In the 30 years that I’ve been visiting Las Vegas, this was the first time that I’d intentionally popped a wheelie on an e-bike — or really any bike, for that matter. But it was the end of a long day trawling around CES and I was up for some fun.
Just after dusk, right in front of the Venetian, I met up with the folks from Future Motion, purveyors of both the OneWheel and a new e-bike, the Antic. The brand gave me a helmet and some initial instructions, and then let me hop on the reimagined, ’70s-inspired electric mini-bike.
Antic E-Mini Bike: First Ride
For starters, Jack, my instructor on another bike, and I just rode back and forth. The space we were in was just long enough that I could give it a little throttle to get up to speed and just wide enough (after slowing down) to pretty easily turn around.
Once I showed that I could handle the bike’s basic maneuvering and wasn’t going to crash into a fountain or various passers-by, Jack had me level up to the next-fastest mode. Its zippiness instantly put a smile on my face.
Ironically, I’d begun that same day by riding a Segway e-bike on an indoor go-kart track off The Strip. Looking back, I wish it’d been the other way around, because I would have loved to lean into all the track’s curves with the Antic’s fat tires.
What About the Wheelie?
Just for a little context, I do enjoy speed in general, but I’m not by any means a skilled skateboarder, surfer, or snowboarder. So I was a little nervous about how the balancing act would go, but I knew I wanted to at least try a wheelie. Fortunately, the rear wheel was essentially a OneWheel, which I do have some experience and confidence riding.
The first step was standing with the bike between my legs and giving it enough throttle while pulling back to get the front wheel off the ground. Once it had reached its optimal wheelie angle — indicated by a pink light on the base board — I had to keep it from running away from me.
For a few minutes, it frustratingly felt like the bike had a mind of its own, until it finally clicked that the more I counterintuitively leaned it back, the more control I actually had over it.
Liftoff
The next step was sitting down with the front tire still off the ground. Then all I had to do was summon the courage to pick my feet up off the ground and lean forward a little.
What’s fun about popping wheelies on this mini-bike is that it’s not difficult, but it’s not easy, either. It’s a skill that takes practice.
But I’m proud to say that after 15 minutes, I found myself wheelie-ing about 10 or 12 yards down the street before having to safely set the front end down. The trickiest part was having faith that leaning back was the key to controlling it. The rest was just side-to-side balance, which, as any bike rider knows, is easier the faster you go.
And it’s not just a parlor trick — the Antic is designed to wheelie. In the companion app, you can control things like the auto wheelie angle and the amount of regenerative braking. So you can tailor your ride experience to your liking as you progress.
Antic E-Bike: Who’s It For?
For me, riding a bike (electric or not) has always just been about getting from Point A to B. But if I had one of these mini-bikes, I’d definitely take it out on runs just to blow off steam. I can tell from the half-hour I spent on it that it’d be super-fun on sand, grass, or whatever terrain I could find nearby.
Right now, the base model is available on AnticBikes.com for $2,100 (a $400 launch discount off the retail price). For $2,700, you can get a version that roughly doubles its range. And the most premium model ($2,900) adds performance-treaded tires to that extended-range version.
In the companion app, you can control things like the auto-wheelie angle and the amount of regenerative braking. So you can tailor your ride experience to your liking as you progress. Optional accessories include a surf rack, Peak Design phone mount, fenders, pegs, and a cupholder. Though you may want to think twice about popping a wheelie with a drink in that cupholder until they figure out a foolproof, nonspill version.
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