According to Bloomberg, the new treadmill, called Tread, will use a belt design similar to other treadmills on the market. Peloton’s existing treadmill, which has a slat design, will be renamed Tread+. The company will also release a new premium stationary bike called Bike+, which will likely cost more than Peloton’s existing bike at its current price, and the company is bringing a more adjustable tablet screen to its new products, Tread and Bike+. That should allow users to do more workouts near their machine, not just on it.

Since the pandemic began, the Peloton home fitness app has landed on more streaming devices, including Android TV, Apple TV and Roku, and instructors have been live streaming classes from their homes. While the company continues to face increased competition, Bloomberg says Peloton’s stock has risen 190 percent this year.

Superstrata frames won’t be a single piece, though. The team is planning to print the main portion of the frame — which doesn’t have a traditional seat tube, creating an open diamond shape — and front forks separately. Still, it’s an impressive design feat that is catch the attention of other cyclists and road users.

Superstrata

The company will use additive manufacturing to build two similarly-shaped bicycles: a standard $2,799 ‘Terra’ model, and an electrified $3,999 ‘Ion’ version. That might sound expensive, however a carbon road bike can cost anywhere between $1,250 and $12,500. (And even higher, if you want something truly rare.) A top-end Riese & Müller e-bike, meanwhile, will set you back almost $9,000. Superstrata isn’t making a bike for the masses, but the company isn’t operating in the upper echelons of bespoke bicycle building, either.

“It’s less than your high-end carbon fiber bikes, but it’s not affordable in the common sense,” Vu accepted.

According to Superstrata, 3D printing offers a couple of crucial benefits. For starters, each bicycle can be printed to suit the exact dimensions of the rider. The company is promising “over 500,000” possible setups that account for the customer’s height, weight, arm and leg length, as well as their preferred riding position and level of frame stiffness. Most bicycle manufacturers, for comparison, offer a handful of frame sizes that account for most rider heights. And many e-bike startups, such as Cowboy, have a single specification to simplify manufacturing and repairs.

3D printing doesn’t require any expensive molds, either. That means the company isn’t tied down or incentivised to stick with the same frame design for a long period of time. The process requires fewer humans, too, than a traditional carbon fiber frame. “The materials for carbon composites are really expensive, but it’s really the labor that makes it expensive,” Vu said. “That was astounding to me. I always thought it was the material, but then I realized, ‘Oh, it’s actually the labor.’”

Finally, Superstata is promising “seamless strength” that trumps traditional monocoque carbon fiber frames. Vu told Engadget: “We say, ‘Well, your monocoque frame didn’t start as one piece. it was 20 or 30 pieces that are glued together, laser-welded maybe even together, wrapped. But it started as many pieces. And if it hits a tree, it’s going to end up being many pieces.” Superstrata’s bikes won’t be indestructible, but they should fare better if you take a tumble or stand it up haphazardly outside a cafe.

Superstrata

The Ion will ship with a 252Wh battery tucked into its svelte down tube. By e-bike standards, that’s small. VanMoof and Cowboy’s latest wares offer 504Wh and 360Wh batteries respectively, for instance. Superstrata is promising a 250-watt motor, which is effectively the industry standard for pedal-assisted e-bikes, that can rise to 350 watts in a pinch. It will deliver 40Nm of torque, which is well below the 75Nm that Bosch — the supplier for countless bike brands including Trek, Moustache and Riese & Müller — currently offers with its flagship generation four motors. (Bosh is also planning a software update that will increase the torque to 85Nm later this summer.)

Superstrata’s Ion will be lighter than most of its e-bike competition, though. The entire contraption should weigh 11KG, which is 1KG less than Gogoro’s Eeyo 1, 8KG less than VanMoof’s S3 and only 700 grams heavier than the folding Hummingbird. Like the Eeyo 1, the weight and “open-frame” design should make it easy to carry the bike on one shoulder. In theory, the the weight should counterbalance the smaller battery size, too. Superstrata is promising 96KM (60 miles) of range on a single charge and an assisted top speed of 32KMH (20MPH), which will be software restricted to meet Europe’s lower 25KMH (15.5MPH) speed limit.

