'The Beast' Electric Bike: 50mph, $33,500

'The Beast' Electric Bike: 50mph, $33,500

'The Beast' Electric Bike: 50mph, $33,500

This is The Beast, and rarely does a product so clearly deserve its name. The 33KG (73-pound) monster is a hybrid electric bike, which means the motor kicks-in to provide extra power as you pedal, instead of using a throttle-style switch to run on the motor alone.

Despite its back-breaking weight (you won't be carrying this up the stairs to your apartment), the Beast is fast, reaching up to 77km/h (48mph) with a pedal cadence of just 120. To keep this thing under control, the maker – M55 – has thrown some motorcycle parts into the mix. The disk brakes, for example, are from Brembo, a name not often seen on bicycles.

The gears are for a bike, though, and come courtesy of Rohloff, in the form of a tandem Speed Hub. Front and rear suspension comes from Fox, and the aluminum frame, handlebar and crank are custom jobs. The handlebar is more like a cockpit, with switches for the gears, lights and controls for the motor.

As you can see, the batteries are inside the frame. They're Tenergy cells, more commonly found in hybrid cars, and can be charged to 80% capacity in just 15 minutes. Sadly, nowhere on the site is the bike's range mentioned, a rather serious omission considering the price.

And speaking of price, how much do you think this Beast might cost? $5,000 (more than enough to buy a gas scooter like a Vespa)? Nope. $10,000, or enough for a used car? Nope. Try $33,500. For comparison, that money would buy you a Nissan Leaf, an all-electric car, with $500 left over. A beast indeed. Available for pre-order now.

The Beast product page [M55 via Cycle EXIF. Thanks, Adam!]

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