Butterfly weight electric city bike rides, without gears, magnificent

Get rid of the anger first. The Estonian bicycle brand Ampler makes electric city bicycles. So cycling for the city. What is the first requirement for such a bicycle? Of course, a lock. And an Ampler doesn’t have that. In fact, there are no mounting points on the frame of the new Axel for a ring lock (also known as a frame lock), which is fitted to almost every bicycle in the Netherlands – and for good reason. This means that you have to get started with vulnerable mounting brackets. It is true that you can lock the electronics of the bicycle with your phone, so that it cannot be used by someone who takes the bicycle. If someone takes it anyway, the lights will flash. Yes, that stops a suburban bicycle thief. Wouldn’t bicycles be stolen in Estonia?

That said, the Axel is a great bike. It is the fourth model from the still young bicycle manufacturer, born in 2014. It is also available in an equally elegant version with a lower entry, the Juna, which differs in nothing from the Axel except in the frame.

The battery is invisible

Two things immediately stand out. As with the other Ampler models, the battery is placed almost invisibly in the oblique tube. This invisibility requires the battery not to be too voluminous and that has consequences for the content: with 336 Wh, it is no more than half that of a current average bicycle and also (considerably) less than that of its direct competitors: VanMoofs S3 (504 Wh) and Cowboys C4 (360 Wh). Is that bad? No, not at all. You can still cycle through the city with it for a week, which is what the bicycle is intended for after all. More is not necessary. It is right that Ampler allowed the design of the bicycle to be the deciding factor in that respect. It is difficult of course that the battery is not removable. It requires a house, ground floor apartment, an extension cord or a bicycle shed with a socket. A condition that the Ampler bikes share with the less slender VanMoofs – Cowboy has chosen to make a concession to the design: their battery is removable.

The second thing that immediately stands out is the weight of the Axel, which is extremely low for an e-bike: 16.3 kilos, including battery. The Gazelle Avignon, previously discussed on this site, weighs 28.6 kilograms without battery. And, to keep up with the competition: the C4 is 18.9 and the S3 21 kilos. These are noticeable differences, and make the Axel easy to take up the stairs if you don’t have an extension cord.

Where the Axel also beats its best-known opponents is in the field of geometry, although that remains partly a personal preference. Blik prefers the less stocky dimensions of the Axel, on which you sit slightly more leaning forward, which gives the bike a more balanced appearance.

Gears are unnecessary in the flat city

And the most important thing: it rides magnificently, without gears. The latter causes it to take a while before the engine starts when accelerating, but then you have sufficient support thanks to the torque sensor. Accelerations, Ampler argues, are unnecessary in the (flat) city. Blik can confirm that, we even crossed a bridge effortlessly. In the dunes, where we had taken the bicycle despite the urban habitat (for admiring glances you have to leave the blasé environment for a while), it did not belong to the Dutch colletjes. Quickly back to the city, where he cycles nice and light. You are of course quickly at the maximum support speed of 25 kilometers per hour, but not infrequently we went over it almost unnoticed. It is only noticeable when you hear the engine stop. Blik had never experienced such a smooth transition before.

Finally, back to the details. In previous models, the Estonians had dispensed with a display; you had to read all the data from the app on your phone. That was in accordance with their no-nonsense philosophy, but was still difficult while cycling, and also prohibited. Now, to speak in Bliktermen, there is a new interface: a small readable screen incorporated in the top tube on which the most important data can be read. If the next generation still has a slot, Blik gives in completely.