Tech

This electric bike's 50 mph speed will be helpful as you race away from cannibals

The Delfast Top 3.0 has a crazy top speed and 200 mile range, but don't call it a motorcycle.

Delfast Top 2.0 (there weren't any usable pictures of the Top 3.0)

I've said it before and i'll say it again: Electric bike laws are for wimps, dorks, and losers. Or, you know, public safety. Delfast, the company behind the Top 2.0 that we included in our apocalypse e-bike guide, has announced the Top 3.0, which improves on the design of Top 2.0 and pushes its already insane specs even higher.

Right off the bat, Delfast has improved the most insane spec: the range. The company claims that the Top 3.0 can now take you 200 miles on a single charge, up from 174 miles with the last version. Of course, you'll probably only get 200 miles if you use the throttle gingerly and pedal quite a bit, but you can't deny the fact that the battery is huge. It's a 3,400 watt-hour battery, which is significantly bigger than the 2,000 watt-hour battery that I'm used to in the Sur Ron, and it's 72 volts, which translates nicely into speed and torque. For a little context, living here in New York city and commuting from Prospect Park to SoHo in Manhattan and back, I only used about 20% of the Sur Ron's 2000 watt-hour battery. So yeah, wow.

The company has also changed the traditional chain drive to a Gates belt drive. Frankly, I think every high-speed bike should make this switch. It makes the bike a lot quieter on the road and has the added benefit of needing less maintenance and poses less of a risk of smearing oil all over your pants. Delfast has also upgraded the crank (which they call the "transmission") but there aren't many details about what's different. The website says it no longer requires checking every 100 km or in rainy weather, which sounds great. The company also swapped out the headlight for one that can do low and high beams.

Overall the Delfast Top 3.0 is quite a bit more e-bike than most people will need, and that's reflected in the $6,799 price tag. Yes, you read that right. But what we're talking about here is a vehicle that, for all intents and purposes, is a light-duty motorcycle. As Electrek points out, the battery in the Top 3.0 is pretty similar to the base model Zero FXS electric motorcycle. Also, Delfast has a similar bike specifically for cops who, as we know, are bastards, but I think it's plausible that what we're seeing here is an electric bike made for businesses that also happens to be available to the public, which is great.

Should you buy the Delfast 3.0? Unless you're going cross-country bike camping (which I would absolutely love to do), I don't think most people need this much speed, power, or range. Super73's R-series bikes are affordable (especially with pre-order pricing) and have a less... end-of-days industrial design. And even though the Super73 has riding modes that make it specifically street legal, the Delfast 3.0 does have great safety features like mirrors and turn signals. Speaking of accessories, if you scroll down on the Top 3.0 product page, you can also see some of Delfast's options, like a bigger moto-style seat, side boxes, and even a specially designed cargo trailer.

You really could cover some ground with the Delfast 3.0. I have no idea who needs this, specifically, other than police departments looking to waste the exorbitant amounts of money we pay them for some reason, but if you think this electric bike is right for you, please hit me up on Twitter. I have to know. Until then, I'll be trying to find a way to rationalize spending this type of money on something with a regular bike saddle.