Vallkree’s beach-styled electric bikes are taking root in New Zealand and bringing their goal for sustainable and simple travel, and endless charm, to surfers everywhere. They let us loose with the dual-motor Mechanism 24, complete with seating for two, a surfboard rack and absolutely no rules. We like that …
Firstly, Vallkree doesn’t make ordinary electric bikes. The Mech 24 comes with a 500-watt Japanese Dapu motor in each hub, a beefy triple clamp with a Vallkree fork that looks like it could be straight from a downhill race team (anodised gold even), oversized fat tyres and a fuel tank design that houses the battery and electrics. It also has a double banana seat, rear rack and ours came with the optional surfboard rack – and that is where this bike starts to make a lot of sense.
If the Indian motorcycle designer of the early 1900s had a lovechild with the coolest hipster in Byron Bay in 2013, then the Mech 24 would be the result. They unashamedly reference the Indian Scout, of 1920, and the Indian Chief, of 1922, but with a modern twist of laid back hipster charm. The Mech 24 even has a Gerry Lopez lightning bolt emblazoned on the tank. It oozes charisma.
Combined with the swept back cow horn alloy bars and attention to detail with the leather grips, machined pedals, switchblade pillion pegs, headlamp and five-speed Shelby speed controller, this bike attracts attention wherever you go. It’s no surprise to hear musicians and actors are among the early adopters … and the legendary Tom Carroll of course. They’re finding a bike that is perfect for commuting or cruising to check the latest banks, while still maintaining that aura of fascination.
The interest the Mech 24 generates takes a bit of getting used to, that’s for sure. But when it comes to the rubber meeting the road (or sand) then the big talking design and styling is backed right up. From a performance perspective this bike really hauls. It takes a few rides to get used to the setup with lots of options to figure out. For instance it has an off-road mode, which means the top speed is limited to 28km/h. Switch it to off-road mode and you’ll boost right up to 40km/h. You can also switch between single and dual motors – the rear only will propel you at a decent clip. Hit the switch to dual and you’ll get to top speed a lot quicker and the hills will flatten out in front of you.
We tested the Mech 24 in Dunedin and used it for surf checks and as a daily commuter into the studio in town. That meant a few big hills that had to be contended with. In single motor mode the Mech 24 slows right up to a torturous 5km/h. In dual motor mode even the steeper pinches could be tackled at 20km/h. And that’s with a 100kg-plus rider plus occasionally 10kg of camera gear. We were impressed by that.
The two-wheel drive takes a bit to get used to as well – the front wheel feels like it is pulling you around corners – mainly because it is doing exactly that. In steep climbs where the rider is sitting further back on the seat and unweighting the front wheel, you’ll even hear a scuffing as the wheel skids as it claws its way around. Once you get used to this you quickly realise the benefits.
The front wheel drive is particularly useful on beach runs where you come across softer sand. The extra power makes sure you’re not wallowing but powering through instead. It does even get a bit of roost going if you’re not careful!
While the alloy “bulldozer” frame of the Mech 24 contributes to the bike’s claimed 35kg, we quite liked the robustness of the build. The frame is a little agricultural in places, but has attention to detail with strenghtening gussets at the chain and seat stay juncture, for example. Like most modern bicycles, it’s made in China but cloaked in enough cool components to elevate it to its own class of electric bike. While 35kg is a lot when you try to attach this bike to a bike rack for a road trip, when riding the bike feels remarkably easy to accelerate, stop and tip into corners. It generates enough power to make that 35kg feel like much less.
We reached almost 60km/h down one of our steep hills so were thankful for the custom Vallkree hydraulic disc brakes that use mineral oil. It’s a lot of bike to stop, but we never ran out of power. They aren’t snappy, and don’t have oversized rotors, which could improve their performance given the momentum this bike can carry. In saying that, the Mech 24 is not about speed or zippiness through traffic. That took us a bit to get used to.
The Mech 24 is a cruiser. You’re not braking late into corners, looking for ruts and getting on the gas as soon as you can. This is about cruising at a decent clip without spilling your cappuccino or losing the surfboard out of your rack.
