The Buzzraw's mash-up of monkey bike, fat bike, and chopper puts a grin on your face - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
Coast's Quinn looks suitably out there, and this is its more conservative offering - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The front alloy crate is just one of many extras you can get for the Quinn, and it's pretty much the spot-on size for a six pack - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The Pinion six-speed BB mounted drivetrain is shifted with Coast's own grip-shift style shift unit - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
We found the Pinion's shifting to be sweet and swift especially when compared to a standard hub-gear setup - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
Gates drive means low maintenance and oil-free running - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The Pinion unit is just one of many drivetrain options on the Quinn - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
Self-contained and maintenance free are the advantages with the Pinion drive - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The Quinn's twin top tube and braced twin downtubes leave a handy space to store a bag, hence the bungee cords to keep your luggage in place - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
With the rear hub motor and low slung battery the Buzzraw's low centre of gravity makes for a seriously fun ride - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The Bafang motor isn't an e-bike solution we've seen before but we were impressed by the way it performed - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
20inch wheels shod with massive tyres all add to the Buzzraw's madness - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
Now that’s a seat that'll easily fit a passenger or two… - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The Bafang head unit displays speed, combined Wattage (motor and you) battery level and distance, should you want to put some training miles in on it… - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
Yes, its quite the mad thing. Do we need one? No, do we want one? YES - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
Tyres like these you'd usually expect on an ATV - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
180mm rotors on a 20inch wheel, overkill maybe, but they do look good - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
With the bench-like seat there's not much chance of a rider's stripe up your back but the full guards will make doubly sure you stay dry - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The motor settings and head unit are controlled via this bar mounted remote - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
Big wide bars flow out of the triple crown fork setup for that full-on easy rider experience - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
We first saw Coast bikes' Buzzraw and Quinn at last year’s Taipei bike show. At this year's show I finally got to take both of these crazy-looking fat-tyred urban wonders out for a spin.
Coast was formed back in 2012 in the company’s native Singapore. The original concept was to create bikes that are built for carrying and commuting with a bit more of a stylish edge than your average about-town machine.
Let's start with the Quinn. In its raw form, the Quinn’s simple lines hide a multitude of add-ons and accessories to create a tough little urban machine. It’s by far Coast’s most ‘normal’ bike with its fat-tyred 20” wheels and disc brakes.
Coast's Quinn looks suitably out there, and this is its more conservative offering - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The main frame’s twin top tube creates a nicely sized slot for a bag and the twin downtube is bridged with a wooden insert to keep your bag dry and free of spray from those fat tyres.
The ride is one that’ll put a smile on your face, as those fat tyres encourage you to chuck the Quinn into corners while the big volume smoothness eats up rough roads and can take a bit of curb jumping abuse with it.
Coast’s Tony Tan explains that rather than make an ever-extending range they’ve left the frame adaptable to run a multitude of drivetrain options and pedal-assistance.
We found the Pinion's shifting to be sweet and swift especially when compared to a standard hub-gear setup - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The base model Quinn comes with a Gates CDN belt driving a single speed rear wheel. Second up is a Shimano Nexus 3-spd hub, with the second option (which we tried) running a Gates belt through a BB-mounted Pinion 6 speed.
The Pinion drive is impressively smooth and far quicker than a hub-gear to switch between ratios.
Describing a bike like the Quinn as the normal option of these two bikes just shows quite how differently Coast looks at urban bike design.
The Quinn's twin top tube and braced twin downtubes leave a handy space to store a bag, hence the bungee cords to keep your luggage in place - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The second bike we took for a spin is the frankly mad-looking Buzzraw, which looks like a mash-up of a Honda monkey bike, fat-bike and a classic Schwinn Orange crate, or Raleigh Chopper.
The Buzzraw is a bike that just made me smile the minute I got on it. The super-wide treaded balloon tyres roll over anything with ease, and the long bench seat offers ample room for carrying a passenger.
Big wide bars flow out of the triple crown fork setup for that full-on easy rider experience - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The model I tested was the e250W pedal assist version and scooting around the Taipei show’s road test loop spinning the pedals laid back style at 30kph just leaves you laughing.
180mm rotors on a 20inch wheel. Overkill maybe, but they do look good - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The bike is just a massive amount of fun to ride, as in you can’t ride it without a smile on your face. This much fun should be illegal (and in the case of the 1000w model probably is) and we really like Coast’s approach to dispel any thoughts of dour and boring city bikes.
The Bafang head unit displays speed, combined Wattage (motor and you) battery level and distance, should you want to put some training miles in on it… - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The Buzzraw comes in a multitude of options, from the entry level X4 8 speed at $999, to the e250w tester we tried at $1,979 without batter), and $2,345 with battery shipped with it.
Now that’s a seat that'll easily fit a passenger or two… - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
Then there’s a frankly mental e1000w assisted version which Tony happily informs us is good for 60kph plus, which we’d love to give a try. The dubious legality of the 1000w version in the UK/US aside the $3,498 price tag (or $2,788 without a battery) would still give plenty of fun.
With the bench-like seat there's not much chance of a rider's stripe up your back but the full guards will make doubly sure you stay dry - Warren Rossiter/Immediate media
The Buzzraw is a bike that I have absolutely no need for, but I seriously want one. Isn’t that the very definition of the N+1 bike?
Warren Rossiter is BikeRadar and Cycling Plus magazine’s senior technical editor for road and gravel. Having been testing bikes for more than 20 years, Warren has an encyclopedic knowledge of road cycling and has been the mastermind behind our Road Bike of the Year test for more than a decade. He’s also a regular presenter on the BikeRadar Podcast and on BikeRadar’s YouTube channel. In his time as a cycling journalist, Warren has written for Mountain Biking UK, What Mountain Bike, Urban Cyclist, Procycling, Cyclingnews, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike and T3. Over the years, Warren has written about thousands of bikes and tested more than 2,500 – from budget road bikes to five-figure superbikes. He has covered all the major innovations in cycling this century, and reported from launches, trade shows and industry events in Europe, Asia, Australia, North American and Africa. While Warren loves fast road bikes and the latest gravel bikes, he also believes electric bikes are the future of transport. You’ll regularly find him commuting on an ebike and he longs for the day when everyone else follows suit. You will find snaps of Warren’s daily rides on the Instagram account of our sister publication, Cycling Plus (@cyclingplus).
This website is owned and published by Our Media Ltd. www.ourmedia.co.uk
