge percentage of the total cost of the bike itself, much more so then a hub motor based electric bike. We have been working with our manufacturing partners and in tern with suppliers to our partners to bring the price down so that in short course we will be launching a torque based electric bike. The cost of this bike for comparison purposes if we take into account the historcal cost of electric bikes will be on par with what a hub motor based electric bike cost just a few years ago. And herein lies our companies mission: to lower the barrier of entry to electric based transportation.
In order for any technology to become mass market and affordable you have to have a critical mass of people that are buying the product to help to reduce the cost along the entire product development chain. This is similar to what crowdfunding websites are doing when someone with a campaign has created a new gadget or gizmo that previously cost a lot more but they have developed a way to manufacture it in a better and faster way helping to pass those savings onto you: consumer.
Of course, when speaking of crowdfunding not all campaigns are successful and some ideas or products are before their time. Such may have been the through process when just a year ago we launched Stark Drive for an entry price of $399 USD. Many people doubted that we could create an electric bike for such a low cost but we proved them wrong.
Kickstarter Stark Drive Mini
About 2 months ago we launched Stark Drive Mini on Kickstarter. Stark Drive Mini Started at an unbelievable $299 US. This for some people was once again something they considered impossible espeically when similar products were selling on ebay, alibaba, or amazon for 4x the price. We were once again criticized for having unrealistic expectation and that we could never deliver a high quality product at such a rock bottom price.
Let me be the first to say that Stark Drive will once again prove them wrong.
All of us that work with Stark Drive do so not for fame or wealth, as we do not have any salaried employees but rather we work for the betterment of environmentally friendly transport and to make the benefits of switching to electric transportation so desirable that many will feel there is no choice but to do so as financially it no longer makes sense to choose anything else.
For example the cost of a monthly pass for public transit is approximately $100 US. Now you could continue to use public transit but as the prices for this keep going up and our electric bikes keep getting more and more affordable, there will come a point when for the cost of a monthly pass you can just buy an electric bike that works all the time, without needing to buy a subscription to use it.
The same is true with the mass distribution of scooters which have become all the rage lately in the USA and even in the EU. People are able to pick up a scooter with the help of an app and pay based on the total time they use the scooter. I think the scooter market is an excellent one that is yet to be tapped and given the Stark Drive Treatment. Arguably its even more portable than Stark Drive Mini and still gives you the range you need to get you from point a to b and is easy to fold and carry with you.
Thanks for reading. If you have any comments or questions, we would love to hear from you: hello@starkdrive.com
Sincerely
Stark Drive Team
Stark Drive LLC
Stark Drive Battery Manufacturing
Hello Everyone,
After a recent visit to our contracted battery manufacturer i wanted to share with you some photos and videos of the process.
note: photos taken are not photos of our batteries being made, but merely their general operations, as you can see the shape of the batteries they are making in the photos is contrary to our own powerpacks.
Its worth noting that the Lithium cells that we use in Stark Drive are not actually made in China, they are made in Japan (which is what our manufacturer has guaranteed us) but the pack itself is assembled in China. The main benefits of a Chinese assembly are the labor costs which are significantly lower then in Japan, however even these are rising making way for some Chinese manufacturers (not necessarily in the battery industry) to sub contact out manufacturing to other neighboring countries such as Thailand, Vietnam etc. This is a good thing as it help to raise the standard of living in these countries as well by bringing investment capital. Further as the final assembly is done in these countries, there may not be the same import duties involved when one then ships the product with the all important *MADE IN ______ * label.
For example recently there has been a significant anti dumping duty imposed in the EU member states (~84%) as well as in the USA (25%) - a country that until recently had no import duties at all on electric bikes.
The batteries arrive to the assembly factory already assembled and labeled and the factories job is to combine them in the right parallel and serial connections in order to achieve the required Voltage and Current required. Stark Drive uses a 36V system on our bikes currently with an upgrade planned to 48V in the near future for all our bikes.
Think of a Volt as the “force” pushing Amps through the system. The higher the voltage, the more energy can be moved, or the faster it can be moved. So, a higher voltage system can send more energy through the circuits to the motor. 36V batteries are common, but some high performance bikes get 48V batteries. All else being equal, a higher Voltage system will deliver more torque for quicker starts, but it will drain your battery faster.Think of Volts as the.
