Last November, General Motors announced it was getting into the eBike business and asked fans to submit names for the new brand. On Thursday, the automaker announced the winner: ARĪV.
ARĪV will offer two eBikes at launch: the Meld and the Merge. The former is a compact bike, while the latter is a folding bike. Both names were already selected internally, while the brand’s actual name comes from the crowdsourced contest launched last November.
GM said in its announcement that its automotive experiences shaped the development and engineering for the eBikes. Specifically, its experience with electric motors helped develop the new electric motor designed exclusively for the eBike application. The company didn’t provide specs, but GM said it delivers class-leading torque with the capability to reach speeds up to 25 kph, or 15 mph.
As for the battery, that too meets similar standards of GM’s stringent testing for electric cars. The battery takes about 3.5 hours to charge and provides enough juice to let riders travel for up to 40 miles. Standard safety equipment includes LED lighting to increase rider visibility at night and brake rotors for increased stopping power.
Riders can also initiate a “Walk” mode that powers up the motor to help walk the eBike up steep inclines more easily.
The eBikes also feature connectivity features and sync with riders’ smartphones via Bluetooth. Riders can check a host of metrics via the ARĪV app such as speed, distance, remaining battery level, motor assist level, distance traveled, and a lot more. GM said more features will be added in the future, including an algorithm that will allow riders to reach their destination without breaking a sweat. A mount is present to secure a rider’s smartphone and also includes a USB port to charge their phones while riding.
ARĪV first launches in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands due to their robust eBike markets. Pre-orders for the eBikes are also now open. Eventually, we’ll likely see ARĪV eBikes show up in the United States under the Maven brand.
Comments
I have another name for it: Bullcrap….
Having another bad day? There are meds for that.
WTF?!!!!
I cant believe!
Trump just won again!!!! How?! They said no Russian Collusion! How!
And now he is getting the border wall funded through a national emergency?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
F&ck!!!! We need a communist revolution now!!!!
I’m doing fine thank you.
I just don’t think it is appropriate for GM to waste money on non-value-added garbage like this when they are so “poor” they have to lay off 15,000 employees and have to cheapen up on interiors and plant investment. Seriously, does Machete Mary think that people are impressed by this? If I want a bike, I’ll buy a Schwinn. For now GM needs to first concentrate on being a world-class car company and put gimmicks like this on the back burner.
Oh, look, GM is designing bicycles that seem like straight rip-offs from Japanese bikes (and every manufacturer seems to have done at some point) instead of fixing its crappy quality interiors and sales numbers.
More things to distract yourself from the real big-boy problems, right GM?
Indicating the long I makes it look like pretentious crap.
Where are these little vehicles made?
Guess, you’ll only need one.
Considering Barra’s US/Canada last policy, this is probably built in China and Mexico.
Might have introduced it through GM Cruise – ya, it’s not an AV, but a bike, coming through mainstream GM, just seems like a cute distraction.
And the fold-up bikes (see those a lot in Europe) are good for mass transit (like BART in SF), where GM Cruise is based.
i don’t think these will be big enough for the average covfefe. unfair!!! bigly sad!!!
Hey, lil’ stevie, did you hear?! The Senate investigation proved there is NO “Russian collusion” in regards to President Trump AND THE BORDER WALL IS GETTING FUNDED!!!!!!!!!!
WINNING!!!
Q must be triggering your Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) these days, eh? LOL
Is there a big bright check engine symbol on the handlebars to remind people it’s from GM?
What you have to walk it up the hill. Not enough torque. Time for an e-rod LT1 swap. ( remember overkill is underrated.)
It looks pretty nice. 40 miles range is pretty good and you don’t even see the battery. I have an e-bike but it is a lot heavier than this one and the battery is not integrated in the frame. This is a good idea for GM with the knowhow it got from making electric cars. My e-bike was built in China and I don’t really have a good place to take it for repairs since most of the bike shops around don’t know much about e-bikes. It will be great if you can take it to a GM dealer for repairs if needed. I use mine to commute to work since the ride is all uphill. Keeps me from arriving all sweaty.