Love fatbikes, but want more speed? That’s exactly what the founder of Defiant Bicycles was thinking when their first fat e-bike prototype came to be. If fat bikes are fun, and e-bikes are fun, then a fat e-bike should be extra fun, right? More than just fun, the Defiant team thinks that the Big Easy has big potential for winter commuting, and even hunting.
Intrigued? Get the details after the break.
After taking up winter commuting in Minnesota, founder Keven Spreng wanted more speed out of his fatbike, so he put a motor on it. Spreng loved the result so much that he decided to produce the Big Easy so others could enjoy the extra speed afforded by the big tires and powerful motor. Teaming up with Jonathan Dombek and Greg Heinemann, they have created Defiant and their first product the Big Easy electric fatbike. Commute all winter, ride to your favorite deer stand, ride over anything, the e-Fat bike is extremely capable.
The Big Easy while perfectly capable of every day use as a fatbike for fun, is also being marketed as a winter commuter and as a vehicle for hunters. The pedal assist 500 watt electric motor mounted in the rear hub along with the 36volt/11.6Ah battery mounted in the frame is good for a top speed of 20 MPH and a range of 20-56 miles. We’re guessing this won’t be the lightest eBike around. Charging of the battery should take about 5 hours for a complete charge.
In a world of overseas manufacturing, it’s interesting to see that the Big Easy is made in Portland, OR out of 6061 aluminum.
The stock Big Easy will look more like the one above which you can pick up for $4,495 through the CrowdSupply campaign which runs until August 9th, 2013. You can also pre-order the trim packages shown above like the Executive and Stealth on Defiant’s website. The Big Easy will ship with Surly Big Fat Larry 4.7″ tires, a 1×9 XT drivetrain, mechanical disc brakes, and 3″ wide rims. One of the more interesting designs of the bike is the 135mm offset rear end that still has room for 4.7 tires – likely a must to include the electric motor in the rear hub. This is of course as many fatbike manufacturers are apparently transitioning to 190mm rear ends to make room for the 4.7 tires and new drivetrains. Of course the tires are fairly low profile Larrys and mounted to 3″ wide rims.
In addition to the full bike, supporters will also have the opportunity to pledge for Defiant’s full carbon tapered fatbike fork. The Disc only fork weighs 575g with an uncut steerer, and surprisingly for a carbon fork includes both rack/pannier and fender mounts. The fork is a 135mm symmetrical design with a 465mm axle to crown measurement and 5.5″ inner tire clearance.
