Is this the future of farm bikes?

Daryl Neal, Director of Neal-Clyde Design Ltd, pictured with the Steed Electric Bike at his company's stand at the New Zealand National Fieldays. Photo / Alan Gibson

It's a cross between a mountain bike and a motorcycle that's not only environmentally-friendly but light on the wallet.

The prototype 2WD steed bike, that's not yet for sale, is turning heads at the Fieldays Innovation Centre as a viable alternative to a farm or quad bike.

The electric bike, which is powered by a 1.4kwh-capacity lithium battery and weighs just 40kg, has picked up two of the three available awards in the Fieldays Innovation Award's grass roots category.

While it looks like a large mountain bike, one of its designers Anthony Clyde said it was an excellent choice for farmers with a top speed of 40km/h, a load capacity of 200kg and a running cost of just 7c an hour.

"We call it an electric work horse and it's a dream to ride," said Mr Clyde.

His partner Daryl Neal said the bike had a range of about 100km/h so it could handle working on larger farms. It could also handle hill gradients of 30 degrees and can ride through mud.

Its battery takes three hours to recharge.

"We've had hunters who are interested in it because they can take it into the bush, shoot a pig, put it on the bike and ride out," he said.

Mr Neal also said there had been interest from women farmers because of its ease of accessibility, and a paramedic who said the bike could be easily carried in an ambulance.

"It's zero emission and very simple to use -- it's got a throttle but there are no gears and no clutch," he said.

Mr Clyde said the pair were fine-tuning the bike's design but it could be in stores in the next six to 12 months with a ballpark price figure of $5000.