There’s no denying that this bike is fast; in fact, it’s so fast that it will be deemed road illegal by a whole host of countries when it’s introduced to the market in May.
The Turbo by Specialized, which has been in development for three years, is capable of reaching speeds of up to 45 km/h (28 mph); this is 13 km/h faster than power-assisted bikes are allowed to go under U.S. and Canadian federal law, and 20km/h more than is permitted in the majority of EU countries, like Britain.
Impressive features of the new bike include a wireless handlebar-mounted control unit that allows riders to control the bike’s integrated LED head and tail lights, a 250 watt rear hub motor and a 342Wh lithium-ion battery that’s integrated into the down tube and is said to recharge in just two hours. This unit also displays the battery level, along with various other features common to bicycle computers.
“You can get an hour on full speed,” Ben Delaney, Specialized’s global marketing manager told BikeRadar. “The engineering team has done several 40 km rides at top speed on mostly flat terrain.”
A limited supply of the Turbo, which has a price tag of 5499, will be availble for purchase next month in a select number of European countries where regulations permit.
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SÃle Cleary is a regular contributor to Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at @silecleary.
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