In order to make hip e-bikes attractive to people with a smaller budget, Andy Weinzierl founded the Sushi brand and, as an investor and figurehead, also brought the well-known German ProSieben showmaster Joko Winterscheidt on board or on the saddle.
The idea behind the bikes with the name of the Japanese classic: One rolls, the other is rolled. Sounds a bit far-fetched? Regardless, Blick wanted to try the new electronic delicacy himself, although ordering the two-wheeler is hardly more complex than ordering sushi for dinner.
Sushi comes by delivery service
Sales are not carried out via dealers, but via the company’s own website sushi-bikes.ch: Select your bike (Maki model with high, California Roll model with low frame), add extras (e.g. mudguards, luggage rack, lock) and submit your order . A few days later the sushi bike is on the doorstep.
Now it has to be arranged first: Our Maki, which is completely black, has been dismantled for transport and packed with all sorts of protective material – it has to be removed first. Suitable tools for assembly are included. Founder Andy Weinzierl summarizes the instructions in a half-hour YouTube video that is easy to understand. First the front wheel is attached “step by step”, the disc brakes are adjusted and lights, mudguards and pedals are installed – the not entirely inexperienced screwdriver should plan around an hour for the assembly.
The battery is also a power bank
Before going on the road, the last thing you have to do is insert the battery on the lower crossbar so that the sushi can also be turned into an e-bike. The highlight of the component, which weighs only 800 grams: it looks like a drinking bottle, can be removed when visiting the pool and can also be used as a power bank for the smartphone or the boombox. On top of that, it spares the cyclist from the disapproving looks of other non-electro-assisted bikers. By pressing the start button on the simply designed control unit on the handlebar, we bring the electronics to life. In the best case scenario, five full lines in the indicator light represent 40 kilometers in the city. Here we go!
After just a few meters, we notice that the Maki not only looks like an ordinary city bike – it rides like that too. On the flat, the first support level of the rear engine is easily enough to jet through the area extremely quickly. The sushi bike is extremely agile and handy, which is also due to the weight of just under 15 kilos – hardly more than a normal bike. This means that in an emergency it can be driven without any e-assistance and can be carried comfortably into the apartment if necessary, which is only possible with great effort on other e-bikes, some of which are over 25 kilos.
Sushi Maki M1
drive Rear wheel / hub motor, 200 watts
battery pack 5.2 Ah / 125 Wh
Range Max. 40 km
Loading time 3.5 h (0-100%)
Weight 15.6 kilos (including battery)
price from 1199 francs
plus Price / performance, weight, design, battery is also a power bank
minus Little comfort, relatively complex assembly
drive Rear wheel / hub motor, 200 watts
battery pack 5.2 Ah / 125 Wh
Range Max. 40 km
Loading time 3.5 h (0-100%)
Weight 15.6 kilos (including battery)
price from 1199 francs
plus Price / performance, weight, design, battery is also a power bank
minus Little comfort, relatively complex assembly
The rear engine stands well in the forage
The sweat doesn’t run off our foreheads, even on longer tours: on steps two and three, the 200 watt rear motor pushes amazingly powerful after a short delay and, despite only one, perfectly geared gear, even tackles steeper train station ramps or endlessly ascending district streets in the twinkling of an eye or foot. Here, the sushi bike is not only ahead of normal city bikes, but also rivals such as the recently tested Ampler Stout.
There are slight compromises when it comes to comfort: As fast as the sushi whizzes around corners, we also feel every bump directly and have to pull up the handlebars in front of every sidewalk so as not to demolish the chic rims. For bikers who are not sporty, the driving behavior can also seem a bit nervous. And the removable battery is practical, but it wobbles and rattles on the down tube during a city tour.
The test verdict
We really like this sushi bike! Of course, in terms of quality and comfort, it doesn’t quite come close to the haute cuisine of standard e-bikes, which are at least twice as expensive, but impresses with an overall package that could suit the taste of the younger and more sporty urban population. Not a gram of fat too much and the additional e-power ensure dynamic city tours and make the tested Sushi Maki at a price of around 1200 francs definitely a flavor enhancer for the e-bike scene.