Buzz Bicycles' Centris Is a Folding E-Bike That Fights Back Against Overcrowded Cities

Folks, this is Centris, an e-bike that has been designed to be the answer to a few commonly encountered issues for urban riders. But, before we dive deeper into this little machine, it should help to know a bit about the team behind this trinket because, well, keep reading.

Buzz Bicycles, the crew behind this trinket, may not sound very familiar, but they are part of the United Wheels family of companies, and with teams like Huffy, Batch Bicycles, and Allite, this conglomerate of manufacturers amasses over 125 years of cycling history; that’s the sort of knowledge that goes into the Centris.

Before I go on, let me point out that anytime you’re looking at a bicycle, you have to consider what sort of riding it’s built for and the landscape it’s being used in. This is why you can see so many different styles and designs out there; each is optimized for a specific purpose.

In the case of Centris, this bike is designed to be a compact, nimble, and foldable means of transportation around town. Yes, tarmac is its best friend, but it can also handle dusty and slightly rocky paths through a local park. This is where I should point out that aside from the 4 in cross-section tires, this little bugger also includes a suspension fork. It’s just not clear as to how much travel it can offer. Nonetheless, any suspension seems to help when you come off curbs and hit cracks in the road.

Ok, so it’s a city bike with a little something-something to be able to handle the occasional venture off-road, but it still shines best in an urban setting. One feature that Buzz has included in the Centris is the ability to fold and transform into an easily manageable shape that you can fit into an elevator, in a subway car, taxi, your own car, or tuck away in the corner of your office. There’s just one little downside, it does weigh a solid 67 lbs (30.4 kg), so you should be in a somewhat active shape.

Since it is an e-bike, you’ll have a few benefits to look forward to as you ride around town, and one of them is the ability to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Sure, there’s a pedal assist function embedded into the bike, but you also have the choice to also use the thumb throttle function and cruise around with speeds upwards of 20 mph (32 kph). This latter feature should be rather neat if you ride a bike to work in the morning; you can wear your suit without needing another shower once you’ve arrived at work.

These joys are provided by a 500 W motor mounted in the rear hub and a battery with a range of up to 40 mi (64 km) in optimum conditions. You may think that 40 miles of coverage aren’t enough for your daily bidding, but that’s slightly over what most people travel during their average workday.

Speaking of daily bidding and all that, I mentioned earlier that this bike is tuned for an urban setting. Well, what are some things you do around town? Do you grocery shop? Pick up your child from preschool? Maybe you deliver newspapers. Whatever you do, the inclusion of fenders and lights helps keep you clean and safe, while not one but two racks are found on the Centris for groceries or even carrying your pet around town.

At the end of the day, Buzz asks you to dish out $1,200 (€1,109 at current exchange rates) for one of these babies, and that doesn’t seem like too much to ask. Considering the rates at which cities are growing, the smaller and more powerful, the better, and Centris appears to have what it takes to help you weave through traffic.