That price looks even steeper for those that already have a perfectly functional pedal bicycle sitting at home. Japanese-Swiss company Sunstar hopes to make e-bikes a little cheaper and more versatile with its modular Virtus electric drive that transforms a regular bike into an e-bike, then detaches in minutes, effectively giving you two bikes in one.

The Virtus joins the growing list of aftermarket e-bike add-ons that includes the likes of Rubbee and the Velospeeder. As a mid-mounted e-drive fitted around the bottom bracket, the Virtus is a more cleanly integrated power option that's similar to e-drives used on permanently electric bikes.

Sunstar says that the Virtus is designed to fit any conventional bicycle frame, transforming a standard bike into an electric bike with up to 15.5 mph (25 km/h) of e-assist speed potential. Knowing what we do about the sheer breadth of the bicycle industry, we're sure there are a few "conventional" frames on which the Virtus will fit about as well as a square peg through a round hole.