I spent the day at
Fully Charged Live today. The main reason I wanted to go was to see the
Verge TS - which in my opinion is the most interesting not-yet-release electric bike out there. I only had a quick 10 minute ride at sensible speeds just up and down a road outside the airfield where it's held, so far from a full-on road test. However, here are a few thoughts.
So, this isn't a bit of vapourware like some other bikes we hear a lot about. I rode it. It exists. Spencer from Verge was nice enough to grab a quick video and
this is me on a real road registered bike - with Finnish plates of course. The unique hubless wheel motor works. I didn't give it load of throttle and it was in eco mode, but power felt in Zero territory if perhaps a little highly geared. Regen seemed to be set fairly high and worked well. Some minor "grumbling" from the motor under braking whish I was assured was due to magent alignment rather than anything mechanical. There are apparenelt two very large bearings in there. I would worry about longevity of those considering their large diameter and hence linear speed. Time will tell.
I didn't ride it far or fast but my initial impression was the there was a lot of oversteer at low speed. I had to keep a fair bit of pressure on the inside bar. Maybe this was down to the rake fo the front forks. Maybe it was down to the rear tyre sitting on a very wide rim and seeming quite square in profile. Maybe it just needed more getting used to. I wasn't keen on the low speed handling of the Energice Eva Ribelle either (and prefe the Zero SR/F) so make of that what you will.
I didn't touch the rear brake on the left hand bar but the large rotor with the caliper inside should be up to the job. Personally I prefer a right foot rear brake, but with no foot controls at all the Verge has two sets of rider pegs. I can't imagine I'd ever want to use the Harley-style forward ones. I didn't spot any any pilion pegs but there seems to be a pillion seat, so I'm sure there will be.
The bike I rode was apparently an earlyish prototype that had a lot of use and dodgy head bearings. It did feel a little rough around the edges. Even with that in mind, I can well believe that Verge are only weeks away from production.
To sum it up, they have definitely built something unique and amazing. I can't imagine parking this anywhere with bikers around and not being trapped by 15 minutes of questions. The low speed handling wasn't to my liking. I suspect the price won't be either. However, for a small Finnish company to produce something like this is astounding. It makes everyone else look ordinary. C'mon Zero and Energica. Time to up your game!
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Topic: Got to ride a Verge TS today (Read 3837 times)