Two Drive Units Expanding the PAS World

自 1990 年代后半期以来，雅马哈一直以 OEM 形式向欧洲自行车制造商供应 PAS 驱动单元，并且我们通过多年的开发工作不断推进这些单元的产品成熟度。所有这一切都促成了 2013 年 PW 系列的发布，这是为更好地满足欧洲市场需求而开发的新型驱动装置。 2013 年，雅马哈开始向捷安特电动汽车有限公司提供这些装置。这最终导致了使用雅马哈制造的驱动单元的捷安特品牌电动助力自行车的诞生，此后，雅马哈开始向捷安特提供这些装置。还有两家欧洲制造商。
与日本相比，这些供应给欧洲的装置实际上存在一些结构差异。日本市场的单位使用“链条合力”配置，其中来自电动机的辅助力通过特殊齿轮传递到链条以驱动后轮。这使得自行车更适合在日本的常见用途，主要涉及相当低负荷的踩踏，例如带孩子往返托儿所和购物旅行。
另一方面，欧洲有着悠久的自行车使用传统，PW 系列装置的设计与市场对传统风格自行车的强烈偏好相兼容。通过这些单元，骑手的踩踏力和来自电机的辅助力在驱动单元内融合为一个力，并直接施加到链条上以驱动后轮。由于这种配置的驱动单元直接转动踏板曲柄，传统的自行车设计保持不变，并允许使用传统的外部换档机构。

The compact PW Series drive units popular in Europe debuted in Japan in December 2015 with a new model named the “YPJ-R.” (#1) Mounting a PW Series unit, the YPJ-R joined the Japanese domestic PAS lineup as a road bike with a completely new feeling to its ride. Weighing around just 15 kg, it is the lightest Yamaha-built electrically power-assisted bicycle model, and can also be fully enjoyed as a road-sport bicycle with the power assist off.
With the YPJ-R, the electric power assist aids the rider with starts and acceleration before smoothly transitioning to the cruising speed range. This makes it a model that alters the nature of the assist from making bicycle riding easier to one that helps the rider more fully enjoy the ride itself. It has a conventional, externally fitted 22-speed gear-shift mechanism and adopts the Shimano 105 groupset for its main components. The newly developed compact battery unit features a USB adapter that allows the battery to function as a power source for charging electronics like smartphones when the bicycle isn’t being ridden.
The switch unit mounted at the center of the handlebars (#2) has a micro-USB port that makes it usable as an electricity source for smartphones or separately sold devices like lights. All this makes the YPJ-R a hybrid bicycle combining the qualities of a high-performance road bike with the advantages of the power assist and battery, expanding the enjoyment of cycling into new realms. This is just one more way that Yamaha’s electronic control technology in PAS bicycles and drive units is opening up new horizons.