FRANKFURT: Many cyclists are downright afraid of slamming on the brakes - and rightly so.
If you squeeze the brake on the front wheel too hard, the bike can freeze up, jackknife and slide dangerously to one side. If you're going fast, there's even a risk that the bike will flip and send you flying over the handlebars.
This is also the reason why the front brakes of children's bicycles are sometimes marked with red paint during bike-riding lessons on schoolyards. Red means "danger" - "use with caution."
And yet if you need to stop with a short braking distance, then there's no way around that front brake.
Roughly speaking, when you brake, your body weight is pressed onto the front wheel, giving it more traction and allowing it to absorb more braking force.
If only there were some way to prevent that front wheel from slipping or the rear wheel from lifting off the ground.
ABS for bikes
Bicycle manufacturers have been looking for a way out of this dilemma for quite some time. As early as 18 years ago, the East German manufacturer Biria introduced a mechanical anti-lock braking system for bicycles.
This was supposed to prevent the front wheel from slipping and the bicycle from flipping over. With Biria, the coaster brake acted on the front and rear wheel simultaneously. But sadly this innovation was ahead of its time, and the company didn't last long.
It was only in 2017 for the world's leading supplier of e-bike parts decided to try out electronically controlled, hydraulic ABS for bicycles (after developing the first electronic ABS for cars for market in 1978).
The next year, the first ABS bikes with Bosch technology made their debut at the bicycle manufacturers like Centurion, Cresta, Flyer, Kalkhoff and Riese & Müller.
Bosch itself does not build bikes, but supplies important components such as electric motors and batteries - and now also lots of electronics and software for the "smart bike".
So far, however, only very few e-bikes on the market are equipped with ABS. This could have something to do with the fact that the old ABS control unit from Bosch consisted of a clunky-looking box weighing around 800 grams and mounted on the front of the handlebar.
The extra cost of around €500 is also likely to have put off many potential users.
At the Eurobike 2022 trade fair in Frankfurt am Main in mid-July, ABS pioneer Bosch has now unveiled a completely revised system. It's much more compact, lighter and also blends in much better with the look of the bike. It is also said to be somewhat cheaper.
"The second-generation module is now 77% smaller and 55% lighter" says Claus Fleischer, business manager of Bosch's e-bike system division.
"This allows us to mount it at the bottom of the bicycle fork, close to the brake caliper. The ABS system is thus barely visible to the untrained eye."
New software takes bike type into account
A big difference compared to the first ABS generation is now also the software that controls the ABS. While the first generation could not distinguish between trekking bike, mountain bike or cargo bike, the ABS 2.0 now takes into account the different e-bike types and their distinct relationship between weight and centre of gravity.
On the cargo bike with a low centre of gravity, the ABS combination of hardware and software ensures that fast, safe and stable braking is possible even when the bike is carrying a heavy load. This is because the front wheel can no longer lock up and jackknife.
On a touring or mountain bike, a sensor is used on the rear wheel. It monitors whether the wheel is still turning or lifting off the ground.
If the rear wheel lift sensor is activated, the brake pressure on the front wheel is automatically lowered within milliseconds so that the rear wheel regains contact with the ground.
Professional mountain bikers can also select a mode in which the ABS intervenes less actively or switch off the ABS completely.
Low power needs
The energy requirements for ABS to work are low and easily covered by any e-bike's battery, Bosch says. In tests with a pre-production model, no significant effects on the range could be determined.
The power consumption is so low that even after the motor assistance is automatically switched off when the battery is empty, the ABS safety function is still available for a long time.
Only when the battery is completely empty does the ABS switch off with an indicator light that lights up shortly beforehand.
According to the testing organisation Dekra, ABS is a "sensible step towards more safety on pedelecs" as it "defuses many critical braking situations."
The question of how expensive this gain in safety will turn out to be will be answered when bike manufacturers begin launching their new models with ABS. Experts at the Eurobike trade fair assume an additional cost of between €300 and €400 (RM1,810).
