California, US (BBN)-California-based Icon is a company best known for its re-imagined vintage trucks and utility vehicles, all-conquering Toyota FJs and Ford Broncos that merge classic style and simplicity with modern engineering and six-figure price tags.
The E-Flyer electric bicycle takes Icon in a somewhat different direction.
Created in collaboration with Vintage Electric Bicycles, also California-based, the Icon E-Flyer recalls the board-track motorcycle racers of the 1910s and 1920s.
The 57-pound bicycle features traditional pedal power, augmented on demand by a rear-hub-mounted electric motor.
The drive system delivers up to 35 miles of sustained boost per charge, and a regenerative braking system throws electricity back to the battery pack (contained within a cast-aluminium box that, in addition to looking like a piece of modern art, disperses heat for improved performance).
Vintage Electric estimates the cost of the E-Flyer’s 2-hour recharge to be a modest $0.18. For those keeping track, that’s 1,556 MPGe.
And the E-Flyer is quite swift for a bicycle, capable of a governed 20mph in standard, 750-watt mode.
An optional 3,000-watt “race mode” (obtainable only after signing a waver) removes the speed limiter, enabling a breezy 36mph.
The bike is a first-rate creation, on par with Icon’s meticulously crafted four-wheeled efforts.
The frame is hydroformed aluminium and the forks are TIG-welded steel with a billet aluminium triple clamp and hand-formed stainless steel handlebars.
The E-Flyer’s grips and traditionally sprung saddle are handcrafted by the venerable UK-based leather-crafter, Brooks.
Production of Icon’s bike is limited to a scant 50 examples, priced at $4,995 apiece, plus shipping.
If the E-Flyer’s matte-gray powder coat and black leather isn’t your style, Vintage Electric offers its similar E-Tracker bike in a variety of colours for $4,495.
BBN/AS/AD/-07May14-4:00pm (BST)
