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 two-hour recharge to be a modest $0.18. For
those keeping track, that’s 1,556 MPGe. (By comparison, the Nissan
Leaf electric car is rated at 130 MPGe.)
Icon E-Flyer. (Icon)
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 waiver) 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 Brooks, the venerable UK-based leather crafter.
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.
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