BMW Helps Cook Up Belt Drive, Full Suspension HNF Heisenberg XF1 eBike

Written by Zach Overholt Jul 30, 2015 6:12 p.m. ET

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Belt drive full suspension mountain bikes are still pretty rare, but belt drive, full suspension, center motor ebikes? Those are pretty much unheard of – that was at least until the HNF Heisenberg XF1 popped onto the scene. Founded by Michael Hecken, Karlheinz Nicolai, and Benjamin Börries, HNF Heisenberg was started in 2014 to create the future of ebikes. This collaboration with BMW isn’t heir first foray into joint ventures with automotive brands for ebikes either as Michael Hecken and Karlheinz Nicolai started Grace GmbH in 2008 where they developed the Smart ebike for Daimler-Benz AG.

Offering a full range of impressive ebikes, the XF1 is their take on a full suspension mountain bike and it represents a major step forward in terms of e-suspension design. Previously, ebikes with center mount motors required the motor unit to be firmly attached to the frame. Without a way to make a concentric pivot around the motor, there was realy no way to make a full suspension frame that could keep a constant belt tension. Once BMW Group Forschung und Technik was on the job though, they looked at the challenge in a new light – why not just make the entire motor part of the suspension…

Which is exactly what they did. rigidly attaching the motor to the swingarm, the entire complex moves as one in order to keep the tension constant. That means that the entire drivetrain is moving along with the suspension, however BMW claims there is a virtual axis around the bottom bracket so that the position of the pedals doesn’t change throughout the travel. This floating 4-bar suspension system as ‘BMW i’ calls it, is capable of 150mm of rear travel though there will be a more efficient 120mm version geared towards urban exploration. The design is also said to be without pedal kickback and won’t stiffen up under power. Clearly this is geared towards ebikes in this example, but one has to wonder about the potential for use in regular mountain bikes with some adjustments. While the suspension design is patented by BMW i, the frame like other HNF Heisenberg models is manufactured by Nicolai.

Built with a Gates Carbon Drive that spins a Rohloff Speedhub 500/14, the Bosch Drive takes care of the ebike bits while a high end spec includes a RockShox Pike, Magura MT7 brakes, and more.

hnf-heisenberg.com

Zach Overholt

5,633 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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'Merika

8 years ago

I’m sure all the Specialized haters will claim this thing is better looking than the Levo the Big S just announced.

This thing should be illegal in the US just based on looks alone.

Mirwin

8 years ago

Rear 9 mm QR?

Shadwell

8 years ago

Higher sprung mass is not desirable for high performance suspension, and whilst this mas is located near the pivot, it is still articulated and therefore impacts suspension performance..

Cynically perhaps they have basically copied a scooter…. ?

Crossmax

8 years ago

Will there be a Pinkman model too?

Sassafras

8 years ago

A motorcycle, just by a friggin motorcycle. At this point, everything that makes mountain biking enjoyable, the exercise, the lightweight machine that can be thrown around underneath you, all goes out the window, so why even bother?

Matt

8 years ago

I get the point of electric bikes for commuting, but anything beyond that is a pointless exercise that misses the whole point of riding a bike. I must admit to being a bit curious about how that rear suspension works in practice, yet the whole electric motor makes me instantly not care.

jeff

8 years ago

There must be pretty big profit margins for all of these companies to be making electric motorcycles.

Chris Trunek

8 years ago

why dont they add another pivot? did they forget it will be ridden in dirt? Looks like a total nightmare to maintain. Great call on the 9mm axle too Mirwin.

Antipodean_g

8 years ago

So MANY different levels of wrong.

craigsj

8 years ago

Unsprung mass is an issue for cars and motorcycles, the details of a bicycle are a lot different. Furthermore, if we take the article at face value, the pivot point is coincident with the BB. That means the motor is essentially sprung. Unsprung mass is unimportant in bicycles and that goes double here.

The real question is how does this bike pedal? Ordinarily putting the crank on the rear suspension causes lockout, but if the pivot is coincident with the crank then it won’t. Of course, it will bob like crazy, so there’s that. All this to use a belt which sucks anyway.

