Matra shows off its human / electric-powered MS1 bike

Sure, we've seen all flavors of electric motorcycles over the years, but Matra's iteration takes a slightly different approach. The MS1 looks more like a bicycle and less like a Harley, and it provides commuters with a backup source of energy that should never fail so long as you're properly fed, hydrated and rested. That source, of course, would be your legs / feet, which can pedal this bad boy away long after the electric motor runs out of steam. Reportedly, the bike has a range of around 62 miles without any pedal assistance, captures usable energy when you apply the brakes, and sports a speed limiter that kills the juice just before you exceed 28mph. No word on when this thing will hit shops, but it'll supposedly run you around €3,500 ($4,951) whenever it does. Click out a couple more shots after the break.

[mushrooshi @ Sep 29th 2007 1:47AM]

Thats a tightass bike!

tough decision... That.. A SMart Fortwo... Segway...

[Paul @ Sep 29th 2007 2:02AM]

better than that other ugly POS.

ew tho 28mph limited? lame.

lower cost...yay.

better range too...

What's the range after you run out of juice tho? hehe

[Loonie @ Sep 29th 2007 7:09PM]

I'm sure that 28 limit can be effortlessly "seen to".

[Josh @ Sep 29th 2007 2:07AM]

That would actually be pretty nice after a long day at work in a city like D.C. where biking is really the way to go, might save you a couple drops of sweat and create a more relaxed ride home.

i wonder how much the motor and battery weigh the bike down though? Peddling a heavy bike is certainly no fun.

[Frank @ Sep 29th 2007 2:26AM]

Looks rather stupid.

There are some nice, afforadable, models from dutch bicycle companies (Batavus, Sparta, Gazelle, Union, Giant) that look A LOT better!

No, wrong concept...

[Kozzi @ Sep 29th 2007 6:22AM]

SPARTA !

[Greg S. @ Sep 29th 2007 2:57AM]

I wonder if this will affect Amsterdam bike culture, or the planning industry... Cities all over the US are installing bike lanes on streets. Might this mean wider bike lanes with a faster top speed?

Greg S.
www.grandtradition.net

[Dan Gleckler @ Sep 29th 2007 8:50AM]

Perhaps it's changed, but I believe the speed limit for bikes is 20mph. Anything faster than that and I don't think you can ride in a bike lane. Not that any cop is going to be clocking cyclists.

[moondy @ Sep 29th 2007 2:29PM]

@Dan: Guess you haven't been to Australia...they are indeed starting to squeeze every cent out just before we vote for a new prime minister, think we get a 10km speed limit in the city, however this applies on specially marked footpaths.

[oshean @ Sep 29th 2007 4:08AM]

Slap a couple of XBox 360 stickers on this bike and call it the MicroSoft1.

[jeti @ Sep 29th 2007 5:06AM]

Actually the swiss flyer is a reliable and affordable pedelec that has been available for several years. It actually sells well in the Netherlands.

[jimmyfinch @ Sep 29th 2007 6:16PM]

Can you point me in the direction of a link in English?

Perhaps a distributor in the USA?

[tekdroid @ Sep 29th 2007 5:39AM]

price and speed limiter is ridiculous. As Frank suggested, plenty of sane competition..

[khozy @ Sep 29th 2007 1:03PM]

A lot of bikes WITHOUT this kind of technology/motor cost $5000 or higher. Unless you're used to buying bikes at Walmart, I think this is a very reasonable price for this kind of bike.

[tekdroid @ Sep 29th 2007 8:56PM]

when was the last time you looked into electric bikes?

[CanuckTFi @ Sep 29th 2007 7:28AM]

There are reasons for the speed limiter, some are safety concerns while the most important might be registration. Some coutries require that a "bicycle" motor powered or not must be able to be manually pedalled to remain a bicycle. There are also speed limits for these "vehicles". If they go over certain speeds, they will be classified as a motor vehicle and require the same licencing and regulations that control those vehicles on the road. You would then need to get a driver's licence to operate this bicycle and you might not be allowed on the road until you also get working turn signals as well. So the speed limiter isn't stupid, just practical for the market it is for. You could probably remove this as you can on cars and get your max speed from it. This has dangers of it's own, a fast vehicle with a small profile and ZERO sound makes for a very dangerous vechile on the road because no one expects it coming up on them opening a door and or turning out onto the road in front of them. If it already happens on a normal bicycle, it's even worse on a faster propelled bicycle.

[Yoshi @ Sep 29th 2007 7:42AM]

This is far better design than the other ugly one.
To put battery housing behind of saddle is, not new but still good idea, provided
if it is strong enough to withstand the weight of one more person sitting on.

[jds @ Sep 29th 2007 9:27AM]

The annual bicycle trade show in Las Vegas, Interbike, which just finished yesterday featured about a half dozen of these kinds of bikes.

[johnzilla @ Sep 29th 2007 11:15AM]

I was at an antique tractor show last weekend, and there was a guy there that had modified his bike so it was powered by a weed whacker engine.

It was pretty cool...all he'd done was mount the weed whacker so that its straight tube was right next to the bottom frame tube, with the engine sticking out in front of the handlebars. The hub of the weed whacker was right up against the rubber of the back tire that way, and turned it by friction. He was able to motor all over the place with that thing...over grass, dirt, small hills, you name it.

Only bad thing, it was a gas-powered engine...noisy and smoky. But still a nifty idea requiring very little modification to either the weed whacker or the bike.

[mike @ Sep 29th 2007 11:28AM]

Hey Engadget, how 'bout a nice electric powered bike DIY project? Lots of people would be interested.