The company has sourced some of its basic components — the tyres, saddle and groupset, for instance — from third-party manufacturers. We don’t know the exact model numbers, but Vu confirmed they would be fairly “standard” choices. Superstrata couldn’t pick top of the line components, he explained, because the team is ordering them in smaller volumes than traditional bike manufacturers. “The average person, I think they’ll enjoy it,” Vu said. “Pro bikers, they’ll probably scoff at it, the sets. But they can put in their own sets.”

Arevo has been working on its 3D-printed bike formula for some time. Back in 2018, the company unveiled a head-turning proof-of-concept with a blue frame that extended beyond the head tube fork and seat tube. Twelve months later, it unveiled the electric Emery One with Franco Bicycles, a premium road and gravel bike manufacturer based in California. Arevo has since announced that it will help Pilot Distribution Group, a company in the Netherlands, develop a new line off e-bikes that have 3D-printed carbon fiber frames.

With Superstrata, the company is finally striking out on its own. “I said, ‘You know what? Why are we doing this for other people? Let’s do it for ourselves and if other people want it, they can come to us,’” Vu said. “So that’s the idea. Let’s make a nice bike, end to end. Let’s build a whole brand around it and just have fun.”

To deliver its dream bicycles, though, the company is turning to Indiegogo. As with all crowdfunding campaigns, there’s no guarantee that the Terra or Ion will ever materialize. Arevo has been around since 2013, though, which is longer than many electric bike startups. Vu also hinted that the company is using the platform more as a marketing “launch pad” than a finance-raising tool. Still, any reservation is a gamble.

If everything goes to plan, Arevo will be delivering its first bikes in December. The company will make 500 two-wheelers in its initial run, according to Vu, through a combination of printing in the US and Vietnam. He hopes the Superstrata business will increase to “thousands, eventually,” but is keenly aware of how competitive the bike industry can be. If the brand doesn’t catch on, Arevo might have to pivot.

“As a 3D printing company, we can do that,” he explained. “We can say, ‘Nah, okay. We’re done.’ If you’ve invested into a whole line with carbon fiber molds and a complete production setup, you better sell tens of thousands of bikes or else you’re pretty screwed. But if 437 people are hating [Superstrata bikes] and we can’t get anyone’s attention, it’s okay. Let’s do baby strollers or whatever. Let’s do something else. I just love this world of additive manufacturing because you can do that kind of thing. It’s really upending the supply chain structure that’s out there.”

While not without its flaws, the bike is an easy recommendation for those who want power and flexibility at any cost.

Design

Engadget

From afar, the GXi looks identical to Gocycle’s previous wares. And that’s perfectly fine because the company’s trademark design language doesn’t feel outdated in 2020. The frame doesn’t have a top tube and is, therefore, both eye-catching and easy to step over. The removable battery is contained in the chunky downtube, and the front hub motor, while noticeable, matches the smaller five-spoke wheels nicely.

The clever design elements extend to the handlebars, too. You won’t find any exposed cables — they’ve all been cleverly routed through the frame — or plastic gear shifters because the company opted for a stealthier twist-grip option instead. They might seem small, but these details add up to ensure the bike’s clean lines are rarely interrupted. Of course, they could also make the GXi difficult to repair. The bike comes with a three-part warranty, though — one year for the battery, two years for basic components and three years for the frame — and Gocycle is older than other e-bike upstarts, which increases the chance they’ll still be around when you need advice and replacement parts.

Unlike the GX, the bike has a strip-shaped Daytime Running Light (DRL) between its two brake levers. The beam has four possible settings — high and low, with an optional flashing strobe effect — that makes you more visible to other road users. The DRL isn’t designed to help you see at night, though. If you want to illuminate your surroundings, Gocycle recommends buying an aftermarket solution (the review sample I rode already had front and back Supernova bike lights installed.)

Engadget

On the opposite side is a Formula One-inspired “cockpit” that uses bright LEDs to visualize important information. When you’re standing still, 10 lights on the left-hand side will display the bike’s remaining charge. They fill from left to right and each LED represents 10 percent of battery life. Once you start pedaling, the lights will switch off temporarily and fill in the other direction to show how hard the motor is working. Four blue LEDs placed above and below this section explain the current DRL mode. Shift your eyes toward the center and you’ll notice three vertically aligned LEDs — these denote your current gear. Finally, 10 LEDs on the right-hand side explain how fast you’re riding. 

