Kickstarter Followup: The Daymak Beast (with a FlyKly / Copenhagen Wheel Tie-In)

I have been really intrigued with the Beast. And I think it's mostly because I am cheap and want to be green.

Here are its attributes:
It is cheaper than most electric bikes (in any form) - if it were priced at $3000, I would not even consider it.
It re-charges itself if you leave it in the sun.
It has lithium batteries.
It has that pseudo-Ruckus appeal.
No fossil fuels are required for its operation.
Its parent company is located in North America.
It is classified as a bicycle - no license/registration/insurance.
My wife still loves me no matter how dorky I would look riding it.
It is named after Dr. Hank McCoy.

So, I decided to check out the parent company a little more. You can too at www.daymak.com.

And I was a little less excited. But only a little less. They are dealers of lots of generic Chinese electric vehicles that look a little sketchy in many cases. And their on-line reputation was pretty poor a few years ago, but that seems to have improved over the last two years. And strangely, most of their electric bicycles have higher price tags than the Beast.

While I was on their site, however, I did run across something very interesting - the Shadow ebike. I have been waiting to see when we would start seeing this - another product like the Copenhagen Wheel. Notice that the Shadow has no external signs of being an electric bike: no cables, no wires, no battery pack, no controller, no brakes. (Actually, if you look very closely, it does have a coaster brake and a thumb throttle.) Most everything that makes this thing an ebike is located in the front wheel.

With apologies to the poor Canadian guy in the photo - but those big yellow wheels are just crying out to be smileyed!

To be honest, I would much rather have a Copenhagen Wheel or a FlyKly to convert my exisiting bike to electric, but neither is scheduled to ship until the fall, and I am spoilt enough to want it now while the weather is really hot and the traffic is light. So, I guess I'll keep pedaling without assistance a little longer. Sigh.

But snagit! It's an exciting time to see electric vehicles evolving!

May no one cover your face with a smiley today.