Budapest mountain bike enthusiasts coming together as M55 have spent the last four years bringing their pedelec dream into existence. Now the Beast has risen. The first hand-built, luxury human-electric bikes out of the workshop doors will be restricted to a limited production run of just 55 and are said to feature the very best that technology has to offer. In addition to the fully CNC-machined aluminum frame and carbon fiber plates, the Beast 55 benefits from Formula One stopping power, a brushless electric motor that is claimed to make uphill climbs a relatively easy affair, and Fox suspension.

THE BEAST details

Weight: 33 kg 😯

Oooh that’s nice 🙄

I can’t reconcile who would want a bike covered in some pretty nice kit and an electric motor. To my mind an electric bike is a commuting tool for the ‘low of energy’or somesuch other pc title.

i bet the ’33kg’ is … how shall i say it? … generous?

having said that, i’d love to have a go.

actually no, i’ve had a closer look, it’s crap. It’s covered in stupid fairing, which must weigh loads. clearly an idiot was in charge.

i bet they sell well though – maybe not so stupid after all.

If it was only a SS 😉

looks like a mountain cycle san andreas

look’s crap.

Might actually be pretty good for getting your grandpa out round the trails. Be pretty cool to do a trail centre circuit with the old man in tow.

According to this months “What Mountain Bike” (I know I know) electric bikes are all the rage especially in Europe and it is the way forward. Balls IMO.

In addition, all bikes are going to be 29″, so throw your 26ers in the bin now. Frankly a depressing read – “all your kit is crap – throw it all away and buy new 29er electric bikes”.

According to this months “What Mountain Bike” (I know I know) electric bikes are all the rage especially in Europe and it is the way forward. Balls IMO.

Apparently they’re not “all the rage” either in the UK or in Spain, so that’s a fairly large chunk of Europe that’s missing…

The Beast looks quite a laugh, though – and 33kg would be a featherweight (motorised) trail bike.

do they do one that has a reasonable service interval for the forks?

Maintain forks whilst battery is charging!

Did anyone actually notice the price? Not even mental people would pay that – even with Formula 1 brakes!

When they say all the rage in Europe they actually mean Germany and Austria. Loads of old people are hurtling around the countryside on these things. That would be OK but they still seem to be treating their rides like their normal 4km/h pootle (looking everywhere except where they are going and wandering all over the cycle paths/trails) except they are now doing 25-30km/h!

Ooooh, it’s got a Rohloff. 😀

I hope this does not take off in the uk.

…”The hybrid drive means that the motor is not a substitute to your human power but an addition – it lives with your ride: if the sensor feels that you need some extra torque, the motor switches on to multiply your effort. With the Beast you can have a true „living tissue on an exoskeleton” experience”…

The closing statement leaves me uttely confused? Are we talking about a ‘next millenium’ cyborg with real skin, that one may transplant one brain into. Or and electric motor bike, which is exactly what it is.

Istead of circumnavigating the issue, just go out and buy a KTM 250 and razz the arse off it. You’ll have ++ more fun at prob 1/16 of the price. For the city types, a honda step-thro’.

For what it’s worth, I think it looks hideous. And the Bat (read the hype) wouldn’t be seen dead on one!

i did think, “might as well buy a crosser” didn’t someone build a motocross type bike a few years ago with loads of MTB components to keep the weight down? I seem to remember pictures of it being lifted over fences etc and thinking that it will be the death of the country side!

So, if I could ride The Beast round Glentress, could I ride this?

Linky

That thing is quite hideous but….
I quite like the idea of saving braking energy to give you a little help up the hills.

Is that always a good thing though ?
I can see people mincing down hills, holding everyone else up, justifying it by thinking they are storing energy, only to use that stored energy to stay in front on the next climb so they can do it again.
Oh well, another reason for me not to ride trail centres.

Electric bikes are a great idea IMO- I didn’t used to see the point but they open up a 20 mile daily commute to people who don’t want to exercise particularly, or simply aren’t fit enough to ride 20 miles a day, but want to leave the car behind and get some fitness back.

Obviously, the Beast is a monstrosity and upsetting to the MTB community but for a lot of commuters it’s great.

Graham- you should try a TC, they’re a laugh.

horrendous. now there is another class of vehicle that scum can steal and thrash around the hillsides making a mess for everyone else. as if dirtbikes, quads and 4x4s weren’t enough

I have done and I probably will again.
In fact, I think I inadvertently rode part of one while taking part in a trailquest on Cannock Chase recently, (Did I mention I ride trailquests ?) although I was a bit puzzled as to why everyone else was going the opposite way to me.

Suspension travel: front: 200 mm

Fork: Fox 36 160 Talas Fit RLC with Kashima coating

?

160mm fork + 40mm extra flex under the bike wieght = 200mm.

I love it.

Definitely going to get the wife to get me one of those for xmas.

Should make all the steep uphills around here much more pleasurable, and I reckon it’s got to be pretty good downhill too.

“If the Batman was a non-fictional person an idiot, he’d have a Beast in his garage for sure.”

Oh my god, they should have called it ‘The Pig’!

Who the funk would want a motor? I really struggle with my climbing and have nightmares about Welsh fire roads but at least I earn the fun that follows!

Maybe Americans would want this thing to complement their gym efforts?

http://www.filehurricane.com/media/1350

What a total turd! God only knows what pressure you would need to run your forks at for something that heavy! Plus, if you drop the travel down mid ride, how will you lift “the beast” to get the travel back up! What if you fall off and the thing lands on you! That’s why mx folks wear mega reinforced boots…

god , tyre logo’s and valves aren’t even lined up and..

a non carbon frame??? hardly F1 technology

Fail