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'Is this the new Lafree?' (Update Spring 2008:No, the Sparta is not the new Lafree. This is an abridged version of A to B's February 2007 review Typical of the genre is the Sparta Ion, a power-assisted roadster which has been selling fiendishly well in its home market for a year or so. The Ion is available in several variants. The one you're most likely to see in the UK is the M-Gear: alloy frame, seven-speed derailleur, suspension and drum brakes for £1,429. This is the bike we've tried. Just for the record, this bike (and most variants) also comes with a stand, rack, fitted lights, pump, wheel lock, full chain guard, decent mudguards, Continental City Contact 42 x 622mm tyres, and - very rare in the UK - a skirt guard. Motor & Controls The bike is laden with technology. What the Ion does very cleverly is to make good use of the various sensors, computer capacity, battery and motor that make up the power-assist package. For the first time, these elements are integrated into the bike rather than bolted on as afterthoughts, just as electronics have become an integral part of the modern car.
Each unit is programmed with a unique code, so a potential thief won't be able to make it work without access to Sparta's diagnostic plug-in whatnot. It's becoming the norm on electric bicycles to take a feed from the traction battery to run the lights (front, rear and speedometer on the Ion). In this case the system cleverly continues to function when the battery is flat by using the motor as a generator. The controls are nice and ergonomic. The smaller bits of the liquid crystal display can be hard to read in sunlight, but at night it's backlit in a sexy blue and much improved. On the road If you choose to dial in some power assist, you simply set a power level and keep pedalling. With a very gentle surge, the bike then accelerates a bit faster. There's no noise, no vibration, indeed no suggestion of any kind of intervention. Stop pedalling and the assist melts away. Start turning the pedals and the gentle surge returns. With such a quiet motor and unobtrusive assistance, it's hard to judge the cut-off speed. Sometimes the power has gone by 15mph, but at other times the bike seems to pull to around 17mph or so. Whatever, there's very little indication of the motor starting or stopping. The only indicator is the fuel guage consisting of a ring of little bars (3% increments) around the speedometer. Like everything else on the bike, this well thought through, and pretty accurate. The usefulness of this sort of bike depends very much on where you live and how big the hills are. In undulating country, or into modest headwinds, the Ion is great fun. It's basically just like any other bike, but it goes further and faster for the same effort. Hit a hill and you're soon slogging up in that 37-inch gear, which sounds like hard work, but you only have to turn the motor off to prove that it's still doing a fair bit. Back in gentler country and you're soon smiling again. On our largely flat ten-mile test route the Ion did much better than expected, completing the course in 37 minutes, about as fast as you can go with 81-inch top gear over that sort of distance. Average speed comes out at 14.7mph which is pleasantly fast, but not wildy so. At night the 'push of a button' lights are very welcome, as is the illuminated speedometer - why has it taken so long for this simple innovation to arrive? Rear light is a typical Busch & Muller LED and the front light a Spanninga Radius with halogen bulb and - nice touch - a Sparta badge. Brakes on the bike are Sturmey Archer drums front and rear. Stopping the bike from high speed takes a mighty heave but the brakes are powerful, progressive and consistent - just what a cyclist needs. Most Ion models have suspension front forks and a suspension seat post. We're usually a bit dismissive of this combination, but the components really do work here, giving a supple, comfortable ride. Range & Charging Range can be extended with an optional 168Wh battery pack that slots onto one site of the rear rack, pannier-style. This costs £265 and by our calculations should extend the range to 32-37 miles. The standard Ion has 24 volt NiMH battery of 240Wh, which is a typical sort of size. The charger is a delight. It's small (16cm x 12cm x 6cm), light (700g) and with a fast rate of charge, refilling the battery in a little under three hourds. A nice touch is that the fuel gauge works its way back up, giving a precise indication of the state of play. Conclusion See the full range available at 50cycles
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Being a great bicycling nation, it is perhaps no surprise that the Dutch are also big manufacturers of power-assisted bicycles. And as a general rule, they design bikes with Dutch conditions in mind - endless, flat, windswept bicycle paths, rather than steep Cornish lanes, for example.
On the handlebars is a round control unit, featuring a speedometer, odometer, power switch and light switch. To prevent tampering and keep it safe from the elements when you're not riding, the control unit simply twists off - the idea being that you take it with you, even if you're just popping into the corner shop. Removal of this master display will not stop a passing thief half-inching the bike, but the integral wheel lock will, and without the display, the systems are unusable.