It’s a massive improvement over the GX, which only had five LEDs capable of showing the battery’s remaining charge. Still, the new cockpit is not intuitive. Would anyone understand what it meant without referring to the bike’s manual first? I don’t think so. My brain adjusted after a few rides, though, and quickly appreciated the size and brightness of the LEDs. In a laid back or upright riding position, they’re easier to read than a traditional bike computer, which usually has a small, monochromatic display, and practically fade into the handlebars when the GXi is switched off.

I used the app for my first ride but quickly switched to the LEDs.

If you don’t like the LED lights, you can use Gocycle’s companion app instead. The GX comes with two rubbery loops that can slide on to the handlebars and hold your phone in landscape mode. In this orientation, the app will switch to a car dashboard-inspired view with relevant riding information. That includes your current speed and gear, the battery’s remaining charge, how hard the motor is working, the distance you’ve travelled and a button that cycles through riding modes. I used the app for my first ride but quickly switched to the LEDs to save my phone’s battery life and, more importantly, innards from the occasional shower.

Performance

Engadget

When you first set up the bike, the companion app will ask whether you want North American or European firmware, which caps your top speed at 20MPH and 15.5MPH respectively. These restrictions are set by local regulators and are standard for the industry.

Out of the box, you have four riding modes to choose from: City+, City, Eco and On Demand. On City+, the motor will kick in immediately and slowly scale up as you pedal harder. In City mode, the motor won’t activate until you supply some light (100 watts) pedaling, but scales up to 100 percent with less effort. Eco mode, meanwhile, is a battery saving option that requires slightly more effort (200 watts) to trigger the pedal-assisted motor. In all of these modes, you can twist the left handlebar grip for a temporary boost that disengages when you stop or slow down your pedaling.

Finally, there’s On Demand. In this mode, the motor won’t switch on until you wrist-down. Once held, the system will engage until you let go, stop pedaling or reach the firmware-controlled maximum speed. It makes the bike feel more like an electric scooter, though you still have to pedal and can’t, therefore, treat it like a Vespa or Ducati.

If none of the modes suit your riding style, you can build one from scratch. The app’s Mode Editor lets you drag two nodes on a graph — similar to an audio equalizer — to set exactly when and how strong the motor should spring to life. I was happy with the City mode for most of my riding but occasionally switched to a custom profile that forced the motor to engage immediately and ramp up to 100 percent assist with minimal pedaling.

Engadget

The GXi has three gears that help you pedal at low and higher speeds. Unlike its fast-folding predecessor, the bike will automatically shift up and down when it senses a change in momentum. In theory, that means you should never be in the wrong gear after stopping at a traffic light or climbing a steep hill. 

I found the system to be a tad unreliable, though. Sometimes I would reach top speed and momentarily stop pedalling to examine a road sign or let a looming car overtake. The bike would then downshift even though I was still cruising at a speed that demanded a higher gear. Thankfully, you can change gears manually by twisting the right handlebar grip up and down. There’s a small learning curve — the system won’t execute the change until you’ve eased off the pedals slightly — but it doesn’t take long to understand and memorize the timing.

Another small nitpick: The motor is a little noisy. It’s not loud enough to be a dealbreaker or spoil an otherwise idyllic ride through the countryside. But for this kind of money, I would prefer the electrical innards to be a smidge quieter.

The bike is generally responsive and aware of how you’re riding.

The bike is generally responsive and aware of how you’re riding. While climbing a slope, I could see the motor’s assistance slowly building on the left-hand side of the cockpit. Conversely, the LEDs would disappear when I started cruising down a hill at higher speeds.

Gocycle has nailed the basics, too. The GXi’s Velo D2 saddle was comfortable, and the hydraulic disc brakes were sharp but not overly aggressive. I appreciated the one-inch ‘Lockshock’ suspension, too, which helped absorb the odd pothole and speed bump. (The GXi isn’t a mountain bike, though, so you shouldn’t take it on dirt and gravel trails.)

Engadget

The GXi promises up to 50 miles on a single charge. Of course, that number will fluctuate depending on your riding mode and the number of hills that you like to conquer each day. I managed 30 miles, for instance, riding predominantly in City mode around my hilly neighborhood. (In line with the UK’s social distancing guidelines, I only rode the e-bike once each day.) Some of my excursions were in the evening, too, which meant the DRL was working a little harder.

