There’s nothing new about electric trials bikes, and in some ways their linear torque delivery from a standstill is ideal for the delicate, tiptoe world of low speed trials riding. On the other hand, when an electric bike stops, so does it’s motor, which isn’t ideal for a typical trials move of having to stop in front of a precipitous climb, then launch straight up it.

Electric Motion, a French manufacturer which builds them, reckons that it has the answer. Its EPure Racer electric trials bike was fitted with an hydraulic clutch from 2021, and now they’ve added a TKO (Tickover) function which enables the motor to spin at a steady 900rpm while the bike is stationary, clutch in, allowing the rider to launch straight off into a section. Keeping the motor spinning has the added benefit of making feet-up stops on the bike easier, thanks to gyroscopic stability. The motor has also been given a heavier flywheel to make the most of its inertia and thus improve stability.

Another new feature is an anti-reverse function. If a petrol trials bike doesn’t make it up a tricky climb, it’s usually prevented from rolling backwards by the stalled engine, but an electric motor won’t do that. The EPure Racer’s anti-reverse function enables it to mimic that resistance to unwanted roll back. Two EM EPure Racers were entered in the 2022 Scottish Six Days Trial and both finished, one placed 19th in a field of nearly 300.

Jim Freeman, Chair of the BMF, said: “Competition ‘improving the breed’ in action. We tend to focus on high speed track competition, which electric power isn’t particularly suited to. Trials are a different matter. ”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of Electric Motion UK