Car brand Mercedes-AMG has released a new modification of the electric bike F1. The version with the Track Edition prefix is more expensive than the previously presented “urban” model, and differs from it not only in characteristics, but also in equipment.
At first glance, the N+ Bikes Mercedes-AMG F1 electric bike looks to be another bike in a continuing trend of auto manufacturers making and selling much smaller motor-powered vehicles.
But unlike Ford’s electric bike, this specific class II ebike isn’t made by Mercedes. Even if it has the iconic three-pointed star on the frame (and it was designed in collaboration with the Mercedes AMC Petronas Formula One Team and is an officially licensed product), it’s manufactured by N+ Bikes, based out of California.
The aluminum, fully rigid frame has a sleek, race-car appeal. Its matte black color pops with well-placed Petronas green (aka turquoise) highlights in the interior of the fork and chain stays, a nod to Formula One fans. The bike’s cockpit looks like a miniature Mercedes dashboard, complete with two retro speedometers—one for speed and the other for watts. The former tops out at 60 mph, despite the fact that the motor legally has to cut out when speeds reach 20 mph. Still, if you’re a Mercedes fan, this will probably matter to you that the bike is not Mercedes-made.
The peak motor power of the novelty is 750 watts. There are four speed modes to choose from – from energy-saving to “racing”, in which the speed can reach 45 km / h. A 48-volt battery is responsible for powering the novelty, the declared range is up to 112 km.
The bike differs from the City Edition version by more powerful 4-piston hydraulic Tektro disc brakes and wider complete tires (27.5 x 2.25 inches). In addition, the price includes a branded Smart eBike Helmet helmet with a fall detector (sends a signal for help in case of an accident) and LED lighting that acts as turn and brake light repeaters.
Under the Hood
What about the stats? E-spec-wise, the bike has a powerful motor for a commuter, 750 watts, that lives in the rear-wheel hub and provides four modes of power from Normal to Race. The 48-volt battery lives in the down tube and offers an advertised range of 70 miles.
There’s space to store an additional 48-volt battery (sold separately) in the very thick and futuristic-looking seat post. Neither of the batteries are easily removable, making it a challenging bike to charge from the office or to use in a cold-weather destination, where batteries often need to be brought inside.
One of the most interesting novelties of the Mercedes is that it arrived with a $400 smart helmet that’s designed to pair with the bike via Bluetooth. It has built-in crash detection with SMS alerts deliverable to a third party. Sleek and futuristic, the helmet offers police-car-like light protection, with one solid red LED and a larger yellow blinking light in the rear, plus a band of white light over the front lid designed to be controllable from the bike’s cockpit.
The extra illumination is an impressive safety addition, but as hard as I tried to pair it with the bike, the helmet refused. (I later learned this was because the helmet didn’t have the updated software.) The throttle also didn’t work upon delivery. As is often the case with direct-to-consumer electric bikes, it’s hard to troubleshoot when there aren’t licensed dealers nearby.
The frame of the electric bike has space for storing an additional battery, and a 5.5-inch color display is located on the handlebars. It displays speed, navigation data, remaining battery and other service information.
Designed strictly as an urban commuter, I knew better than to take this beefy ride off the road. (I asked N+ Bikes for the bike’s official weight, but as of publication, the company has not responded.) So I tooled around my hilly neighborhood, up steep streets and across the city skyline, amusing myself with the readings on the screen, wondering if the CO2 monitor really did track how much carbon I was emitting into the atmosphere.
Outperforming the Ride
While I was impressed with the bike’s smooth ride overall, shifting through the nine-speed Shimano Cues drivetrain felt clunky.
In terms of battery power, I had been impressed that when sitting idle in the garage through a few months of winter, the bike held a charge, diminishing only 19 percent from a full 100 to 81. I was less impressed, however, that when I resumed riding after a month-long hiatus on a 33-degree day, I chewed the battery from 81 percent down to 41 percent in less than 30 minutes while riding uphill using full-on throttle mode.
A few other gripes made me feel like I can’t take this electric bike as seriously as I should for its price tag. The rear wheel is bolted on, and the front wheel is quick-release, both of which are signs of an overall lower-quality build. A bolted-on rear wheel means you need to carry a wrench to change it, and even very cheap electric bikes usually have a thru axle, which is more secure than a quick release.
Fenders are sold separately, adding $100 more to an already expensive ride. I didn’t have the bike’s official weight, but even just by carrying it around, I could feel that it was so much heavier than other bikes I’ve tested. It’s hard to imagine carrying upstairs, over any small obstacle, or anywhere other than into a roomy garage with its own designated storage space.
It’s worth mentioning here that this is the higher end “track racing” version of the bike; N+ Bikes also offers a slightly more reasonably priced commuter version, as well as a much more expensive (and dubiously named) Rallye version.
Still, I had to do a lot of troubleshooting with this bike that I just haven’t had with other high-end electric bikes that I’ve tested, and there were a few too many easy-to-fix problems that I had to overlook for me to recommend it at this price. The Mercedes AMG-F1 Track Edition 750 Electric Bike just has a little too much hyped-up bling, with too little benefit for the bucks.
