A very young French brand, Vefaa was present at the Vélo In Paris 2024 festival to show off its very first electric bike called “Bonjour Techno”. His particuliarity ? A well-thought-out regenerative braking system, which we were able to try. All at a relatively low price.
Is it possible to start a business in March 2023 and launch your first electric bike only a year later? Yes, and the very young Vefaa brand founded by Roc Argiles Baro is living proof of this at the Vélo In Paris 2024 festival. Frandroid already told you about this brand new player at the end of February 2024. Its objective: to sell a technological and well-equipped VAE, all at a decent price.
Open frame, Schwalbe Super Moto-X tires, MIK luggage rack (27 kg), wheel lock (40 euros optional), suspended seat post, 60 Nm torque motor, 560 Wh battery, single speed belt transmission , Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc brakes, kickstand, phone holder: it’s hard to get more complete in terms of equipment.
The eBike OS ecosystem at the heart of cycling
Above all, Vefaa’s “Hello Techno” tries to stand out thanks to the eBike Labs controller and its eBike OS ecosystem. This external partner already has around ten clients who trust its solution, which is protected by eight patented technologies. The eBike Labs system is made up of four main building blocks:
- Automatic assistance based on 100 calculations per second, taking into account wind and height differences and which provides the level of assistance you need;
- Hill start assistance thanks to a dedicated sensor;
- Locking the bike from a remote control or the application (the rear wheel which houses the motor is blocked);
- Regenerative braking.
The regenerative braking imagined by eBike Labs is interesting in more than one way. Unlike a Zehus system where you have to continually backpedal to benefit from regenerative braking, here you just need to backpedal on a single turn of the pedals… and that’s it. The regenerative system then starts up.
You can thus remain freewheeling, without touching your pedals, and benefit from controlled braking which still allows you to stop completely. We were able to try it on a few laps, with convincing results. The idea of the system is not to activate ultra-powerful braking that could destabilize you.
Efficient and smooth regenerative braking
No, the objective is to brake you gently over just a few meters. “When going downhill, you can save 20% of the energy consumed on the climb you took just before, for example», explains Maël Bosson, the founder of Ebike Labs. The other advantage is to spare your brake discs, for better longevity.
The electrical behavior of the Vefaa is in any case coherent and generally dynamic. A simple pedal stroke cuts off the regenerative braking, giving way to sharp accelerations (60 Nm of torque), but not brutal either.
Security was also at the heart of the specifications, with an audible alarm and geolocation available from the phone. This is an essential element in the event of theft, as evidenced by the particularly high recovery rates of brands like Decathlon, Cowboy and Gaya. Blocking the bike remotely is also a way to make a thief’s task more complex.
All these functions are offered for the first year via the Vefaa application: thereafter, they will be billed at 60 euros per year, or 5 euros per month. A pittance to benefit from GPS tracking.
A project surrounded by French actors
Veefa is also and above all a French project from its design to its assembly. Succeeding in bringing your idea to fruition in the space of a year is not given to everyone. To do this, the company has surrounded itself with numerous French partners based throughout France:
- Antidote Solutions (Sainte-Croix-Volvestre, 07): co-developer of the chassis, design, expertise on the choice of components;
- Bicycle factory (Villeurbanne, 69): bicycle assembly, based in the Grand Plateau;
- Grand Plateau (Villeurbanne, 69): where are the Vefaa premises, in a third location intended for mobility start-ups;
- Milc (La Barthe-de-Neste, 65): prototyping and industrialization of the Veefa project;
- Trackap (Lille, 59): bicycle connectivity including the development of the mobile application;
- eBike Laps (Grenoble, 38): Vefaa on-board computer based on artificial intelligence.
The Vefaa electric bike has been available for pre-order since February 29 at a price of 2,500 euros, which constitutes a modest and controlled price given the level of equipment and the safety systems installed in the bike. Four colors are offered: black is free, the rest costs 50 euros (beige, red, blue and green).
The start of deliveries will take place between September and October 2024.