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    TXE Prototype

    • GASGAS TXE Prototype

    Research & Development

    WHEN DID THE TXE ELECTRIC TRIAL BIKE PROJECT BEGIN? 

    Work on this project started during the winter of 2020. So almost four years ago now!

    DID YOU USE ANY OF THE TECHNOLOGY FROM THE PREVIOUS GASGAS ELECTRIC TRIALBIKE, THE TXT-E, ON THE NEW TXE? 

    No, the TXE that Sondre is currently riding in Trial2 shares nothing with the previous TXT-E bike. It’s a completely new development, based on our latest generation of TXT bikes. This incredible new bike is the result of a perfect balance of knowledge and expertise, developed collaboratively by the R&D team in Terrasa, with their core trial expertise, and the R&D team in Mattighofen. As Sondre’s results have shown, the bike is very capable.

    HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE WORKING ON THE PROJECT? 

    There are around 10-15 people working in R&D on the TXE project in Austria, Spain, and at KISKA. If you include the Product Management and Marketing Team as well then it’s even more people.

    FROM A TECHNICAL POINT OF VIEW, HOW DIFFERENT IS THE TXE COMPARED TO THE OTHER ELECTRIC DIRT BIKES THAT GASGAS MANUFACTURES? FOR EXAMPLE, THE MOTOR, THE BATTERY, THE ECU PARTS... 

    We currently have the electric-powered MC-E 2, MC-E 3, and MC-E 5 in our line-up, but the answer is the same as before – the TXE is a new bike and has its own motor concept with a very different battery.

    WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART OF DEVELOPING THIS BIKE? 

    The hardest part was to have a clear end goal. To ask for the right tunable parameters and give precise information and feedback to the R&D team to go in the right direction. An electric motor is like a blank piece of paper, and you don’t need the same behavior and performance from it as what you might want for street, enduro, or motocross. We are really confident that we are on the right path and making the correct steps. We cannot be more excited about what’s to come in the future.

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    WHAT ARE THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE BIKE? 

    One of the biggest advantages is that, with one bike, you can cover several riding levels. This means that you can easily share your bike with family and friends. As well as that, the bike performs exactly the same way everywhere and every time. You don’t need to worry about carburetor settings or altitude as nothing has an impact on the bike’s performance, which is great.

    As for disadvantages? Actually, the bike currently weighs a bit more than the combustion bike. Of course, we are working hard to develop a bike that has no weaknesses.

     

    Features and benefits

    At this time we can’t share too many specifics as we are constantly making refinements. Here is a starting point. You can follow the GASGAS social media channels to make sure you’re always up to date.

    DOES THE CLUTCH USE STANDARD SPRINGS OR IS IT A DIAPHRAGM CLUTCH?

    Currently, we are using BRAKTEC hydraulics. For the clutch itself, it is a customizable diaphragm clutch that has three different preload settings, just like we have on the TXT bikes, so that riders can choose a setting to suit their riding style. However, we will see what works the best for the final TXE bike regards what goes into production. 

    HOW MANY GEARS ARE THERE IN THE TRANSMISSION? 

    It’s quite special that an electric bike has a transmission in the first place, but we wanted to create a riding experience that’s as similar as possible to the combustion bikes. How many gears we will have in the end is still to be decided

    THE FRAME LOOKS TO BE THE SAME AS THE TXT BIKE. IS IT THE SAME? 

    The geometry of the frame is the same, but there are slight changes due to the different connection points of the battery and the motor etc. 

    WHAT ARE THE FORKS, SHOCK, AND BRAKES? 

    They will most likely be the same as what you’ll find on the combustion engine GASGAS bikes. Same platform, same base, same goals. Some minor settings can be applied to adapt to the TXE to the rider’s needs. 

    HOW MANY TRIAL SECTIONS CAN YOU RIDE WITH THE SAME BATTERY? 

    It depends on the difficulty of the section and the terrain, but it should be possible to complete a standard trial competition without changing the battery. In the last Trial2 races we changed the battery every lap just to be on the safe side. It’s no different to needing to refill a combustion bike with petrol, really.

