Mutant E-bikes from the USA x 2: One accelerates faster than a Porsche +videos

Zero Motorcycles from California make motorbikes that look just like motorbikes only they're electric and in February they're shipping the first ones to the UK. But they have something in development behind the scenes that looks a lot more like a bicycle and accelerates 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds which we're sure you'll know is faster than any petrol driven car except maybe an F1.

It's certainly not pretty but the underpinnings featuring in the video below are recognisably bicycle-like and whatever the state of the current law distinguishing between electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) limited to 15mph, not requiring a helmet or insurance and and the fully-fledged electric motorcycles that are subject to all the same regulations as smelly and noisy old internal-combustion motorbikes, it's an interesting clue to the technology developing in motors and batteries.

RideKick electric trailer pushes for 12 miles at 19mph

What you can buy at the moment, or in the United States anyway for now, is the RideKick a cute little 500 watt motorised trailer that hitches and unhitches from your standard bike in 15 seconds once the initial 12-minute installation is performed which essentially involves attaching a simple throttle control to the host bike handlebars and tidying away the control cable.

The RideKick is limited to 19mph and will travel up to 12 miles on a full charge. What might make it appealing to many apart from a US$699 price which would equate to around £450 if it was cleared to sell here is the 41 litre/34Kg load carrying capacity for shopping and commuting. RideKick describe this as sufficient for a briefcase or shopping bags as well as "designed to be safe, stable in turns and when stopped," before stressing, "your bicycle feels very comfortable even with a fully loaded trailer."