[email4rudy @ Sep 29th 2007 12:30PM]

This is cheaper... and in some ways cooler!
http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/10/the-wheel-turns-your-bike-into-a-moped/

[JBDragon @ Sep 29th 2007 11:32PM]

The Wheel Replacement thing seems like a Good Idea, but it's a 2-stroke, California, and maybe New York wouldn't allow those to be sold. Can't even buy a Stand up Jetski anymore because they're 2-Stroke.

I think these bikes are a pretty good Idea. You can ride for miles Cheaply. Safer then a Segway and cheaper. You also pretty much have a Unlimited Range by Peddling. Not only that you can peddle just a little while moving fast under electric power and increase your range without wearing yourself out.

[me @ Sep 29th 2007 12:59PM]

What if it gets stolen?

[taikongren @ Sep 29th 2007 10:29PM]

I'm in China. We ride electric bikes everywhere. I don't see what's new about this. We ride electric "scooters" (that look like...scooters) and electric bikes. Only difference is that bikes have peddles. The average cost for an electric bike is around 1700RMB, or $225USD. A lot cheaper than this bike. Of course, our bikes do not look as cool and have crappy quality compared to this. But we also have bike repair guys on every other corner that will repair bikes for $1.

The only innovation I see here is that this bike supposedly will recoup energy when breaking. Sounds cool, but I don't see that adding more than 5% to a battery's charge. How often are you breaking when you ride a bike? I also have a feeling from looking at the bike that it uses Lithium batteries. Which may account for the cost, and also make the bide lighters. I wonder if that battery is removable though. If not, you would need to haul the bike up to your appartment to recharge it. Also, the top speed and maximum millage is higher than the typical Chinese bike. My bike goes about 30 kilometers before recharge...but my batteries are old.

[JeffDM @ Sep 29th 2007 11:46PM]

I think the problem is that the bikes you reference don't seem to be exported, and not much information about them gets out to us.

[taikongren @ Sep 30th 2007 1:00AM]

Look. There are so many bike manufacturers here it is rediculous. There are also Taiwanese manufacturers. Google "Bike" and "Giant". Giant brand is the #1 Taiwanese brand sold in China. So those bikes are slightly more expensive.

These bikes are not sold in the US because Americans ride bikes mostly for excersize and entertainment, while in China, everyone rides bikes for transportation...even people who own cars.

There were several posts here (and in other Engsdget articles about internal-combustion motorized bikes) about how people should not be "lazy" to use motorized motorized bikes. That's the wrong attitude. Motorized assisted bicicles...coupled with good bike lanes... are key to reducing gas consumption.

BTW, in China - which is a relatively poor country with many social, political, economic, and environmental problems - most cities have extensive bike lanes. I live in Suzhou (close to Shanghai). A city of 5 million people. In the US, I believe this city would be considered one of the top 10 biggest, although in China, this city is considered small (more because of the small-time attitude of locals than the size, which is medium). I can ride my bike from the Eastern industrial center - on the edge of the city - , through the residential and "old town" areas, to the Western industrial edge - about 40 kilometers...all on a bike lane which is seperated from the main street by a concrete barrier. This is typical of Chinese cities.

[JBDragon @ Sep 29th 2007 11:37PM]

Usually these bikes Charge not only when breaking, but also when going down hills, and you also can increase the range if you also do some peddling at the same time. Letting the Motor do most of the work and going at a high speed while your slowly peddling. You can increase the range quite a bit and still not tire yourself out.

[RijilV @ Sep 30th 2007 3:42AM]

I really hope everyone realizes that for $5,000 they could own a very very nice bicycle that would be quite a bit of fun to ride.

Also, taking into account the statistics on overweight americans, I'd say more than one of you could probably stand to pedal all the way home once or twice..

This is basically a toy for the rich, fat, and lazy - hrm I guess I kinda defined Amerikan there eh? Well don't worry rest of the word, we're headed straight for the bottom at full speed, all 28mph of it..

[Bonus Boy @ Sep 30th 2007 1:37PM]

Don't be so snide. There are plenty of us who are caught in a "catch 22" where we aren't quite fast enough on a regular bike to fit cycle-commuting into our schedules, but can't find enough other time to ride to build up our speed (two little kids, two jobs). Electric-assist bikes are much better for fitness than the cars that are the only other choice. People often compare these to riding a traditional bike, when they could also be seen as a car alternative...

[FalconEV @ Sep 30th 2007 12:17PM]

frame is nice, but not enuf space for a big Li batt to be a true commuter.
the regen is only good for a small % recharge, Coasting is more efficient.
at over 25mph, the wind drag is bad with an upright anyway.
check out falconev for your best bet

[paul c @ Oct 1st 2007 5:41PM]

Cool, but I'd rather have a blade http://www.electricmoto.com/

[Richard Papa @ Oct 2nd 2007 5:03PM]

Please take a close look at all the Matra e-bikes/mopeds. these are very special machines indeed.

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=6791472978134921541

Also look out for the TidalForce Forum on Google groups. The link is on the video. We have experienced users of this technology who whill tell you the truth.

[Richard Papa @ Oct 2nd 2007 5:07PM]

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=6791472978134921541

[Richard Papa @ Oct 2nd 2007 5:09PM]

Sorry, I posted the wrong link to the forum.

http://groups.google.com/group/Tidalforce

[m @ Nov 21st 2007 3:03AM]

Don't forget
http://www.optibike.com/
They are in Boulder and have Ambassadors around so you can test drive and give a try
4,000 - 8,0000 not bad if you want to get off the oil tata as it were.
Addictions are hard to give up.

[prisma @ Mar 5th 2008 5:09PM]

Matra is the company that bought TidalForce a few years back, who developed the original M-750 that this unit seems to be based off of.

http://www.tidalforce.com/

pictures:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=tidalforce+m750+company&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi