E-Bike ABS: a BFU study on its effectiveness

How effective is the anti-lock braking system in preventing e-bike accidents? The BFU, the Swiss Center for Accidents prevention, conducted an extensive test to investigate it

A recent study by the Swiss Center for Accident Prevention investigates ABS for e-bikes effectiveness in preventing crashes.

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The BFU, the Swiss Center for Accidents preventions, carried out an extensive study on Anti-Lock Braking Systems for e-bikes, in order to determine their effectiveness in improving vehicle's safety and preventing accidents.

The study, conducted on both e-bikes and speed pedelecs, revealed that the "ABS reduces or prevents locking of the front wheel and lifting of the rear wheel and tends to improve the directional stability. ABS for e-bikes can therefore have a positive impact on safety by improving the stability and controllability of the bike and thus having a beneficial effect on the risk of falling"

The study by the BFU tested the bikes with and without ABS in identical braking situations and it demonstrated that without the ABS the front wheel locks up in 65.2% of the cases, in the same braking scenario with ABS the front wheel locks up only in 19.2% cases and with short-term lockages when the system has to "readjust".

Not only, when braking without ABS, the rear wheel lifts off 33.3% of the times, with the ABS never.

Moreover it was noted that "When using e-bikes with ABS, the test rider had to take his feet off the pedals less often to keep his balance on the bike. Accordingly, the ABS tends to have a positive effect on directional stability."

As a result of the study the BFU states that: "Increased stability when braking with ABS was clearly documented by the video recordings. This applies to all substrates used here. The locking of the front wheel and the lifting of the rear wheel have been significantly reduced thanks to ABS. The lifting of the rear wheel could even be completely eliminated with ABS. Furthermore, the use of ABS improved directional stability; it can be assumed that this reduces the risk of falling."

The final verdict of the study conducted by the BFU leaves no doubt: "The locking of the front wheel and the lifting of the rear wheel have been significantly reduced thanks to ABS. The lifting of the rear wheel could even be completely eliminated with ABS. Furthermore, the use of ABS improved directional stability, it can be assumed that this reduces the risk of falling”

Safer e-bikes without any compromise

Making e-bikes and e-cargo bikes safer without altering their frame design is possible thanks to Blubrake ABS. Not only, Blubrake ABS has been developed to be technically open to the integration with every third party brake and electric kit, in order to improve safety without any compromise. Discover more