Watts = Volts x Amps. Or, think of it as Force x Volume. Lets say you have a 10A 36V battery, then it’s able to produce 360 watts. This is the real measure of power that a system has. The higher the Volts, the more Watts you will get out of the system so upgrading the system voltage will have a big impact on the total amount of power that can be delivered to the controller and consequently to the motor giving you more acceleration or umph (to put it scientifically) when starting out on your Stark Drive. Further with a higher amount of available power you end up being able to achieve higher speeds with all things such as rider weight, terrane, wind conditions, temperature being equal.
Above you see cells that have already been welded together in the proper configuration in order to be sealed and then connected to a battery housing for eventual use in Stark Drive. There is a lot of electronics that get added to this system to ensure balanced charging to measure system voltage and temperature and other functions to ensure the health and longevity of your battery pack.
Here you see workers combining the cells in guides and adding some all important electronics and protection circuitry.
This is battery testing equipment that measures all the important aspects of the packs to ensure they are of the highest quality before they leave the factory.
Here finally we see some Stark Drive packs all finished and ready to go.
Here we see packs not meant for Stark Drive in a much higher power configuration.
QUIZ:
As we explained above, the Watt Hour rating is the final number that’ll tell you what your e-bike is really capable of. How the manufacturer arrives at that number is interesting in that it tells you a little about how the system is designed. To illustrate, let’s look at the math and compare two seemingly similar systems:
- BIKE A: 10Ah x 36v = 360Wh
- BIKE B: 5Ah x 72v = 360Wh
Which one would you want? Both have the same Watt Hour rating. But Bike A has more available energy stored in the battery. Bike B has half the capacity, but because its voltage is twice as high as Bike A, the Watt Hours rating the same. Technically, both could be designed to perform similarly, but higher voltage systems are usually used for faster power delivery for quicker acceleration rather than efficient cruising. Think of Bike A as a fuel efficient V6 in a minivan, and Bike B as a turbocharged, nitrous-equipped V6 fed by a high pressure fuel pump. You cooooould ride Bike B like a minivan, but you’d be wasting its potential. In reality, virtually every street legal e-bike’s power output is regulated by law, which is why most are 36V systems however as the laws are written so poorly in the EU for example, you could take a 250W motor, connect it to a 72V system with a 10ah battery and 20amp controller and although it would shorten the motor lifespan, it would definitely give you a thrill when riding down the street at 100kph.
Sincerely
Stark Drive Team
Stark Drive LLC
USA Batch 4 Bikes Cleared Customs and Most Will Arrive Soon
Hello
We are super pleased to announce that the Batch 4 USA bikes have arrived to the USA and cleared customs. Most are set to be delivered by the end of the week. If you dont have your tracking number you can get it by emailing us at hello@starkdrive.com or by sending us your order number through the chat function on our website.
Batch 4 Canada bikes will arrive to the Canadian port by the 4th and once they clear customs will be delivered. We also have tracking information for your bikes which you can get from us if you have not already received this information.
Thank you
Stark Drive Team
Stark Drive LLC
Don't Consider ONLY The Purchase Price, Think about Replacement Parts
Hello Everyone,
One thing that many first time electric bike buyers do not fully take into account is the extremely important question of:
'what will things cost to replace if i damage them or need a replacement due to ware'.
We at Stark Drive believe not only in offering the most affordable electric bikes in the world but also in offering the most affordable replacement components in the world. if you look at our competition the prices for replacement parts are several times the cost of what we charge to replace say a replacement or extra battery, controller, or motor. The most expensive components on an electric bike are anything to do with the electrical system with the most costly part on any electric bike being the battery pack. The battery pack is overwhelmingly the most costly part on any electric bike with it costing most time more then all the other components on the bike put together (including the motor etc).
Generally, the battery pack will need to be replaced after a few years whereas the motor will continue to work for many years as all the components for this part are sealed and generally quite durable so long as they are not mistreated. the next most common failure point on an electric bike is the controller which our competition sellers for several times the cost that we charge for the same component.