Any range anxiety was mitigated by the Fast Charger, which can replenish the battery in roughly four hours. While functional, the accessory is a massive and utterly hideous brick. Still, it’s better than the GX’s charger, which needed seven hours to top up the bike’s smaller battery. You can charge the GXi using a large port hidden by a rubbery seal on the frame. Alternatively, you can fold the bike down and charge the battery separately — a convenient option if you work in a fancy office that doesn’t appreciate muddy or rain-soaked tires.

Folding

It can be daunting at first, but the GXi is surprisingly quick and simple to break down. Here’s the process:

1. Ensure the kickstand is lowered.

2. Turn the cranks so the pedal on the side with the chain guard is pointing down and away from the rear wheel.

3. Pop the red switch on the head tube and lower the handlebars so they rest against the front wheel.

4. Flip the red switch on the center of the frame and fold the front half so the two wheels sit next to each other.

5. Unlatch the rubber band on the frame and stretch it over the designated hook on the handlebars. If you don’t do this, the front half of the frame can freely swing back and forth.

Engadget

The band is functional and barely noticeable while riding the bike. It’s plenty thick, too, and never showed signs of stretching or tearing. Still, I worry about its long-term durability — if anything is going to break or perish, it’s probably this. The band doesn’t feel like a particularly graceful solution, either. And that’s a shame because the rest of the bike feels oh-so cohesive and cleverly thought out. I just wish they had found a smarter way to keep the two halves glued together (magnets in the wheel hubs, perhaps?) because at the moment the design is one step short of greatness.

With the bike folded down, you can hold the protruding saddle and wheel the whole thing forward like a suitcase. Annoyingly, though, you can’t roll it backwards — doing so will cause the pedals to turn and eventually hit the frame. Still, I suspect it’s useful when you’re boarding a train or moving the bike through some revolving office doors.

At 39 pounds, the GXi is 300 lighter than the GX but still a tad heavier than both the electric Brompton (37 pounds) and Hummingbird (23 pounds). Moving the bike along the floor, therefore, is always preferable to picking it up. You could feasibly carry the GXi up some stairs, but your arms would probably ache for the rest of the day (unless you’re built like ‘the Mountain’ from Games of Thrones.)

Engadget

If you want to make the bike even smaller, you can take out the seat post and slip it through the centre loop of the rubber band. On the back of the saddle, next to the rear reflector, is a circular piece of plastic that usually hides a multitool. You can rotate it downward and drop it into the hole where the bottom of the seat post usually goes. At this point, everything on the bike is secure again. For a final flourish, you can remove the right pedal and stow it in a special holder next to the Lockshock.

The bike’s folded form is wonderfully compact. I live in a carpeted one-bed apartment (carpet is very popular in the UK, don’t ask) that needs to be covered with a vinyl protector after riding in the rain. The folded GXi fits neatly on my front doormat, though. That means I can easily stow it in the corridor — a gully too small for most bicycles — or neatly propped up in the corner of my living room. I wish Gocycles were even smaller, of course, so I could hide them in a wardrobe or cupboard. But they’re still practical if you live somewhere that doesn’t have a garage, shed or a landlord that appreciates you sticking a large bike rack on the living room wall.

Wrap-up

The GXi is undeniably expensive. But it’s in the same ballpark as other design-centric folding e-bikes, including the Brompton (£2,595, or $3,231) and Hummingbird (£4,495, or $5,598). 

Admittedly, you could buy a regular folding bike for a fraction of the price. But as I’ve written many times before, electric bicycles make more sense when you think of them as a car replacement. They’re a healthier and greener way to complete shorter journeys without breaking a sweat. If you live somewhere like London, a folding bike might allow you to ditch the Tube or ride-hailing apps like Uber entirely. Depending on your use, something like the GXi could earn its sticker price in a matter of months. But you have to be willing to make that trade, otherwise an electric bike will always be a decadent purchase.

(Well, until the price of high-quality e-bikes comes down, anyway.)