    HOW LONG IS THE BATTERY LIFE? AND IS THE BATTERY EASY TO CHANGE? 

    The battery is extremely easy to change. At the world championship we are able to change the battery in the middle of the lap very easily. In terms of battery life, we have been able to complete all the TrialGP races this year without needing to swap the battery in the middle of the lap. The only time we did this was on the first lap of the first round for safety, because we weren’t able to test the bike on the course the day before and we didn’t know what to expect.

    HOW MANY DIFFERENT ENGINE MAPS CAN YOU USE? 

    There will be different maps available, but we don’t know how many yet. We are constantly developing the bike in order to perfect settings like this

    DOES THE BIKE HAVE A TICK OVER? 

    We asked ourselves a question. If we could remove the tick over in our combustion TXT bikes, would we do it? The answer was clear, no. So, we decided to have one on the TXE, too. When the bike is available to buy, riders will be able to decide if they want it based on their riding level and other factors. As everyone knows, the electric bikes can be customized in many ways.

    HOW MUCH DOES THE BIKE WEIGH? 

    This is a difficult question to answer because the bike is changing constantly. We took the decision to ride the Trial2 World Championship with a prototype because we were feeling confident, and we could get a lot of information for developing it while racing.

     

    TXE @ TrialGP

    WAS SONDRE HAGA’S WIN IN JAPAN A BIG SURPRISE? AN ELECTRIC SHOCK IF YOU WILL? 

    We were absolutely surprised! We had an idea of how he was riding from the previous CET (Spanish Championship) rounds, but the level and the contenders were not the same in that championship as they are in Trial2. Sondre started riding the TXE bike occasionally last December and he used to join us on the tests that we were doing. In early February, we had the first big test with the whole R&D team, from Austria and Spain, and we made a lot of progress with the TXE. During this test it was decided that Sondre would ride the TXE at the Trial2 World Championship to help us continue developing and improving the bike while competing. Honestly, if we finished in the top 10, we would have been pleased, so you can imagine how that victory felt! It’s a huge reward and well deserved by the whole team. They have all put in a crazy amount of hours and hard work in developing the bike and it clearly paid off.

    DID YOU THINK THEN THAT HE HAS A CHANCE AT WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP? 

    The potential to win the Trial2 championship with this bike is there and we have seen that. But of course, we are still developing the TXE and to achieve these awesome results with a prototype is just incredible. 

    ARE YOU HAPPY WITH SONDRE’S RESULTS THIS SEASON? 

    Absolutely! We are incredibly happy and proud of the whole team. To be able to ask Sondre for the right tunable parameters and give precise information and feedback to the R&D team to go in the right direction is challenging, but really exciting. Overall, Sondre has played a very important role in developing the TXE and his results have been fantastic. 

    DOES SONDRE HAVE TO RIDE THE TXE GP DIFFERENTLY TO A PETROL BIKE? IF SO, HOW? 

    An electric bike is very different to an internal combustion bike, so for sure it requires some adaptation. But our goal is to make riders feel at home when they ride our TXE bike. We are going in the right direction and getting closer and closer to where we want to be, using Sondre’s feedback after every race, same base, same goals. Some minor settings can be applied to adapt to the TXE to the rider’s needs. 

    Market situation

    DO YOU THINK THAT THE TRIAL INDUSTRY IS MUCH MORE ACCEPTING OF THE ELECTRIC-POWERED MOVEMENT THAN OTHER MOTORSPORTS? 

    Yes, from our perception, electric trial bikes are really well accepted in the trial market, and we believe they will also attract new customers to the sport. Besides this, they make no noise, which means it can be ridden almost anywhere.

    DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHEN THE TXE WILL BE ON SALE IN GASGAS DEALERSHIPS? 

    We still need some time to bring the TXE into production, but we are getting closer every day. It’s a long process to develop an all-new bike and so far, the project has been successful. Now it’s just a case of making sure that the production bike is ready for trial riders to jump on and ride from the outset. We have no doubt that when the TXE is launched it will be very popular in the trial community.

     

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