True they are not your normal bikes, they will be smart bicycles. Xiaomi has invested in a company named IRiding, which will soon be launching a smart bike under a brand named QiCycle. And that bike will be sold on Xiaomi's e-commerce market.

It will not be cheap. You will be able to pick one up for $3,000, less if you have a pair of bolt cutters and wait outside a newsagent for someone to pop in for newspaper and a packet of polo-mints.

Smart bikes have a carbon fibre build, motion sensors, and have battery-assisted, but not dependent, pedalling. The bike will probably connect to the Xiaomi smartphone although what those two will talk about is anyone’s guess.

Some analysts are a little worried that the outfit is spreading itself too thin but there is a thought that the outfit is getting into the Internet of Stuff and this can only be a good thing.