ICON Electric Bike

ICON FLYER-2

ICON ELECTRIC BICYCLE and STEPHEN HAWKING

Hawking says time stops in a black hole, or slows down or something, and that’s what I’m on…a time machine, a sling-shot to the past.  It’s 1918, and I’m astride a board walk racer.

Motodrome Racer Circa 1915

I met ICON MOTORS CEO Jonathan Ward 3 years ago, when his shop was 14,000 square feet and they were restoring Land Cruisers and building custom off-road machines. Now with 3 times the space, he’s busily building more fun stuff like the E-Flyer, and doing complete transformations on everything from vintage VW Microbuses to modern supercars.

I’ve driven an hour to try out his latest creation, a very small batch of electric bikes harkening back to the romantic era pre-World W l.

Classically elegant, the ICON E-Flyer ll electric bike is gorgeous from any angle, easy to operate, and on my lust scale, off the charts. It looks different than anything else you will see and lets me step back in time when board track racing was just getting started a century ago, right here in Los Angeles.

A helmet (California laws!!), a 60 second orientation, and I’m flying down the streets at 36 miles an hour.  Very retro looking, the E-Flyer is ecologically friendly, but I’m having way too much fun to give a rats ass about the environment. It’s impossible to wipe the stupid grin off my face.

Light enough to roll up and down a concrete flight of stairs, the super cool bike simply flies down the road with a thumb control dictating speed.  Stops on a dime, available in 9 powder coated colors, the ICON E-Flyer ll has a range of 30 miles before it needs be plugged in.

ICON Flyer-2

Missed the little low battery indicator or climbing a very steep hill?  Yes, it can be peddled (i tried it) and charging is super fast.

Bespoke doesn’t come cheap ($5-8,000), but what price do you put on dreams?

Icon Motors is 40,000 square feet of amusement park atmosphere where old and new seamlessly merge through a transfusion of ultra high tech, state-of-the-art, modern mechanicals.

If you’re a car guy and find yourself in Southern California, let the nanny take the kids to Disneyland, and go see Jonathan, his wife, and their crew.  You’ll have a far better time.

PS: Their old E-Bike is sold out but:

“ICON proudly announces a new and evolved version of the now sold out ICON E-Flyer electric bicycle, the ICON E-Flyer II !

Gifted with exceptional performance – – faster than any electric bike currently on the market* – – cyclists can enjoy the versatility of riding on anything from a bike path, to winding mountain roads, to the steepest San Francisco street. The special partnership between ICON and Vintage Electric was conceived through a shared vision: to manufacture an electric cycle embodying the essence of American ingenuity and design, all strengthened by the best of today’s technology.…”

iconelectricbike.com

Dave