Looks terrible. I’m waiting for a combined motor+crank+IGH. I think it’s obvious and inevitable if these thing have staying power.

Greg

8 years ago

If by motorcycle you mean moped then yes, if by motorcycle you mean motorcycle then you’re just an idiot.

craig

8 years ago

If I could afford this bike, and I cant, I would buy it if only to marvel at its engineering complexity. Incredible bike.

von.kruiser

8 years ago

Urban assault beast master from hell. While commuting to work, you can jump and smash through anything. Electric urban assault commuting are what these FS ebikes are for… not offroad.

Jason

8 years ago

Reminds me of the RAM bike suspension designs.

https://bikerumor.com/2012/08/07/interview-richard-sheppard-of-ram-bikes/

morehardcore

8 years ago

The Rohloff is not compatible with thru-axles, hence the regular drop outs.

@ Shadwell Sprung weight is your body, frame, and parts attached to it. Unsprung weight includes the wheels, swing arm and fork lowers. You want less unsprung weight for better performing suspension. Correct on mass proximity to center of rotation.

If I know where the bike is, I don’t know how fast it is going. If I know how fast, I don’t know where it is.

Mr_OCD

8 years ago

Interesting engineering that may find application in the post-apocalyptic urban assault riding somebody will no doubt find compelling. Me, I’ll be grokking my rigid SS in the mountains.

@ morehardcore – Heisenberg would be proud.

drosser

8 years ago

I wonder if this design could adapted to the Pinion gearbox. I bet it would still weight a hefty bit, but my inner nerd really loves the idea.

Hank Hill

8 years ago

Yeah, I’m all for road ebikes, but this is the kind of ebike i don’t like.

Zoso

8 years ago

1997 called and they want their unified rear triangle back. Der.

As in, if you stand, the suspension doesn’t work. It’s always amazing how a product can go from concept all the way to production with a piss poor design.

Drew Diller

8 years ago

It’s not the same kind of unified rear triangle as the old stand-and-make-it-rigid mono pivots, but I agree that your power input and transmission should be decoupled from your swing arm as much as possible.

It’s how the real motorbikes do it.

Dsand

8 years ago

Can I just have the hub?

scentofreason

8 years ago

wow for a moment there I thought I was on ‘bike rumor’, but low and behold I found myself on ‘motorbike rumor’. stop with the ‘e-bike’. If it has a motor it does not belong here.

Eric Hansen

8 years ago

“why not just make the entire motor part of the suspension…”

Because it’ll make for extremely sh*tty suspension performance.

Steve

8 years ago

(deleted)

haromania

8 years ago

BMW, Mercedes, VW, Audi, all of them are over engineered German piles of crap. If Honda & Toyota can figure out a way to build something with one fastener, the Germans will use 3, make them inaccessible, one time use only, then use a funky head bolt you need to buy a new tool for. Just for good measure, 99/100 mechanics won’t be able to work on them, forcing you to go to a big city to get work done. This bike appears to be just like their cars. Sign me up, not.

J N H

8 years ago

With that many pivots, you will be the one who knocks.

TheFunkyMonkey

8 years ago

There is already a site for this crap – VitalMX.

All of the ebike fan bois, including those at bikerumor that write about them, clearly have no involvement in trail maintenance or trail access. Yes, a sweeping statement. If you did, you would not be advocating for these ‘motorbikes’ that are clearly designed for off-road riding. Writing about them on a site that is dedicated to traditional bicycles is advocacy for the sake of advertising dollars. You can dress that turd up all you want but it’s still a turd.

I was just at a trail access meeting last night and you’re fooling yourself if you don’t think the topic isn’t front and center and fooling yourself if you don’t think trail access in the US is at risk. I can tell you there is less interest in discussing increased trail access until there is a clearer picture on ebikes or more specifically as discussed last night, laws preventing them from trails. As I said in another comment sections about this ebike crap, it doesn’t matter what reality is, it’s all about perception and that is playing out currently.

Carry on.

Mike C

8 years ago

Appropriate name: ebike = bike on meth…

AbelF

8 years ago

abominable

bart

8 years ago

appears to be a Bosch classic series motor/battery which is old and not supported in North America.

