To us its nothing new that ebikes can be built so stealthy that barely anyone will know the difference between a  electric bike and its pedal counterpart, and we are use to the idea of being yelled at by spandex clad road bikers “Cheater!”

As an electric biker when you look at the Gruber Assist, so small it fits in a seat tube, and almost to impossible to identify a Gruber converted bike as an electric bike, hand made in germany so small it can stuff in a seat tube, it just seems like  pure e-bike porn.

Electric bikers do get treated with some detest from regular bikers who they share the lanes with.  The Gruber Assist is a way you can pass those spandex riding fools, no matter what shape you are in or how you are dressed and they will have no clue you are on electric bike…brilliant!

The Gruber is made with “discreet” in mind.

In one of the hottest pieces of electric bike press to be aired in recent history there was an allegation of cheating in professional cycling, but this time it was not doping, but rather an allegation made against Fabian Cancellara for using an electric motor during his wins in the 2010 races the Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. This unsurfaced via a piece of creative internet investigating technique, using a youtube video of the race, and an amateur editor critique:

 

Although most of the public, and the professional cycling association, has dismissed the above video as not true.  It did do a good of putting a spotlight on an electric drive system that is totally stealth for electric bike riders who want to hide their motor from friends in friendly rides.

The Gruber Assist is a beautifully designed system that gives you a nice boost in a way that can’t be seen (although it can be faintly heard).

 

The newly developed Gruber Assist bicycle drive consists of five components:

  • Miniature push-button
  • Electronic control – installed in the seat post
  • 200 watt drive unit with free-wheel
  • Lithium-Ion Manganese (LiMn) battery pack 4.5 Ah / 30V or Lithium-Ion Manganese battery pack 6.75 AH / 30V
  • External battery charger

The auxiliary drive, with a length of almost 8.5 inches and 200 watts of power, is permanently connected with the crank through a bevel gear unit. Not only is   gear changing is still possible, but you are also able to use the motor assist through the pedals. This system has a 100% free wheel so that when the motor is not activated, the bike acts like a regular bike.  When the system is on, the rider gets electrically boosted by the  Gruber Assist with 200 watts extra power.

 

 

the motor and the beveled crank drive

seat tube with controller and wires that go to push button throttle

 

The entire drive unit (motor, gear, electronic control) weighs 900 grams. The Lithium-Ion Manganese battery, which fits into a conventional saddlebag, provides you with motor-assisted cycling lasting for about 45 minutes (4.5 Ah), or 70 minutes (6.75 Ah), depending on how hard you pedal. It weights just 1000 grams, has a charge level indicator and BMS.  The special design of the drive unit allows it to be built into any bicycle frame set tube and is therefore invisible on the bicycle – except the on/off switch, which is unobtrusively located on the bar end.

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