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Written Review
By: Mitch Hackleman
Monday Motorbikes has created an Ebike for an inspired urban commute. The Piezo is the latest design from Monday Motorbikes and is now in final production testing at their manufacturing facility in Long Beach, CA. The Piezo reflects Monday’s heritage as an innovator of powerful Ebikes from as far back as 2015. The new Piezo adds a complement of well executed power system and RF technologies to the package. The Piezo is tall, with a spare industrial design and classic cafe racer proportions. The battery is housed under an aluminum enclosure and nestled into a tray fitted between the frame rails. The effect is a lowered center of gravity as the substantial battery drops into the tray.The seat is narrow and allows the rider to pull their knees into recesses on both sides of the enclosure. An adjustable mono shock maintains the spare proportions over the swing arm and through to the tail light and turn signals. Monday has added a comfortably padded, dual-stitched seat that is reminiscent of a baseball glove. The appearance is an invitation to ridel. While the bike looks motorcycle serious, it maintains excellent pedal geometry and presents like a bike.
The hardware is matched with an innovative display and app. The display reports the usual state of charge, gear position, pedal assist level and speed, Monday has also added a continuously updated watt meter to help the rider gauge energy usage. With a little practice the watt meter will let the rider monitor their energy use and optimize riding style for range. The battery cover houses a 2.4kWh or 2.8kWh lithium battery with CAN controls for charge level, battery temperature, cell balance and enough energy to carry the bike 70+ miles. We tested the 2.4 kWh version assembled with Lithium NMC - 21700 cells. Based on energy usage in the hills around Monday’s factory, we calculated a range of 72 miles with very little pedaling over the course of several performance trials. The battery links to the motor controller through a high current contactor and a pre-charge circuit. Turn the bike on and you will hear the contactor engage. Turn the bike off and change the battery with no sparks, no arcs and no drama. While these are basic, they are the hallmarks of a well engineered power system. The bike feels reliable and stable. To the question of power, the Piezo accelerates and climbs hills in “M” at the pace of traffic.
A Refined Power System:
Monday is committed to well refined Ebike designs for the urban commute and delivery market. Like Monday’s Anza programs, the Piezo retains the full Cafe Racer vibe, but steps up the game from there.
• The Piezo 2kW hub motor is integrated into a cast alloy rear wheel and is as smooth and quiet as any Ebike we have tested. Monday paid attention to the design of the motor housing to control sound pressure to about 70 dB at 3 meters. How much is 70 dB? About the same as the background noise of a dishwasher. More to the point, Piezo operates at a lower decibel level than the background noise of traffic. Piezo will reduce your hydrocarbon footprint and your contribution to urban noise.
• Why so quiet? The power architecture. Piezo uses a 2kW hub motor and omits the noise associated with a drive chain and sprocket. A similarly powerful chain-drive Ebike may have more than 85 dB in chain noise as the chain barrels snap into the bottom of the drive sprocket. The motor is also fully enclosed in an IP67 watertight housing and painted to bounce less sound.
• To benchmark the Piezo improvements against Monday’s popular bikes, we measured the Piezo 2KW motor Vs the Anza 750W. Both systems use permanent magnet hub motors so the comparison is a reasonable test of similar electromechanical structures. Based on sound pressure at 3 meters, the Piezo came is at about 68 dB Vs 80 dB for the Anza. The resulting quiet lets you hear more of the community around you while your neighbors hear less from passing machines. The result is an efficient application of power without sharp tones or vibrations.
• The Piezo power system also delivers on user experience. The bike accelerates from the first pull of the throttle, utilizing its 145 Nm of torque. The power delivery is smooth enough to lift your spirits without lifting the front wheel - an intentional design balance for safety. The power bands in L / M / H are controlled by Monday’s programming tools with lots oo settings from “Santa Monica Cruiser” to San Francisco’s “Hyde Street Hill Climber”. Monday has enforced a guard band to keep the front wheel down and the rider on the seat. In the low band, the motor controller is gated to about 500W and a top speed of 20 MPH top speed. In the M band the bike is gated to 750W continuous output and 28 MPH. In the H band, well, more than that. The version of the bike we tested is a PVT (product validation test) model with open firmware controls. To be sure, there are some software glitches and screen flickers still to be sorted, but that didn’t stop us from getting the full Piezo experience. As Monday Motorbikes matures, the product management effort is more focused on customer experience, product reliability, front of screen performance and attention to detail. The build quality is impressive - the welds are smooth and complete - no pin holes or metal splash. The battery enclosure is also aluminum and feels solid without rattles or vibrations. The seat is comfortable, well stitched and fitted to the bike and rider. Rider ergonomics are nicely done. The pedal mechanics are among the best in the cafe racer class. The riding position is comfortable for riders in the 5’ 8” to 6’ 4” range. If you fall a bit on the short side of that range, Monday is preparing a 20” OD tire version to reduce the ride height for more riders. This is a bike you will be proud to show as well as to ride.
Suspension, Brakes and Handling:
• The Piezo sits on Monday Motorbikes alloy wheels with a unique spoke design. The spokes are horizontal pillars between the rim and the hub - sturdy, well proportioned and matched to the cooling fins on the hub motor. Monday’s engineering team in Long Beach developed the bike from the road surface up and the attention to industrial design and detail is abundant. To drive the point home, the Monday Motorbikes logo is molded into the motor cover; good enough to earn patent pending positions in most markets. The bike rides on full motorcycle tires designed for wet and dry roads. Again, in a nod to utility for urban commuters and delivery riders, the tread design will shed water and protect against punctures from trail burrs, thorns, and construction debris.
• The brakes are dual piston hydraulic front and rear and clamping on 220mm rotors. The braking hardware is motorcycle grade, DOT rated and well modulated to deliver a stable braking experience. The suspension uses an adjustable rear mono shock and the front forks allow about 6” of compression. In our experience, the Piezo handled flawlessly on road grates, broken pavement and off the curb.
Rider Experience
The Piezo is a well integrated solution and a blast to ride. The seat fits the rider, is narrow enough to pedal, and supports efficient pedal mechanics, but with the motor and battery solution, you may never need to. The headlight offers DRL, low beam and high beam positions. We rode in the evening in Long Beach as the sun was setting and on low beam you can easily find your way. On high beam you have a virtual light cannon to push back the darkness. The turn signals are bright and your intended direction at an intersection will be clear. Powerful and well integrated, the bike will build your confidence that a lower carbon footprint future will be, as Monday Motrbikes CEO Bruce Riggs said, “fast, fun, simple and connected.”
At a price of $4,699, the Piezo is punching well above its class in the value department. Whether you’ll be using it as your primary mode of transportation, your way to school, practice, work, or your side hustle with Uber Eats, Door Dash and others - you are in lfor a treat. The bike will pay for itself. If you’re looking for just a neighborhood cruiser, there are more options in the Monday lineup. The Piezo is a well engineered solution for campus and urban commuters, delivery riders and car replacement buyers. Monday has raised the bar for performance, technology and build quality with this one. At the time of this writing, the Piezo is available on about a 90 days lead-time.
Monday Motorbikes Piezo Specs
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