Right here’s one thing I didn’t count on to see at the moment. Walmart has an attention-grabbing electrical moped on sale for a pretty $779. The one drawback is that it comes with the handlebars apparently put in backwards.

The Colorway e-bike is a thriller wrapped in a riddle. It comes with both a 750W or 250W rear hub motor, relying which line of the spec sheet you learn. The bike claims a 20 mph (32 km/h) prime velocity, although it’s a bit worrying that Walmart admits proper there on the spec sheet that it could possibly solely hit 20 mph when the battery is absolutely charged.

Then it’s acquired a 48V 15Ah battery for 720 Wh of capability. That’s truly pretty spectacular, and is barely bigger than the trade common, imagine it or not. And when you’re within the temper for believing, Walmart says it is going to go so far as 20-40 miles (32-64 km) on a single cost of that battery.

The electrical moped rides on 20″x4″ tires, encompasses a 7-speed Shimano shifter and even contains full-suspension, although neither the entrance fork or rear shock seem like excessive finish suspension.

For now we’ll ignore the odd alternative of identify “Colorway”, which is a bit like naming a brand new automotive “Paint job”.

However the actual kicker on this $1,299 e-bike that’s at the moment marked right down to $779 is that the handlebars are put in backwards.

Sure, that’s proper. Try the stem (the half that clamps the handlebars to the bike). It’s reversed, pointing again in direction of the saddle as an alternative of forwards like regular.

To be honest, there’s an argument to be made that it isn’t “improper”, per se. A reversed stem is a doable method to arrange a motorbike, it’s simply nearly by no means executed outdoors of some area of interest circumstances. For further small riders that aren’t massive sufficient to deal with a much bigger bike, it places the bars shut sufficient to succeed in with their brief arms. Some individuals additionally reverse the stem when utilizing the bike for stunts.

The configuration is exceedingly uncommon although and on this case is sort of actually a mistake.

The setup is typically known as “tiller steering”, since as an alternative of the stem letting the handlebars lead the bike, it’s reversed like a ship tiller. Which means the rider is type of pulling the bars back and forth in the identical movement as controlling the tiller on a ship.

The most important downsides of the setup are that it creates a cramped cockpit and might result in jerkier steering, particularly for somebody who isn’t used to the setup.

On this case, it’s doable that the bike was meant for use this manner. However based mostly on the extremely funds value and the truth that it’s being offered at Walmart, I’d wager that it’s equally doable that somebody merely put in the handlebars improper earlier than the bike was despatched for its product photoshoot. Lending credence to that concept is the truth that a number of the using pictures present the handlebars put in appropriately, like within the picture beneath.

For people who want to reinstall the handlebars the right (or at the least conventional) method, it’s doable however not precisely easy.

There’s extra to it than simply loosening the stem bolts and spinning the handlebar again round. You’ll additionally must take away the brake levers, shifter, show and some other equipment on the handlebars just like the bells and reflector. Then they’ll have to be reinstalled appropriately. It’s not one thing that anybody armed with a 5mm hex wrench and a Phillips head screwdriver can’t deal with, however it’s not a two minute job, both.

After all the bike would most likely work tremendous the way in which it’s, so long as you can get used to the considerably odd prospect of getting your handlebars on backwards. However hey, you do you, Walmart!

Learn extra: These are the most effective electrical bikes for each funds