Engadget

Gocycle’s latest bicycle isn’t perfect. I wish the predictive gear shifting was better and the pedal-assisted motor ran a little quieter, like the VanMoof S3 and X3. The Fast Charger is an eyesore and the app, while functional, could use some work. These are small complaints, though, that I think most people can live with. The bike is an obvious improvement on the GX — which is heavier and doesn’t have the DRL or expanded cockpit — and broadly competitive with the Brompton and Hummingbird. I’m also glad the GXi doesn’t have any overly complicated smart locks or location tracking. Instead, Gocycle has focused on the essentials and delivered yet another e-bike that feels like the future of urban transportation.

Boosted as you know it is no more, but it apparently had ambitious plans before Lime snapped up its assets. YouTuber Sam Sheffer has obtained images of what the company had been working on before its effective shutdown, and it was clearly keen to expand into new areas. There were two e-bikes in development, the “P2” and the likely longer-ranged “Bullet” — you could have had a serious commuting machine.

The plans also included upgrades to Boosted’s core electric skateboard line. There was a quad-motor “Ultimate” board for enthusiasts who wanted a ridiculously powerful four-wheeler, while a “Little” board would have improved on the Boosted Mini with a more comfortable ride. A Tony Hawk-themed board was even in the works, Sheffer said, although an LED-lined board appears to have an older prototype. And if you thought the Boosted Rev was overkill, a more modest scooter was also in the cards.

There may be good reasons for the price. The QuietKat-developed machine’s 750W motor may pack power as Jeep claims, and the Fire-Link suspension should help you handle rocky trails with some grace. The 40-mile range doesn’t hurt, either.

The bike doesn’t ship until June. Jeep clearly has high expectations, though. Like many automakers, it’s expanding into mobility options that go beyond the usual car sales. This lets it sell an accessory to typical Jeep buyers who want an e-bike for their backwoods excursions, but also gives it a way to court people who might not even own a car and want a bike for their wilderness adventures.

It’s billed as the “most powerful” off-road mountain bike yet, and there are some specs to back that up. The machine mates a 750W motor with chunky 4.8-inch tires that (along with Fire-Link suspension) should handle rougher trails. You can also expect up to 40 miles of range. Electrek suspected that the motor is actually a Bafang M620 unit capable of up to 1.6kW, but it might be toned down to avoid destroying the bike chain or tossing riders. It also appears to have high-quality disc brakes from either Magura or Tektro.

The e-Bike won’t go on sale until June 2020. It’s not certain how much Jeep intends to charge, although it’s clear from the choice of components that this won’t be cheap. It’s intended as a companion vehicle for Jeep owners who fully intend to go off-roading, and that kind of ability seldom comes cheap.

The all-new AMX comes in a few different sizes and frame styles. The cheapest is the Mini, a compact e-bike that was initially sold for €499 (roughly $545) on Indiegogo. At the time of writing, it’s still possible to reserve one with an ‘Early Bird’ price of €650 (roughly $710). The Capital, meanwhile, is essentially AM’s standard option. It comes in a Classic or Step frame — the latter of which has a lowered top bar for easier boarding — for €769 (roughly $839) ahead of its normal asking price of €1,775 (roughly $1,937). If you have more to spend, there’s also a Road model with drop handlebars for €799 (roughly $872) and some limited edition LE bikes — available in Classic and Step frames — for €959 (roughly $1,047).

There are 11 options in total, down from a staggering 190 with the AM1. “That makes fulfilling [the orders] significantly easier,” Jack Chalkley, co-founder of Analog Motion said. “We realized this sort of false economy in offering customers a lot of choice. They approach us with suggestions and things they would like to see on a bike as if they’re things they actually want. Actually, a well-presented [set of] choices is received the best.”

None of the AMX models scream “hello, I’m an e-bike!” The battery is visible on every model but it’s shaped like a water bottle to hide its true purpose. If you’re standing more than a meter away, it’s hard to tell that the bike has any assistive capabilities. Unlike countless other e-bikes, including the Cowboy and folding Hummingbird, the AMX isn’t trying to make a statement or capture anyone’s attention. Every model is stylish but intentionally unremarkable. As the company’s Indiegogo campaign explains: “It looks and feels exactly like a bicycle.” If you want something that will start a conversation at your local coffee shop, sorry — this isn’t it.

Every model is stylish but intentionally unremarkable.

The Classic version has an aluminium frame and weighs roughly 15KG, which is lighter than every e-bike I’ve tested including the Cowboy, VanMoof Electrified S2, Gocycle’s folding GX and the monstrous Mate X.

