Cycling purists may not like the sound of an electric mountain bike, but for those of us who may welcome some assistance in riding up (or down) a giant natural edifice, there’s the Pesu. Heralded as an all-terrain cross country AM mountain bike, the Pesu promises that crucial dosage of extra power that you may need to go the distance.
“Our mission is to make an ebike that is truly fun,” the Pesu team notes on its Kickstarter campaign. “We want to create an ebike that inspires you to explore further, go off the beaten path, and most importantly — keep moving forward. In order to do that we had to push boundaries and look beyond the standard procedure.”
Indeed, this electric bike is meant to enhance your riding experience, not necessarily take all the work out of it.
As such, while the electric component can help you get over that last hump, it’s far from the only feature that Pesu says sets its bike apart. First and foremost, Pesu claims to have the fastest motor response time on the market. The company has designed its own torque sensor, which means that your bike will determine “how much juice to feed the motor” depending on how hard you’re working (which is to say, pedaling). As such, Pesu claims a drive unit response time of just 10ms.
Thanks to its 350-watt motor, the Pesu ebike claims to have the capacity to assist at speeds of up to 28 miles per hour. Plus, the bike’s battery is able to last 100 miles on a single charge. And there’s no need to buy a separate bike computer for your Pesu, as a connected cycling computer comes standard with the unit. You’ll be able to check out your bike’s battery level, speed, distance, and output mode.
While many ebikes feel quite different from your standard two-wheeled vehicle, the Pesu features a short chainstay design, which is said to increase maneuverability (and also reduce the possibility of tangled chains). Moreover, the team designed the frame to handle maximum shock absorption. And if you ever need to replace a part of the Pesu, the internal cable routing makes it relatively straightforward to replace brakes and gear cables.
Currently looking to raise $100,000 on Kickstarter, the Pesu can be pre-ordered for $1,499, with delivery estimated for November 2017.