Just like with cars, when it come to bicycles, I’m a little bit old-school. Some might say I’m just getting old, but I prefer simple, mechanical machines over newfangled electronic devices on wheels. Give me a W123 over a W212 any day, or a simple mountain bike over an electrically assisted one. At least that’s what I thought before I tried the Fiido Titan, the granddaddy of all electric bicycles that you can buy around here. A few days with it in Metro Manila traffic almost convinced me to buy one if it wasn’t for one feature.

The first thing that struck me when I picked up the Titan at Popcycle’s Venice Grand Canal branch was its size. This thing is chunky, and I don’t just mean the tires. For P80,000, you get a lot of bike. Weighing a hefty 38kg, it’s a two-wheeler you won’t lose sight of in the bicycle parking lot of any mall, assuming you can fit it there. During the whole week that I got to spend with this monster machine, I usually parked in the motorcycle parking area of wherever I went—albeit still without having to pay, just like a normal bicycle. Confused looks by motorbike riders were a free add-on.

My biggest concern when I first got my hands on the Titan was if this big bike would be suitable for my riding style. I try and cycle as much as possible, may it be to commute, to go to the mall, or to research stories for VISOR. It’s simply the fastest way to get around in my opinion, and fast is also the keyword here. I like to get a move on and stop as little as possible, which means squeezing past cars, competing with motorbikes in the various bike lanes, and generally riding a pretty dynamic style. Glancing at the Fiido with its fast tires and huge frame, I had serious doubts how that would work unless I simply ran everyone over in my desire to make haste.

The riding styles between my standard bike and the Titan are definitely different. With my own bike, it’s a mixture between sprints and almost trial-like elements, where you weave through traffic, slowly balance your way past potholes, or bunny-hop over obstacles. None of that really works with the Fiido. Instead of competing with other cyclists, you suddenly find yourself wrestling for road position with scooters and motorbikes. I left many a motorbike rider scratching their head on how that big bloke on that huge bike was just able to not only keep up with them, but even pull away and leave them for dust. And instead of gingerly balancing around road defects, the tendency is to just blast through them and let the huge tires do their thing.

The killer feature of the Titan is no doubt its throttle. The different ride modes do give you increasingly powerful electrical assistance when pedaling, but I found myself hitting the go button on many occasions when taking off from traffic lights, going uphill, or trying to get ahead in traffic. I guess everyone will ride differently, but I mostly left it in Normal or Sport mode and simply used the throttle when a little bit of extra oomph was needed. Once up to speed, I used the pedals to keep going at speeds that ranged from fun to almost frightening.

That electric oomph comes from a 14.5Ah lithium-ion battery powering a 750W rear hub motor. Fiido gives a range of 135km per charge, but if you hammer it and try to hit the 45km/h top speed all the time, that figure will obviously go down. Still, it should be plenty enough to get you to work and back no matter where in the city you are located. The battery is also removable, giving you the option to leave it fitted while charging, or to take it out and replenish it elsewhere (a feature that will be handy for condo dwellers).

To prevent theft of bike and battery, an app is needed to operate the Titan. It’s pretty easy to use, lets you adjust various settings, helps you locate the bike, and unlocks not just the Titan itself but also the battery (meaning it can’t be nicked while you’re parked up somewhere). It’s fair to say this beast makes you feel like the king of rush hour, even if the suspension setup felt a lot harder than I expected with the two huge balloons masquerading as tires on both ends. You’ll also feel it in your knees for the first days, as electric assistance or not, you are still shifting almost 40kg of bike around all the time. Plus, you can add loads of cargo, too, which can bring the total weight—including rider—up to a whopping 200kg.

So, which feature turned out to be the deal-breaker for me? The throttle. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it—and the ability to zip along with zero physical effort will be perfect for commuters who don’t want to break a sweat on the way to the office—it’s just too tempting for me. Apart from wanting to beat traffic, I cycle to stay fit and burn calories. Being able to hit a button to accelerate instead of having to pedal will inevitably lead me to put less physical effort into my journeys. It’s just too good, too convenient, and too much fun. So, instead of the Titan, I’m looking at getting its slimmer brother, the C21. That one doesn’t have a throttle, and requires physical effort before any electrical assistance kicks in, which seems like the best of both worlds to me. It also still looks like a normal bike, which keeps the old-school part of me very happy.