The single speed bicycle is assisted by a 250W rear-hub motor developed by AM in partnership with Aikema. “To date we’ve actually never had a motor failure on a customer’s [AM1],” Navid Gornall, the other co-founder of Analog Motion explained. “It’s just never happened. We feel so confident that our motors are zero maintenance for the entire duration of the product.” Chalkley added: “Before the Kickstarter, between [Gornell], myself and the handful of other customers we had, we clocked over 25,000 kilometers on the AM1s and never [once] experienced a motor failure.”

It has a top speed of 15.5MPH in Europe and 20MPH in the US, which is the maximum allowed in both regions. Why the single gear? As Chalkley explained: “The [rear-hub] motor supplements any necessary gain you get from gears. Gears are unreliable. Gears are expensive. They’re expensive in the cost of the bike, and they’re expensive to maintain as well.”

The bottle-shaped battery, meanwhile, offers up to 27 miles on a single charge, depending on the effort you exert and the number of hills you tackle. That range is low — really low, in fact — by modern e-bike standards, but high enough for most people’s daily commute, AM claims. The battery is also removable, which means you can charge it in your home and, if you need to, carry a fully-charged spare in your backpack. Heck, you can even use the battery to charge some of your gadgets in a pinch. The smaller size keeps the bike’s weight and, more importantly, cost down too.

“We put a 20 to 27-mile battery on the AMX whereas a lot of [e-bike] manufacturers put double that,” Chalkley said. “Double the batteries means double the price. So you can buy two batteries for an AMX if you need them, but if you don’t then you can cut that part of the cost out.”

The e-bike has two-inch wide Schwalbe tyres for absorbing bumps and, unlike the AM1, Tektro disc brakes as standard. While riding, you’ll be peering at a computer with a small OLED display to check your assist level, current speed, average speed and remaining charge. It has a couple of physical buttons for changing the assist level and is “waterproof, dustproof [and] life-proof,” the company claims on Indiegogo.

The Mini, Road and LE models have a broadly similar spec sheet. The Mini has a 200W motor, though, and a slightly smaller battery. The Mini and Road models also use Kenda 38C tyres for “great city performance” and “low rolling resistance.” The LE, meanwhile, is almost identical to the Capital save for one key feature: a belt-based Gates Carbon Drive. Unlike a traditional chain, belts never get oily or rusty. They require minimal maintenance, too, which is attractive to anyone who doesn’t want to spend their precious free time doing repairs.

“It’s quiet and one less thing to think about,” Chalkley explained. “When you rely on a bicycle to get you to where you need to be on time, consistently everyday, you just want as few variables as possible.” Gornall added: “Our mantra is clear: We want to make affordable e-bikes. And something like a belt drive, even three or four years ago, was a very prestigious component to have on an e-bike. Even now, it’s still prestigious but it’s trending down towards that kind of more affordable price point.”

“Our mantra is clear: We want to make affordable e-bikes.”

On a wet and murky day in London, I was able to try a prototype AMX LE with a white Classic frame. For the most part, it was enormous fun to ride. The weather was awful but I instantly started grinning as, with barely any effort, I soared past lycra-clad cyclists in London’s Victoria Park.

The motor wasn’t perfect, though. It would often kick in suddenly and quite aggressively, propelling the bike forward with an unpleasant jolt. Then, as soon as I hit top speed, it would disengage with the same alarming speed. The choppy ride wasn’t enough to disrupt my balance, nor my overall enjoyment of the bike. I do wish, though, that the motor sprung to life with a little more finesse.

At 15.5MPH, the single gear was also too low to impact the bike’s momentum. It’s like cycling downhill — eventually you hit a speed where even the highest gear does nothing. I had to retrain my brain, therefore, to be comfortable with intermittent effort. I would pedal for a half-second, stop and wait as the motor brought me up to top speed, then pedal again as soon as it disengaged. Even on the lowest power setting, I found that the AMX’s motor was wrestling control away from my legs. I’ve experienced this before on a couple of e-bikes such as the Mate X — a slight power imbalance that makes it hard to pedal in a slow but constant manner.

I know, I know — it’s an electric bicycle and I shouldn’t complain about not pedalling. The motorized assistance is why you buy an e-bike in the first place! I do wish the motor was tweaked, though, to be a synchronized partner that complimented, rather than took over, your relaxed pedalling. Or maybe I need a slightly higher gear? It’s hard to say for sure. Regardless, the AMX I rode was a prototype and could be fine-tuned before release.

