EH Line's aluminum monocoque Street Racer aims to become the Ferrari of e-bikes

EH Line calls its top-of-the-line Street Racer the "Ferrari" of its ebike range. It's a big call to claim your technological prowess to be in the same category as a company that fields a competitive F1 car, but the Street Racer looks to have created a new category of the fledgling electric assist bicycle and appears to have some innovative thought behind it.

The Street Racer will support the rider to 45 km/h (28 mph) and the analogy with the Prancing Horse obviously runs to the styling and "pure roadster" positioning, high tech drive train and price tag.

The body of the Street Racer is an aluminum monocoque - it somehow makes the bike seem so much more to know that the bodywork is old-school craftsmanship ... and if you're in any doubt as to how good an aluminum monocoque can look painted different ways, see the gallery. My favorite is the red, though you can have the Street Racer in any color scheme you desire.

As with any other ebike, the Street Racer can be ridden without the motor if you feel so inclined, though with a weight of 16 kg (35 lb) and a price of EUR6,990 (US$9,250), it's unlikely that's why you'd buy it.

If you want a competitive non-electric racing bike, the Street Racer is about twice as heavy as you would want it to be. Batteries and electric motors and the materials are there to build a bike that weighs half that again. So despite all the self-proclaimed sporting tendencies, there isn't a lot of blue sky buying this bike and expecting it to be fun to ride without using the 250 W motor.

Using the 250 W motor though, you'll go longer distances at a much faster clip and will be able to stay with a more experienced group in the hills, though the derision an electric-assist bike is likely to draw amongst the racing fraternity might make the price too great to pay.

It is beautiful and with the motor supporting the rider to 45 km/h, I wonder at some of the amazing point-to-point times possible across a congested city - being able to use bike paths and other privileges accorded bicycles would make this a wonderful around town bike in many of the world's cities - if only you could secure it to the standards necessary to ensure it doesn't get stolen.

The most interesting part of the Street Racer is training mode, which enables you to simulate gradients into your ride. The Street Racer uses a BionX engine with power sensing capability - the feedback BionX uses to make its electric pedal assist technologies so sought after.

BionX is at the leading edge of pedal-assist and electric motor technology and supplies business partners such as Klever, KTM, Matra, Riese & Müller, Raleigh, Smart and TREK with its advanced technologies.

The Street Racer uses a BionX engine and can accordingly recharge the battery when going downhill and at the same time, offer a new way of training. Four of the eight levels enable the driver to simulate mountain sections in middle of the city or lowlands. The other four levels offer various levels of pedal assist, with the highest offering 300% of the muscle power you put in.

Source: EH Line