It put post-war France on wheels　: the Solex motorized bike with its tiny single cilinder engine driving directly the front wheel. It was designed during the second world war by Marcel Mennesson en Maurice Goudard and was presented to the French public in 1946. The Solex won the hearts of many thousands in the first few months, and became for millions of French their first post-war individual transport. Like Monsieur Tati, the typical baguette bread and the camembert cheese, the Solex became a French icon, and until 1988, when production finally stopped, not less than 8 million Solex were sold in France and worldwide.

Now the challenge is to revive this legendary Solex with an electric engine, in tune with the times, and to regain its place in the hearts of millions. It is already the most sold electric (two) wheeled vehicle in Belgium…

One almost hears the tiny one cilinder engine purr again, but this time this is an all-electric Solex!

We recently got acquainted with this E-solex at the presentation of the new Touareg, as it is imported by D’Ieteren (Sport) in this country.

We tell you here more about this E-solex, and look forward to driving it soon…

The lines of the new E-Solex stems from the hand of… Pinin Farina, and a brushless 400 W electric engine is housed in the rear axle. The top speed is – according to the manufacturer – some 35 kmh, and the bike weights a moderate 40 kg.

The E-Solex has a 37 Volt 16 Ah Lithium Polymer battery, which gives it an autonomy of one and a half hour (between 25 and 40 km) depending on the use.

The battery is rechargeable for 70 pct in 4 hours, and is fully charged in 8 hours. The battery weighs some 3,9 kilo.

The Solex has two mechanical disk brakes and adjustable saddle suspension.

The battery charger is standard, and the Solex has on the steering wheel a speedometer and a battery charge indicator.

The price of this Solex is at the moment of writing set at merely 1595 Euro, including VAT.

For more information, you can always consult the websites www.e-solex.be for Belgium or www.e-solex.nl for the Netherlands.  

In a following report, I will tell you more about the foldable version of the electrical Solex, the Velosolex, which was also presented at the Touareg introduction, and which promises to be even more versatile.

Hans Knol ten Bensel