Faraday Porteur Bicycle – Beautiful Electric Powered Utility Bike Sold Out Before Launch

Here’s a bicycle that will make its owner smile riding it – Introducing the Faraday Porteur. Before we go any further, you might want to know this bike won’t be available here locally any time soon (if even at all). Faraday is a bike designer based in San Francisco and they only sell their bikes domestically in the states. So why do we even bother putting up an article on it when no one here in Singapore can actually buy it?

Because it’s simply beautiful plus it’s also an electric-powered bike, and though we are no strangers to electric bikes we really like the design concept. We are hoping someday they will consider distributing them into Singapore but then our roads aren’t even bicycle friendly. Even that’s the case there’s still a fast growing community (such as togoparts.com) of bicycle lovers. Electric bikes can easily be spotted around neighbourhoods; they are controversial in the beginning and only until recently local authorities (LTA) are finally allowing them with strict requirements.

[fve]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdULMUVdVUs[/fve] [[perfectpullquote]]Porteur gets fully charged in under an hour, allowing 15-20 miles of pedal-assist riding[/[perfectpullquote]]

While Faraday teases us to guess where the batteries are, we are sure they have them lined up inside the frame of the Porteur although a little iFixit-style dismantling will help understand how they did it. The Porteur is not just a looker too, it is packed with a lot of useful features you will find useful everyday such as the quick-release front rack for your groceries or bags, front and back integrated LED lights for safer night riding, stylish bamboo fender shields and check out that retro scissoring kickstand. Best part of the deal? Porteur’s custom 195Wh battery gets fully charged in under an hour, allowing 15-20 miles of pedal-assist riding.

With all that design and features packed into this amazing bike, it’s no surprise it is going to be costly. If you are living in the states the Faraday Porteur will set you back by US$3,500. That’s at least 5 to 10 times more expensive than the average electric bike here in Singapore, but of course good novel designs isn’t going to come cheap. We believe this is the beginning, and once the technology and materials become accessible to more bike designers, there will be a day where bikes like the Faraday Porteur will become a part of our lives at a more affordable rate.