AChromagSamurai

8 years ago

Motorcycle.

ascar larkinyar

8 years ago

clearly designed by a motorcycle engineer not a cyclist. nightmare and too expensive to maintain, but so are most newer german cars.

again, ebikes on the road for commuting ok
ebikes on the trails = motorcycle. not good with that.

not even sure that the roloff hub can take the kind of torque that design is going to put on it.

lots of problems dialing in my single speed belt drive. very picky about exact straightness or it went though belts very quickly. even then they wore out faster than advertised. not just me but all my friends that jumped on that bandwagon have changed back to chains now

AChromagSamurai

8 years ago

I think I just snapped the chainstay yoke by looking at the photo too hard.

Mirwin

8 years ago

The 9 mm QR makes sense (Rolhoff limitation) but I still would not want to clean it after a day in the mud. My own pedal-powered MTB is time consuming and problematic enough.

Ebikes for commuting: sure thing. Ebikes for MTBing: No. My MTB club banned these because our rides levels are based on fitness levels and skill. Just because a beginner rider can be ‘pedal-assisted’ up to the ‘top’ or out 20 km’s, doesn’t mean they are capable of handling the terrain. If this thing goes down for mechanical reasons, who wants to pedal 55 lbs of bike out? Not for me.

Chasejj

8 years ago

This is a poor design from the start. It is ridiculous forced use of a Rohloff QR axle system and the whole thing is silly in order to utilize a belt. Chains are the most efficient final drive for offroad. Cycling and Moto have pretty much answered that question.
As far as Ebikes go. I have no problem with them whatesoever. Any uproar at trail access meetings is over perception and bias being brought as much by the Land Managers as the supposed trail advocates. I say supposed since these “trail advocates” come in with their own very defined biases and excluding Moto has already been done. A new enemy to distract everyone needs to be found, thus Ebikes are the new enemy.
If you really want to be concerned about noise and unpleasantness on trails refocus on this potential nightmare of drones. I was on a trail the other day where some dbag was flying one overhead and it was unbelievably annoying. If guys start buying these damn things to document how slow and not rad they are I can predict major conflicts coming.

John

8 years ago

MTB eBikes will mark the beginning of the end of trails access as we know it.

fred

8 years ago

Um..motorcyclerumor? I would really rather have a BLUR TRc and a KTM…

Reek Hovac

8 years ago

I’m really uncertain about a Heisenberg bike.

satisFACTORYrider

8 years ago

(deleted)

Morpheous

8 years ago

Excellent one Reek. 😉

Andreas B.

8 years ago

I think that could be fun in the Alps, using the motor uphill and then going downhill. But I am fine with my £600 Voodoo Bizango 😉

Brian

8 years ago

drosser – that is exactly what I thought of at at first glance, too.

Nemesis

8 years ago

I’ll sell you an inner tube, but I won’t touch your e-bike. And keep it the F off the trails.

Slam Man

8 years ago

Dear “BICYCLE” Media, pleae get a grip and stop shoving “Motor” bikes down our throats. You lot will not be happy until the bicycle is distched in favour of the devils machine!!!!! Look to the left, it does not say Motor BIKE RUMOUR!!!! Make a stand for the bicycle before its too late please.
Slam Man, Owner of Slam69 Bicycle shop.

biggermig

8 years ago

Sweet moped. Keep it off the trails.

Tim

8 years ago

Gotta wonder what’s going to happen to Rohloff in the long run in spite of their clearly highly reliable products. Their product is clearly good, but they’re a small operation that for whatever reason doesn’t react quickly to axle trends. To my knowledge, they have no thru-axle hubs, and only recently made hubs available for some of the wider fat bike axles standards. Before, when 9×135 was the standard for rear hubs, going with a Rohloff was an investment in a hub and shifters. Now, it’s that plus another investment in a frame whose axle standard will be less and less supported over the years so that if you ever decide to go back to a derailleur bike and want the best parts (which I presume you will if you are a Rohloff type), you will be up the creek. I wonder if the size of the planetary gears inside a Rohloff would even allow them to fit a 12mm axle in there…