The Leaos Pressed e-bike made of two halves now has gears and is crowdfunding on Indiegogo soon

by Jack Sexty Mar 3 2020

5 comments

The Leaos Pressed e-bike made of two halves now has gears and is crowdfunding on Indiegogo soon — pressed e-bike 2.jpg, by Leaos

With a frame consisting of two aluminium halves pressed together and spot welded, the unique Pressed e-bike weighs in at just 15kg and is 100% made in Italy

The intriguing Pressed e-bike from Italian innovators Leaos has been quite a few years in the making, and it will be soon debuting on the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform to ramp up production. The frame consists of two pieces of aluminium that are welded together, with the motor and battery concealed inside.

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We first spotted a steel singlespeed prototype of the Pressed E-bike back at the Eurobike show back in 2018, and since then it's morphed into a full aluminium ready-to-ride machine with a 5-speed version available too. it weighs in at just 15kg, pretty impressive for an urban e-bike, with leather saddles and handlebar grips for a classy appearance.

As you can see above, the frame is literally two halves pressed together that are then spot welded. Leaos say this is a 'completely new, innovative method of production" and the whole manufacturing process takes place in Bologna. The finish and paintwork are also completed in Italy, making this a 100% Italian job apart from the Chinese motor and German battery system.

The battery from Smart Battery Solutions cleverly slots into the back of the top tube and charges fully in just 1.5 hours, with a class-leading 360Wh to give you plenty of range. Without the battery, the Pressed E-bike weighs in at just 12kg. The rear wheel hub motor, courtesy of Bafang, gives you 250 watts of power with 40Nm, and it's also torque-sensing.

Other spec highlights include a central display with Bluetooth connectivity to the Leaos app, Shimano disc braking, an LED lighting system on the higher spec models and a choice of either sturdy Schwalbe or Continental tyres.

The Pressed E-bike starts from €2,990 in its single speed guise without mudguards, and is €3,235 with guards and a lighting system. The 5-speed version is €3,450, and there are a variety of colourways.

You can register now to sign up for info about Leaos' upcoming crowdfunding campaign, where you'll be able to pre-order Pressed e-bikes at discounts of up to 40%. Head over to the Leaos website here.

What do you think, are you im-Pressed? Let us know in the comments!

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Jack Sexty

Jack is the news editor here at eBikeTips, and also edits the live blog and writes tech news over on our sister site road.cc. Jack first became fascinated with e-bikes when an elderly gentleman breezed past him without a care in the world up a big old hill in North Wales - thus realising e-bikes are the real deal! Although he genuinely enjoys time trials and lung-busting climbs without assistance, Jack likes nothing more than cruising round town on an e-bike during his days off.

5 comments

jollygoodvelo 4 years 11 months ago

It's not the ugliest bike I've ever seen, and I maintain that a battery that slides into a frame tube (see also the VanMoof and the Flit) is the best solution for practical bikes and far better than compromising the downtube structure. Although the extra weight that high up must be quite noticeable. But as mentioned already, if this is a new way of making simple bikes in an economical way, why is it twice the price of perfectly usable traditonally-built bikes?

OldRidgeback 4 years 11 months ago

Ok, so it's not unique at all. It's still interesting. The way the battery is in the top tube is a neat piece of design. I must admit my first reaction was to thin, 'it's ugly,' but since then I've changed my opinion and I know think it looks neat and tidy. I'm not a fan of single speeds, so I'd want a mech on there.

Joe Totale 4 years 11 months ago

Considering the bike industry appears incapable of making a fully working press fit bottom brakcet god knows how they think they can now make a press fit bike

peted76 4 years 11 months ago

This 'completely new, innovative method of production' was used in that 'exact same manner' in automobiles since the 1930's.. for reasons...wait for it.. to achieve higher strength and cheaper productivity in manufacturing.

Those flamboyant Italians will try and fluff up any old nonsense.

My eyes still sting from seeing this bike... I don't care how leathery the saddle and handlegrips are... it's akin to putting lipstick on a pig

Secret_squirrel 4 years 11 months ago

Hang on a sec. That isnt 2 pressed halves - otherwise there would be no welds around the head tube or where each tube meets each other.

There is nothing unique about this - not even for an e-bike. My Birdy has a monocoque frame with a central weld running down the center (its not pressed) and it used to be available as an e-bike. Not sure the spot welding is anything but a gimmick, a continual flush weld is going to be much more structurally sound, and any cost savings from the design dont appear to have been passed on to the customer.

And with Italy the home of several legendary tubesets isnt this sacriledge?