The Freygeist electric bicycle is indistinguishable from a conventional bike, weighs only 12 kg and has a range of up to 100 km.
Electric bikes are great way to extend your commuting distance and wean motorists off cars, but most look clunky and weigh too much to have mass market appeal. The Freygeist promises to change the way we see electric bikes forever.
The Freygeist is the world’s most discreet looking electric bicycle. Its aluminium frame has a battery hidden within its down tube and the motor is built into the rear hub. The charging socket is located in the stem. Batteries can be charged from a household socket and replenished in four hours.
A 10-speed gear set ensures great performance even when the battery is empty and a carbon fork helps keep weight down.
The Freygeist electric bicycle costs 3,990 euros.
Other hidden electric motors for bicycles
The Vivax is a tiny motor designed to be hidden within the frame of high-end road bikes and intended to give riders the competitive edge. The Vivax motor slides into the seat tube and connects with the crankshaft via a bevel gear. The 200 watt motor can be powered by a choice of batteries that run for either 60 or 90 minutes and are housed in a saddle bag or disguised as a water bottle. The control switch can be hidden beneath the seat. The entire package weighs about 2 kg and costs the equivalent of £2,200.
The kit requires Shimano Hollowtech II cranks and a straight seat tube capable of accommodating the 31.6 mm diameter tubular motor.
ETA Cycle Insurance covers road-legal electric bicycles, ebikes and pedelecs as standard
If your pedelec weighs less than 60 kg, and its output does not exceed 250 W/15.5 mph, it can be covered under our cycle insurance at no additional cost. Every ETA cycle insurance policy includes the following as standard:
- Theft, accidental damage & vandalism
- Battery theft cover
- Cycle Rescue (breakdown cover for your electric bicycle and you)
- No devaluation of your bike over time
- £5m third party PLUS £20,000 personal accident cover
- Shed and garage storage
- Low standard excess of 5% (£25 minimum)
- 90 days’ worldwide travel cover
- Any rider covered to use your bike
Read a full list of what is covered here
Up to 250 W covered
When you compare cycle insurance for your electric bicycle, it is vitally important to check the small print. Almost every single pedelec or electric bicycle sold and in use in Britain today is rated at 250 W. However, some cycle insurers do not cover bikes over 200 W. Cycle insurance from the ETA extends its definition of a cycle to include any mechanically or electronically-assisted bicycle weighing less than 60 kg and with an output not exceeding 250 W /15.5 mph.
Electric bicycles battery theft
If the battery for your electric bicycle is secured with a key (as most are), or requires any type of tool to remove, then it is covered against theft by our cycle insurance policy. Get a quote
Mary Fisher
Of all the boring videos I’ve ever seen I think this is the worst. It doesn’t show the bike in action, only knees
But at £2,200 it’s not going to be mine anyway, just a waste of part of my life watching it.
Chris
It would have been nice to see the bicycle in action. The video wasn’t very good. It would have been nice to see some regular cyclists riding it, and to see their faces when they were told it was actually an electric bike. And then with the e-assist.
Trevor Randall
My understanding from fairly recent conversations is that although many of the available motors are 250 watt, 200 watt is actually the UK limit above which the bike becomes a powered vehicle subject to all sorts of other legal requirements and I am not sure whether the higher wattage is likely to be legalized anytime soon. I am not sure whether 250W is ok in Europe or not.
ETA
You’re right. British law lags behind the rest of Europe in this respect. However, it is understood that no one will be penalised for riding a 250 W electric bicycle until the law catches up. This is just as well because as you say,you would really struggle to find an electric bike on sale in this country that was not 250 W. As a cycle insurer, the ETA has always covered electric bikes up to 250 W irrespective of the letter of the law. https://www.eta.co.uk/insurance/cycle/