Sure it‘s heavy but, in a funny kind of way, that actually helps. The bike is beautifully set up to handle the weight – it is very sure-footed. The large Nokia City Runner tyres and Vuelta Airline rims soak up everything the road has to offer and the full suspension makes it fun to throw the extra weight around. The Flyer is in fact a ‘Pedelec’, which means that the electric assist only operates when you pedal. It takes a little bit of getting used to – the temptation is always to slip it into a bigger gear, but that just eats up the battery. The idea though is to preserve the battery power till you need it thereby extending its range, which means keeping up a high cadence – this is really a fitness bike!

The SRAM DualDrive gears are an excellent choice because with such a heavy bike you need swift and accurate changing to maintain a high cadence. The diodes on top of the removable battery unit tell you the level of available charge – both during the charging cycle or when stationary on the bike – but they also indicate the level of power consumption when pedalling. This is really important. When more than one light comes on you know that you are in the wrong gear or you have let your cadence slip, or you are into some serious climbing. Ride the Flyer like this and you can extend its range significantly, plus get a comfortable and fun ‘spin’ at the same time. On the other hand, if you are only going a short distance, you can really thrash it in a high gear and fairly fly along. The bike is very snazzy looking, and it is possible to have many different colour co-ordinations. The battery pack release mechanism is activated by the ‘ignition’ key which when removed secures the battery in place and also locks the integral security cable into the frame.

If there is a criticism it is that bike is so heavy and that the battery pack could last longer but, as previously mentioned, in a way these work to your advantage so long as you are prepared to put in the effort.