Lotus launched its latest bike last week, first at its car showroom in Mayfair and then the following day at Rouleur Live bike show in East London. The 136 is a brand new design, although with its wide fork legs and seatstays it looks like a slimmed-down road-going version of the current British track bike that itself was a joint project of Hope Technology and Lotus. The 136, however, is an e-bike, and the limited editions, all 136 of them, are on sale for £20,000.
Weighing in at 9.8kg, the frame houses a new drive system from Monaco-based HPS, which at just 300 grams (without the battery) could claim to be the more eye-catching piece of tech on display. Designed by long-term race car engineer Gary Anderson, the motor sits inside the bottom bracket shell with the brains located in the carbon tube that extends up the down tube. Used with a standard chainset, the unit is built to extremely tight tolerances and drives the chainset axle that slots through it.
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