One of the challenges of the e-bike is range, but it is difficult to quantify
“Because there are too many variables related to the bike. You need to know how much the person weighs, how well-trained they are, what kind of tires they use, whether it’s windy… When we talk about range, we never give a specific figure. There are people who did a gruesome Gran fondo, like Nove Colli, with our engines and after 200 kilometres they still had some battery power. But they were very well-trained riders. Stefano Passeri, the EWS world champion, climbed 3,000 metres elevation gain on one battery in his last race in Scotland, on a rainy and riding a mountain bike, which is heavier.”
What can Made in Italy give to the e-bike world?
“Quality, design, performance. In Italy we may not have the companies with the biggest manufacturing output, but we do have companies with prominent reputation. Our engines are one hundred percent Polini: engineering, moulds, prototypes machined from solid, crankcase machining, assembly. Everything is done in-house in Bergamo. Polini motors are fully Polini.
What can be done to promote cycling in cities?
“Creating bike parking, because bicycles are easy to steal. I myself don’t use it in the city, because I never know where to leave it, especially if I am riding a nice bike. If secure parking were created for bicycles, it would encourage people to use them. That would be important, because with today’s bicycles, which have ever-increasing performance and range, you can really think about a daily use of the bike, even by those who live outside the city.”
Will you be returning to Giro-E, after your experience with the BFD team in 2019?
“If we find teams that want to equip their bikes with our motor, we’ll be super glad and will certainly support them, since all those who did the Giro-E with our motor enjoyed it.”
IN THE PHOTO Stefano Passeri, EWS-E world champion (world circuit dedicated to enduro on e-bikes) in the Vet 50+ category on a Polini motorized Fulgor.
