Business news

MINSK, 22 September (BelTA) – Anyone could test drive an electric bicycle of Belarusian make on 22 September. The new product was presented by the instrument-making factory Optron of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus as part of the Day Without Car campaign in Minsk, BelTA has learned.

The Optron Director General Nikolai Yankevich talked about the product in detail. “Its motor output is already at 600W. It can start moving without pedaling while carrying up to 150kg of cargo. No other electric bicycle in the world can do it. It is not the limit,” he noted.

The presented bicycle will evolve. It will be able to fold. Various options will be available for urban and rural areas. “Only the wheel hub motor will remain as the core. By the way, only the accumulator is imported to make our electric drive. We will replace it with a Belarusian product by the end of the year. Then an entire Belarusian product made of modern metal polymers will be batch produced. Instead of 9kg the motor will weigh 4kg. The frame will weigh as little as 4.5kg instead of 17kg. In other words, the electric bicycle will weigh as much as a regular bicycle,” explained Nikolai Yankevich.

In his words, the modern and competitive product — an individual all-season electric transport — will help the company enter international markets. “It is a smart system for supporting one’s health. The bicycle can be used in various modes. It can even be used in an apartment as a cycling machine. The bicycle can be used for a pleasant ride and as a means of transportation,” concluded Nikolai Yankevich.

This year the instrument-making factory Optron has modernized a wheel hub motor for light means of transportation and has developed a new control module and software. This wheel hub motor is now used to develop individual electric transport.