The official presentation of the Ecrown e-bikes recently took place, a new very Italian brand that has attracted attention for its contemporary and refined, unquestionably stylish design. The catalog includes two Enduro e-MTBs, a hardtail trekking e-MTB and three e-gravel bikes.
Ecrown was born on the shores of Lake Orta from the idea of four friends, Marco Paini (owner of the tap industry of the same name), Maurizio Cottella, Mauro Zerlia and Claudio Savoini, local entrepreneurs, passionate cyclists and, above all, practitioners. From the desire to share the same passion and ride the same bikes, the four created Ecrown from scratch, a distinctive brand that presents itself on the market with its own very specific identity.
The start-up is extremely linked to the territory and its beauties. The company headquarters is located in Pogno (NO), a small town famous for its historic companies in the tap sector and for the spectacular Enduro track on the hill above. The bikes will be produced a few kilometers from the shores of Lake Orta and the prototypes will be tested on local routes. Ecrown supports pedal-assisted bikes with the production of green charging stations to promote environmental sustainability, renewable resources and a healthier lifestyle, a philosophy that has long been applied to the industrial activities of the four founders.
The Ecrown Performante S and, on the right, the Performante RS
The Ecrown Enduro range is divided into two models. The “Performante S” integrates technical solutions dedicated to competitions with fun handling characteristics thanks to the “mullet” wheels with differentiated clearance (29″ front and 27.5″ rear), and is suitable for a very wide audience and not necessarily competitive ones. It boasts an aluminum frame, Rock Shox suspension, 12-speed Shimano XT transmission, 4-piston Shimano XT brakes, 90Nm Polini central motor and 630Wh battery. Alongside the “Performante S”, which has already won some podiums in national enduro races, we could admire the spectacular “Performante RS” in terms of shape and technical content, officially still a prototype phase but, as anticipated by the Ecrown technicians, very close to the final version. The frame of the “Performante RS” is made of aluminum but with different geometries and kinematics compared to the “Performante S”. The suspensions and static components (handlebars, stem, grips) also change, while the transmission department, the engine, the battery and the “mullet” wheels remain unchanged.
The Ecrown Hardtail for Trekking and, on the right, the Un Paved dedicated to Gravel
Two more Ecrowns for gravel, the Un Paved Flat and, on the right, the rear-engined Un Paved Light
We then move on to the only e-mtb dedicated to trekking – the “Hardtail” with carbon frame, 12-speed Shimano Deore transmission, 90Nm Polini central motor and 720Wh battery – to arrive at the three Gravel models: “Un Paved” ( carbon frame and fork, 11-speed Shimano GRX transmission, 75Nm Polini central motor and 504Wh battery), “Un Paved Flat” (same technical characteristics as the “Un Paved” but with flat rather than curved handlebars) and “Un Paved Light” (aluminum frame, carbon fork, Shimano GRX 11-speed transmission, 45Nm FSA motor housed in the rear hub and 252Wh battery).
Giving even more prominence to the day was the participation of Ecrown’s three main technical partners: FSA, Polini and Vittoria, who illustrated in detail the standard components adopted on the e-bikes of the newborn Cusio brand, involving the public with an interesting overview of products and solutions designed to improve the quality of bicycles.
At the end of the presentation we had the opportunity to try the “Un Paved Light” on a gravel route, panoramic in the first part on the opposite bank to Orta and then becoming, after the speedboat crossing, steep uphill and fast downhill with challenging passages technicians. For the tests of the “Performante S”, a route with a quick succession of evolutions had been prepared and manually cleaned the day before by the members of the MTB Team “I Gufi” of Pogno (whom we thank) but the strong wind prevented the test.
The “Un Paved Light”, in our very short test, proved to be an agile, light gravel, easy to ride in the technical and minimally influenced in driving by the weight of the motor in the rear hub. The very efficient aluminum frame allowed us to always push the largest chainring, even on decidedly steep climbs, and to do honor in the traditional final sprint. After this first contact we can’t wait to try the more powerful “Un Paved” with a mid-engine.
– Ecrown website
Text: Sergio Doria (Tech-Cycling) and Roberto Zanetti (Ecrown PR & Communication)
Photo: Sergio Doria (Tech-Cycling) and Guido P. Rubino