Is the Faraday Porteur the “Macintosh,” of Electric Bicycles?
The Faraday Porteur looks like the future
A few months ago I saw the Kickstarter video for the beautiful Faraday Porteur electric bike featured on the IDEO website. It looked nothing like the ungainly electric bikes I’d seen before, that seemed to be positioned squarely at the AARP set for the last ten years.
It reminds me of some of the design goals Steve Jobs had for the original Macintosh. Simple, approachable, and most relevant here, no wires.
Most kit built electric bikes are trussed up with wires running all up and down the tubes. Not attractive. They look like early PCs, like the Apple I.
The Porteur doesn’t appear to have any motor or electric batteries. It looks greyhound-like. It doesn’t have a display, which I appreciate. Bikes don’t need displays.
Instead, it has a small on-off switch, and lights that are part of the bike itself, and turn on automatically when you need them.
It knows when you’re exerting yourself and helps you get up that hill, if you need even more, there’s a throttle you can push for a boost.
Its price is $3,500, which sounds like a lot at first, but when you consider how often it can replace your car vs. a conventional bicycle, it looks like a bargain.
The only problem was that I want one now, and even with its successful Kickstarter campaign, they won’t be available for several months.
And as I look at the specs, it may wheeze a bit pulling my 200lb self up ten degree San Francisco hills. Even with my help.
