If you'd asked us to compile a list of brands who'd be telling us about their new e-bikes this week, it's fairly safe to say that we wouldn't have put MCipollini near the top of that list. Or on it at all. The boutique high-end brand founded by the larger-than-life ex-pro Mario Cipollini is dedicated to producing no-compromise race bikes of the highest calibre. But they've clearly decided that there's a place for an e-bike in their line-up, and that e-bike is the MCM2.
So who's it for? Well, judging by the pitch it's for people who want that full-on race bike experience but maybe don't quite have the legs for it, for whatever reason. The MCM2 will be, MCipollini say, "Not just an electric bike, but the perfect expression of who you are. MCM2 is designed and built according to the exact biomechanical characteristics of your body. A modular bicycle with an innovative, impeccably precise assembly system, it is extraordinarily agile and sturdy. More than anything, however, it’s yours and only yours."
Actual details are fairly thin on the ground at the moment, but what we're looking at is a custom frame, built to your measurements and packing a 240W motor and integrated battery. The motor is located in the seat tube and presumably powers the crankset directly, with the battery integrated into the down tube.
It's unlikely that MCipollini have developed their own motor system. Our guess is that they're going to use the Typhoon system, which only adds 1.8kg to the weight of a bike. That makes a 9kg build of the MCM2 a possibility. Typhoon work with Italian framebuilder Sarto to produce their bikes, and there's plenty of chat that MCipollini use Sarto for some of their frames too, so it'd be a good fit. There's also the Vivax Assist system, which could work in a bike like this.
How much will the MCM2 cost? Well, the non-powered frameset costs £3,000 on its own, and built up like the image above, with a Campagnolo electronic groupset and carbon wheels, you're not going to see any change out of £8,000. Add in an expensive motor system and you're well into five figures. It does look smart, though.
