A drive unit able to be applied to a vehicle with pedals, like a bicycle, a tricycle or other, having at least a flywheel and a pair of pedals connected to a central shaft rotatable around a rotation axis. The drive unit comprises an electric motor, fed by an electric feed member, motion transmission members, which connect the electric motor to the flywheel, and a control unit that detects, by means of corresponding sensors, the speed of rotation of the central shaft connected to the pedals in order to feed, in proportion thereto, the electric motor. The drive unit also comprises a first free wheel which connects the motion transmission members to the flywheel, and a second free wheel that connects the central shaft to the flywheel. Both the free wheels are disposed coaxial with the flywheel so as to rotate around the rotation axis.