One other nitpick: the computer was a little too close to the center of the handlebars. The display was crisp and the buttons nestled underneath were responsive and easy to press. I had to take my right hand off the handlebars, though, to change power levels. It’s a small inconvenience but one I would like to avoid while cycling through the busy and occasionally dangerous streets of London. In fairness, I suspect most owners will find their preferred setting and never touch the computer again.

Otherwise, I was impressed with the bike. It’s refreshingly simple and doesn’t have any superfluous ‘technology for the sake of technology’ features. There’s no companion app for your phone or so-called ‘smart’ locking system. The bike doesn’t have built-in GPS tracking, either, or fold down like a Brompton, Gocycle or Hummingbird. To get started, you simply press a button on the battery pack, turn on the handlebar-mounted computer, swing your leg over and ride away.

The AMX doesn’t look or perform like a $2,000 e-bike. But that’s okay. The AMX is an exercise in reduction and, based on my limited impressions, delivers on its goal of a cheap but reliable form of electric transportation.

“We’re fighting to keep things simple,” Chalkley said. “It’s a much harder exercise. You ever see that episode of The Simpsons where Homer Simpson designs a car and he creates this monster? It’s an exaggeration and it’s a comedy, but in reality a lot of businesses have this perception that customers will only buy something if it has this, this and this. And we just don’t think that’s the case. And a lot of people come to us because of that pure and raw experience we create.”

“We’re fighting to keep things simple. It’s a much harder exercise.”

Even if the ride isn’t the smoothest, I think this e-bike range is worth considering. Every model is just so cheap — especially if you pay the prices currently listed on Indiegogo. As with all crowdfunding campaigns, there’s no guarantee that the AMX will ever materialize, though. Analog Motion is a tiny startup, too, that might not exist in five or 10 years time (the same argument can be levied against Cowboy, VanMoof and other e-bike startups, though). The London-based quartet has proven it can deliver an e-bike, however, by keeping its design and technological ambitions modest. If it can do the same again, the little-known team will have a claim to the throne of best cheap e-bike.

“Designing an expensive bike is easy,” Chalkley said. “you just put the best components on it and you end up with an expensive bike. Designing one that’s kind of more accessible for more people is the proper challenge. And that’s the challenge we’re in.”

E-bikes make it easier to travel far, the NPS said. It could likewise enable park rides for people with limited mobility, particularly on hilly and otherwise challenging terrain. They might also lower emissions and improve air quality by reducing the use of cars and motorcycles.

It’s not certain how the service would enforce the rules.

While the NPS’ arguments appear to hold up, USA Today also highlighted concerns that e-bikes could cause more harm than good. Safety may be more of an issue than it is for conventional two-wheelers. E-bikes may also wear down trails in a less sustainable way. And then there’s the simple matter of noise. People often go to parks for peace and quiet, and that may be harder if they have to contend with the hum of e-bike motors. This isn’t to say that e-bikes will prove calamitous — it’s just that the NPS is letting more of them in without evidence that it considered the potential drawbacks.

The Moterra and Habit NEO share a new 250W Bosch drive unit that promises more torque and overall power even as it reduces the weight. Cannondale hasn’t shared range figures, but it’s betting that the 500Wh and 625Wh batteries will ease range fears.

After that, changes mostly come down to purpose. Moterra riders have 160mm of travel, 29-inch wheels and “beefier” components, with the descent-focused Moterra SE packs a 180mm fork, a Super Deluxe Piggyback Shock and stickier Maxxis Assegai tires. You won’t have quite as rough a ride down the hill, then. The Habit NEO shares the same wheel size, but switches to 140mm front and 130mm rear suspension to make it nimbler. All of the new bikes tout carbon fiber frames and a “proportional response” suspension that changes with the size of the frame.

You’ll have to wait until the fall to pick up one of Cannondale’s new offerings, and it’s clear that high-performance mountain e-bikes don’t come cheap. The Habit NEO ranges from $5,500 to $7,000, and you’re looking at between $6,000 to $9,000 for the Moterra line (the Moterra SE costs $8,500). These are for riders determined to overcome most any terrain and don’t mind paying a premium.