The future of mobility is weird. We’re living in a time when electrification has cracked the door wide open for all sorts of wild experiments, and suddenly the lines between bicycles, motorcycles, and cars aren’t so clear anymore. Enter the Cixi Vigoz, a three-wheeled machine from France that looks like a cross between a velomobile, a microcar, and some kind of sci-fi fitness gadget.
It’s fast, it’s quirky, and it’s powered by pedals that don’t even have a chain. Yeah, it’s strange. But that’s also what makes it so interesting.
So, who exactly is Cixi? The company was founded about a decade ago in the Haute-Savoie region of France, and it’s been obsessed ever since with rethinking how bicycles move. Instead of chains, cogs, or belts, Cixi built something called the Pedaling Energy Recovery System, or PERS. The idea is pretty simple: your pedal strokes are turned into electricity rather than mechanical motion. That electricity goes straight to a hub motor, which propels the wheel. Think of it as pedaling through a power plant that happens to be strapped to your bike.
On the Vigoz, that means your legs aren’t mechanically linked to the wheels at all. You push the pedals, energy gets converted, and the motor pushes you forward. The system even plays around with resistance in real time so you can settle into your favorite rhythm, no matter the terrain. And yes, it can recharge the battery while you pedal or brake. If the battery runs flat, you’re not stranded—you can still power the wheel directly with your legs, just without the electrical boost.
Now, about the Vigoz itself. You sit low in a recumbent position, almost like piloting a pedal-powered go-kart wrapped in a glass bubble. Your head height is roughly 130 cm off the ground—low enough to feel speedy but high enough to see traffic. Steering is handled by two control sticks mounted at your sides, and an active tilting system lets the Vigoz lean into corners like a motorcycle. There’s even room in the back for a passenger, some luggage, or maybe your dog. Safety comes in the form of a lightweight crash-absorbing chassis, three-point seatbelts, and a climate-controlled cabin. In other words, this is no bicycle—it’s closer to a downsized EV with pedals as its interface.
Performance? The mule prototype already hit 100 kph (62 mph), and the production version is expected to top out at 120 kph (75 mph). That’s faster than any e-bike on the market and quicker than plenty of small electric motorcycles. Range is quoted at 160 km (about 100 miles) from its 22 kWh underfloor battery pack, which puts it in the ballpark of some mainstream urban EVs.
All of that raises the obvious question: who is this for? Is it aimed at commuters who want the protection of a car but still crave the exercise of cycling? Is it for eco-conscious urbanites who want to stand out in traffic? Or maybe it’s designed for the kind of hipster who values weirdness as much as efficiency. Honestly, it’s hard to pin down. But maybe that’s the point.
The Vigoz sits in an in-between space that doesn’t really exist in the US market yet. Too fast and too enclosed to be a bike, but too pedal-dependent to be a car. It’s confusing, sure. But it’s also oddly compelling. In a world where cars are getting bigger and heavier, and e-bikes are still locked to around 28 mph in most places, the Vigoz feels like a rebellion against categories.
Cixi hasn’t revealed pricing yet, and certification is still underway. But the company says reservations will open once a production timeline is set. Whether it makes sense in cities outside of France remains to be seen. What’s clear, though, is that the Vigoz challenges the way we think about personal mobility.
It’s weird. It’s confusing. And maybe that’s exactly what makes it cool.