Other than these parts, the other components, in regards to the electrical system, are easily replaced at a reasonable cost. All non electric components on our electric bikes are not costly to replace and can be done at any bike shop.
We are trying to create an electric bike with a total ownership cost that is miles ahead of the rest of the pack in terms of affordability.
Don't believe me? Take a look at the competition yourself and then come back to our site and check out our accessories.
Sincerely
Stark Drive Team
Stark Drive LLC
Stark Drive 1000W & 4000W Models Being Prototyped, EU Legal
Hello Everyone.We have been closely following developments in the electric bike legislation that is ongoing in the EU and it seems that the forces that be are warming to the idea of electric bikes. Despite imposing a hefty duty charge on all electric bikes that are being imported from China, they are warming to the fact that higher power electric bikes, so long as they are speed limited, should be allowed. I spoke about this issue and the gross misunderstanding at the governmental value in a previous blog post here:
https://starkdrive.bike/blog/australian-new-zealan...
Just as i had written about previously, it seems that it will now be the maximum speed that is what the legislators will look to regulate instead of the maximum power of the motor. We had of course not been resting on our thumbs over here and did manage to get the L1e-A certification for Stark Drive up to 1000W here in europe and have been working on our 750W motor prototype which we can now comment goes crazy fast with an exceptionally powerful acceleration.
The regulators are even warming the idea of a 'throttle' meaning that you will not even have to peddle if you do not want to when using an electric bike so long as the speed does not exceed 25kph.
Furthermore, they are also thinking about cargo and helping to get electric bikes on the road to help replace transportation vehicles for the family or when you are carrying groceries or other goods from point a to b. Regulators are currently looking to also legalize up to 4000W motors on electric bikes so long as they have 3 or more wheels making them the perfect substitute for urban dwellers looking to run the odd errand or transport the family within town.
A perfectly environmentally friendly way to get around.
You can learn more about this at about the 10 minute mark in the video below discussing the issue.
Sincerely
Stark Drive Team
Stark Drive LLC
EU Batch 4 Bikes Loaded and Shipped (includes Stark Drive Torque prototypes)
Super excited to announce that the Batch 4 EU bikes have been loaded and shipped. We will have tracking numbers for all you buyers shortly. Normally it takes about a week to get the tracking numbers as it first must clear chinese customs agents on the way out of china and the carrier does not create a tracking number until they know they will actually be shipping it. This is common in any items manufactured for export in china and the reason that we dont have tracking numbers right now.
The USA/Canada bikes we should also receive the tracking numbers for this coming week and we will update the blog when we have these on your respective accounts.
We will also be receiving 2 prototype Stark Drive Torque units which we hope to launch in 2019. These will be tested enthusiastically by our staff here to ensure they are up to scratch before we go into full production. The design is incredibly clean and the frame is our own (no more open mould frame for this model). You can also see we went to a little extra effort to emboss the Stark Logo in the frame as well as adding some contact information on these prototype bikes. They will eventually be available in both standard and fat tire variants, both of which are different castings and require separate moulds.
Also included here are our STOCK bikes which means that there will no longer be any waiting time for delivery when you get a stock bike (http://www.starkdive.bike/stock). They are shipped in just a few days to anywhere in the EU.
Batch 4 USA and Canada Orders Leave Factory (Tracking Numbers Soon)
Hello!
we are pleased to announce that the batch 4 bikes for USA and Canada have left the factory. We should have tracking numbers for these bikes soon. we have hidden of course the purcashers addresses from the photos below. Remember that we have batch bikes now available so any purchases from the 'STOCK' Category ship immediately. (www.starkdrive.bike/stock)
Typhoon Delays USA/Canada and Sweden Containers Depature
Hello backers,
We are super sorry to report that we have learned that an extremely powerful typhoon has caused delays in the shipping of the EU container which contains both batch 3 and batch 4 bikes. Fortunately the USA and Canada are still on track for pickup as planned. You can see more information below:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45543664
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/world/asia/surf...
Many containers have been damaged after winds have pushed them into the ocean and these containers are not water proof.
We are continually following up with our logistics in China to get the very latest information during this disaster.
Sincerely
Stark Drive Team
Stark Drive LLC
