Far from the geriatric, overdesigned and unwieldy electric bikes available to date, the Optibike OB1 is built for proper biking enthusiasts. That is, proper biking enthusiasts with 13,000 spare American dollars.
The OB1's allure is twofold; the novel, compact electric drivetrain doesn't necessarily steal the show from the rest of the finely equipped bike. The motor, which drives the rear wheel from the bottom bracket (the pedal axis) is crammed into the compact, fully-suspended frame with the batteries, leaving the rest of the bike to be outfitted with high-end carbon fiber mountain bike components.
Optibike has also strapped a GPS unit and performance monitor to the bike, which has a purported pedal-free run time of two hours. The $13,000 price may make the OB1 unsuitable for anyone who isn't some kind of independently wealthy recession-dodging eco-playboy, but Optibike is banking on about 24 of those people existing—that's exactly how many they're planning to make this year. [Stylecrave via Engadget]