During our first ride we made several mistakes. Firstly, we didn’t realise that the little throttle switch on the lefthand instrument block was a primer for getting the bike up to speed so you can start pedaling. After a lot of pushing we realised this was much easier to use. It’s also great when pushing the bike through deep sand and up dunes and when wheeling it around.
The second mistake we made was trying to pedal hard everywhere. The instructions were to cruise on it. We still reverted back to mountain bike testing days and tried to pedal the guts out of it. But that’s not at all necessary. Pedaling is only needed to activate the motors. In the end we realised that it was best to make small, even circles with the crank and pedals to keep the motor engaged. That allows you to maintain an air of decorum as well.
We loved that Vallkree have a surfboard rack accessory ready to go on this bike. The rear rack is an accessory also ($235.90) and we reckon a must have – we used it to carry a bike lock full time. You’ll definitely need a decent lock given the attention the bike generates. The surfboard rack comes in at $230 and sandwiches straight on to the rear rack’s subframe or under the seat. Again the interface is agricultural with super long bolts supplied to do the clamping. But it works. We chose to mount it via the rear rack to make room for the passenger.
The rack itself has two arms that swing in and out of position and tighten in place with a supplied Allen key. Getting these right will ensure your board sits straight in the rack when you’re riding. The rack allows enough clearance for pedaling, but not much wriggle room if you get your line choice wrong.
The rack has soft foam padding that is unfortunately quite light duty – we snagged ours a couple of times and it rips easily. It does hold your board firmly and each arm has a bungy leash to stop the board from getting blown or bouncing out. The rack easily takes a mid-length twin or a shortboard.
With the Mech 24’s 24-inch x 4-inch fat tyres lapping up the low tide sand, the addition of the board rack opens up access to a whole heap of waves that once required long walks in. Even those banks that are just a bit too far down the beach to be busy can easily be reached. That’s perfect for the more adventurous surfer or those who prefer to surf alone.
With both motors engaged, the Mech 24 uses a lot of power, which is supplied by a 48-volt 16-amp hour battery. It’s not a large battery, but we were getting around 50km per charge – that’s 10km more than they state you’ll get on the Vallkree NZ website. That 50km was a mixture of single and dual motor, but it also included some serious hills. The power is fairly uniform in its distribution across the range, dipping abruptly as you near empty. The Shelby 5-speed display gauge shows how much battery you have left at any given time. The LED display also talks to the switchblock on the lefthand side of the handlebars – where you’ll find the ability to chop through the five speed settings. We sat mostly in 5th, but the slower gears can be useful when riding among pedestrians and traffic.
We did end up running out of battery once and the Mech 24 is not an easy bike to pedal without the power assistance. We struggled and really felt each of those 35kg as we pushed up hill. Luckily we could still coast down the hills.
One area that lets the Mech 24 down a bit is the supplied charger. It took us more than six hours to charge the battery from empty – the website claims 3-4 hours. But the process is simple. A rubber cap on the underside of the fuel tank opens up and you plug the bike directly in. The charger is pretty noisy and has a green light to show charging is complete. It was quite easy to allow for the six-hour charge time in our weekly schedule. Other owners suggest keeping it topped up constantly.
Over the course of a few months of living with the Mech 24 our relationship changed. At first we were cautious of the power and the sensation of riding the bike in Dunedin’s traffic. Plus, it draws so much attention and that alone takes a bit of getting used to. But as we settled into the normality of having the world’s coolest bike as our commuter we began to develop a real excitement for riding it to the beach or to the studio. The effortless riding and the ability to carry your surfboard and a mate with you make every ride an adventure. While it’s definitely not set up for tearing up and down mountain bike trails, it loves a good beach ride. They call them Freedom Machines and that certainly is what they feel like.
At $7999 these are not cheap bikes, but they’re also not that expensive either when you consider what you get. They’re designed for the beach and beachside cities and so they have alloy where possible and stainless everywhere else. That thought process, combined with some seriously drool-worthy styling makes the Vallkree Mech 24 an excellent addition to any city surfer’s transport quiver.
We reckon the Vallkree line up is here to stay and will carve out an interesting niche here in New Zealand over the coming years. The Vallkree Mech 24 is perfect for artisans and surfers who like to think a little different, explore a little further and want to ride the ultimate freedom machine.
