Audi e-bike - The electric bicycle that can travel at 50mph with lots of gadgets

For years cyclists have taken to the roads as a way to save money on transport, not only because a bicycle is cheaper than a car but it can also beat queues of traffic. Bicycles do not require an MOT, road tax or insurance so there is less maintenance too. All you need is a helmet, a bike chain (for parking) and a spare wheel or puncture set.

Well cycling is about to change as Audi has just revealed plans to launch a bicycle that could land you a speeding ticket. Using principles from motor racing design, they have built the Audi e-bike Wӧrthersee. It is unique as there are many modern gadgets that you won’t find on a standard bike but most impressive of all is it can achieve top speeds of 50mph! Not bad for a bicycle, right?

Features of Audi’s e-bike Wӧrthersee

• You can switch to the electric motor to help your tired legs, reaching speeds of 50mph
• Five cycling modes including just using the muscles in your legs or pedaling with support of the electric motor
• Touch screen on-bike computer to control speed
• Connect to a computer using a smartphone
• Helmet has an inbuilt camera that can be used to upload to the internet via smartphone
• You can view status reports from Facebook via the display
• Different modes for the wheels can be set for performing tricks, sports or just general cycling
• LED light strips can be found around the frame, Audi’s recognisable light signature
• Easy seat height adjustment from a push of a button

Sounds futuristic right? There may be a drawback, according to The Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983 (yes they do have one) an electric powered bicycle cannot travel faster than 15mph. I’m not sure if many people are actually aware of this so I’m not sure what will happen to this e-bike. Although the price of the e-bike has not yet been released I would expect it to be very high probably at least a few thousand. You could probably get a good used car for that price but maintenance will also be financially draining unlike the e-bike.

I personally think it’s a step too far; bicycles should remain just that and if they continue to develop innovative designs, then they will eventually be on par with cars. So road tax, insurance and MOT will eventually be needed. Also people who purchase this Audi bike will initially be those who want to flash the cash or show their status, not many people will use them as a form of transport. It seems like we will need to wait for some more information to be released as Audi themselves have not yet put up any information on their website.