With the Hyena System Being Sporty Comes at a Price

In March, the season of bicycle trade fairs started in Germany. A few thousand kilometres away, the Taipei Cycle 2022 took place in Taiwan. Hyena was present, a manufacturer who, with its combination of a rear hub motor and a smaller battery for the down tube, wants to compete internationally in what has become a highly competitive segment.

Not unknown in Europe either

You may already be familiar with the name Hyena. In Europe, the Taiwanese company last left its calling card at the Eurobike 2021 in Friedrichshafen. There, it showed its drive system, which should attract the attention of manufacturers of city ebikes, trekking ebikes, e-road bikes and e-gravel bikes. At Taipei Cycle, Hyena focused on its lightest system, whose total weight of 3.7 kilograms can easily compete with drives from Mahle, FreeFlow Technologies, Maxon and FSA. Moreover, it can record and process information from several sensors. Accordingly, torque, speed and cadence could be taken into account in the motor control and used in the sense of a most natural driving experience.

As mentioned, Hyena uses rear hub motors. The MRC-E250 was installed on the exhibit in Taipei. Its weight of 2.2 kilograms and the torque of 40 Newton metres sound absolutely competitive in terms of values. Even more so when you know that the motor does not get out of step even at a cadence of 270 revolutions per minute. According to the manufacturer, it is designed for cassettes with ten sprockets, which seems appropriate for this type of ebike.

E-road bike with the drive shown at Taipei Cycle 2022

Limited support

The MRC-E250 draws its energy from a battery integrated in the down tube. It weighs 1.7 kilograms. More important, of course, is the capacity of the battery. The 250 watt hours are even at the upper limit of what can be expected. However, the motor does not seem to be the most economical. According to Hyena, 34 kilometres of support can be expected in turbo mode, and 51 kilometres in eco mode. That sounds, let’s say, quite moderate. The battery is charged directly on the bike, as it is permanently installed and is only removed for maintenance purposes.

Reacting at the touch of a button

In terms of operation, the manufacturer follows current standards. This means that the entire ebike system can be controlled via a control unit embedded in the top tube. At the lower end of the LED chip is the button for switching the drive on and off. Above it, a single LED in changing colours indicates the currently selected riding mode. Above this are three blue LEDs. These show you how much range is left in the battery. Inside the control unit is the necessary electronic intelligence for data exchange via Bluetooth. This establishes the connection to the app.

LED Chip control unit from Hyena

Due to the somewhat larger clearances and rather rudimentary details, it is clear that the quality is still a bit lacking compared to the competition. The system shown on the e-road bike does not offer functions such as light or walk assistance. Control elements of other Hyena drives are equipped with these.

Transfer range to navigation

The app also leaves a good impression in terms of its appearance. Without a concrete test, of course, little can be said about the actual potential as well as strengths and weaknesses in use. At first glance, however, everything seems to be on board that is also common with other manufacturers. The Rider app can be used to record riding data. Categories such as distances, energy consumption and average speed can be evaluated retrospectively in relation to days, months and years. If bicycle manufacturers integrate smart features such as headlights or a lock, everything also seems to be prepared to operate this via the app.

Rider App for the Hyena drive system

The “Range Map” function caught our eye. It indicates the radius that you can still move within with the current battery charge. In any direction, of course. On this basis, you can plan a route from your current location.

Ebikes with Hyena drive already on the market

An ebike with a Hyena drive has already made it beyond the status of an exhibit and is being sold in Great Britain. This refers to the Carrera Impel IM model series, which was created together with the Halfords company. On the island, the British are among the largest retailers of products and services related to cars and bicycles. As such, they also sell ebikes.

The Carrera Impel IM is a hardtail that is promoted more in an urban context. However, it lacks a light system and mudguards, for example. The models range from the IM-1 with single-speed and cantilever brakes to the IM-3 with a Shimano Deore derailleur and a 496 watt-hour battery. The price ranges from around 1,000 to 1,500 British pounds. In Great Britain, it was able to gain some market share as an entry-level ebike.

Carrera Impel IM-2

Let’s see when Hyena can win a cooperation partner and who that will be. Possibly the market in Germany will then get a new competitor in the lower price segment.

Pictures: Hyena Inc; Halfords Limited; Immediate Media