At the Eurobike 2022 Asfalt Bikes brought a pre-series model of the new, electric urban bike Asfalt GT2. The perfect opportunity to take a first look at the sporty and sleek bike — and also to take a spin on the new model!
The GT2 uses Mahle’s X35 drive system, which has become the market standard for this category of bikes. The hub motor in the rear wheel offers a torque of 40 Nm, the battery is firmly installed in the down tube and has a capacity of 250 Wh. Optionally, the system can also be expanded with a range extender with a capacity of around 210 Wh.
For a quiet, low-maintenance and clean drivetrain, Asfalt relies on a bottom bracket gearbox from Pinion in combination with the Gates belt drive. And despite the clean look, the equipment of the Asfalt GT2 is ready for everyday use: mudguards from Curana (with integrated rear light), a headlight from Supernova and also a kickstand are mounted on the bike.
The most unusual feature of the Asfalt GT2 is certainly the design of the bike — and here the seat tube in particular is worth noting: instead of a conventional seatpost sits here a fairly wide attachment on the tube, to which the saddle is attached at the top. This attachment can be easily removed with a screw and then gives access to the seat tube. In this a compact box is to find place, in which then small things like a slim bicycle lock or a compact umbrella are to be accommodated. A kind of trunk for the bike!
Compared to a conventional seatpost, the adjustment options regarding the saddle height are of course limited. At least the height of the saddle but can be varied by about 3 cm.
As expected, the seating position on the GT2 can be described as rather stretched and sporty, which is also due to the rather low cockpit with its straight handlebars. By the way, all cables and lines are routed directly under the handlebars into the head tube, which leads to a tidy look. The same applies to cables of the Pinion gearbox, which just get out of the frame briefly before the gearbox.
Although the bike already made a very good first impression, you could still see its pre-series status in some places: the welds are to be smoothed using the smooth welding process in series production, and the customizable logo in the head tube still looked quite rough by 3D printing. Even small details, such as the matching alignment of the rear mudguard, are likely to be fine-tuned by the Swiss until the start of deliveries.
While pre-ordering the bike has been possible since the end of April 2022, the delivery date has been postponed to “probably March 2023”. The base price of 4290 Swiss francs, however, is unchanged, which currently corresponds to around 4370 euros.
