Electric vehicles are all the rage right now and, with the boost in popularity comes the need to show whether they’re a match for internal combustion engines in terms of performance. A drag race usually settles that matter.
Teslas, without a doubt the most popular electric vehicles of the moment, have been pitted against some of the most powerful, non-electric cars right now and even among themselves. But never before has one been made to race against a smaller, more unlikely rival like an electric “bicycle.”
That’s how Jordan of the Driven by Jordan YouTube channel describes this drag race in the video below: his girlfriend’s brand new Model Y going up against an “actual” electric bicycle. That “bicycle,” he says, it capable of reaching a top speed of some 50 mph (80.4 kph), so he thinks doing a pull from 0 to 50 on three consecutive runs should be fair enough.
Of course, there’s nothing fair about this race, as Jordan concedes even before the first run. For starters, the biker has to put a lot of his weight in the front and ease the throttle, or he will pop a wheelie and end up on his butt. Or on his back, much like Simon Cowell did just last weekend, which resulted in three broken vertebrae.
The race takes part in an empty intersection, but it’s not a race, Jordan says for the sake of not having the cops show up at his door once he posts the video. The speed is under the legal limit on that street, and he’s not racing the bike; they just happen to drive side by side for a very little while.
Technicalities aside, for a brief second, the e-bike is able to hold its own against the Model Y, but all three runs end predictably. So while there’s no surprise winner here (despite loud gloating from the girlfriend, who seems to think her car won because it’s hers), this video does offer a good look at just how fast today’s “e-bikes” have become.
Able to reach top speeds of 50 or even more, they’re not really “bicycles” but underpowered motorcycles classed as e-bikes because they have pedals. Pedals you don’t even need in order to ride. Maybe a helmet wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
The actual race starts at around the 7-minute mark.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News