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bearing technology for e-cargo bikes with tilting technology

Cargo e-bike ensures a unique riding experience

Profile

What was needed: Plain bearings for tilting technology that do not require additional lubricants.
Requirements: Wear resistance, low coefficient of friction, lubrication/maintenance-free, insensitive to rain, dirt and salt
Area of application: bicycle industry

The Austrian start-up GLEAM is revolutionising mobility with its multi-use bikes. Thanks to their dynamic tilting technology, the cargo e-bikes allow the load to remain balanced, even when overcoming traffic obstacles. Various attachments can be placed on the loading area. This means that tradespeople can transport tools and materials during the day and take their children on the bike after work.

GLEAM's "Escape" cargo e-bike with transport box on the cargo area (Source: GLEAM)

Problem

98 % of all GLEAM customers are B2B customers. These include tradespeople and delivery services, for example, who are dependent on a functioning means of transport. For this reason, it was particularly important for GLEAM to offer a robust and reliable means of transport. The bikes are in use for eight to twelve hours a day and travel up to 40,000 kilometres a year. The bike therefore had to be designed to be low-maintenance in comparison, similar to a car.

Solution

iglidur® plain bearings are ideally suited for this area of application. Their special composition makes them extremely wear-resistant, resilient and self-lubricating. Their service life can also be precisely determined. The free online tool iglidur® Expert System 3.0 is used for this purpose, with which anyone can determine the service life for their application. The bearings contain, among other things, solid lubricants that are released in minute quantities and thus reduce friction. This is sufficient to lubricate the bearing point and make maintenance of the bearing point superfluous.

"The fact that iglidur® bearings require neither lubrication nor maintenance is ideal for use in our cargo e-bikes. They work reliably even in rain, dirt and salt without needing to be lubricated"

Mario Eibl, founder of GLEAM

Patrick Kepler of igus Austria Technical Sales, Alexander Welcker, igus Bicycle Industry Manager, and GLEAM founder Mario Eibl with the GLEAM cargo e-bike

Demonstration of the Unique Dynamic Tilting Technology (DTT), which ensures an extraordinary riding experience and keeps the cargo area balanced (Source: GLEAM)

Patented tilting technology for a comfortable ride

The special riding experience of the cargo e-bikes from GLEAM is created by the patented tilting technology and suspension. Seven years were invested in the development of the core technology of the cargo e-bikes: The so-called Unique Dynamic Tilting Technology (DTT) enables a riding experience similar to that of a normal bike. As with a normal bike, the rider can lean into a bend and is brought back into an upright position by the DTT after cornering. Obstacles on the road can be easily overcome thanks to DTT. When the bike is parked, the tilting technology can be deactivated with a lock and the bike stands upright. Thanks to the full suspension of the cargo e-bike, the load on the cargo bed remains horizontal and is protected, even if you ride up a kerb with one of the two rear wheels or are travelling on cobblestones. The DTT simply compensates for such unevenness. "We use iglidur® plain bearings in both the DTT, the locking system and the suspension. The plain bearings are durable and dampen vibrations. This is ideal for use in our cargo bikes," explains Eibl.

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