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Ever wonder why they call it a Jerry Can? Or how a burlap bag could save your life? Explore the strange and true stories behind some everyday objects.
Gear Throwback Motorcycle-Inspired E-Bikes from Vintage Electric BikesThese electric bikes are beautifully crafted and built with care to give riders a two-wheeler that performs as good as it looks.
Words Iron & Air Staff
The pedal assist models don’t move as fast or weigh as much as their throttle-equipped siblings. (For example, the Cafe is 53 pounds while the Scrambler is 86 pounds.) There are five different power modes, which allow you to adjust the effort when you’re legs turn to jelly while you’re struggling to climb steep inclines.
There are two models to choose from in this category: Cafe ($4,495, pictured top left) and Rally ($5,245, pictured bottom left). Both are solid for commuter bikes, but the Rally was engineered to handle “asphalt to gravel” if you want to get adventurous after filling out TPS reports all day.
The electric bike market has been red hot for the past several years — a trend that doesn’t appear to be hitting the brakes anytime soon. This has flooded consumers with plenty of e-bike options, ranging from the ridiculously expensive Everest climbers to bike-automotive mashups to incredible throwback crop of e-bikes from Vintage Electric Bikes.
The brand offers a handful of options in both pedal assist and throttle. The former is marketed as a “bicycle with superhuman power” that can “bring three times the power of traditional class 3” bike. (Class 3 bikes are pedal-assist only — no throttle — and can reach max speeds of 28 mph.)
The throttle bikes, on the other hand, offer the “thrill of a motorcycle, simplicity of a bicycle.”
In short, the type of electric bike you choose puts you in control of how much assistance you receive while pedaling; the throttle options — particularly in Race Mode — come with extra power for faster cruising.
Three of the four throttle models offered from Vintage Electric Bikes — Roadster ($6,995), Scrambler ($6,995), and Shelby ($7,429, pictured bottom left as well as in the gallery at the end of this article) — share these stats:
3 hours of charge time
40 mph top speed
The fourth, the Tracker Classic ($5,495, pictured top right), was inspired by the classic Harleys, Indians, and Flying Merkels, but downgrades the volt system to 48, takes 4.5 hours to charge, and caps the mph at 26.
The Shelby, we should note, is a collaboration between Vintage Electric Bikes and Shelby International.
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This one’s on us.
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Meet Daredevil Earl Teter: America’s First Stunt Driver Though he never suffered a serious injury, Teter broke ground with his inventive stunts. Read Story
The things that move us.
Iron & Air celebrates both the journey and the destination. We’re motivated like most who seek more out of life: to leap out of bed (or stumble), embrace risk, and chase after a life worth living. While the machines that move us are the binding thread, it’s the places they take us that create the lasting stories we collect and share with you here.