Ties and Taco Carlier, who based VanMoof as a substitute for Massive Bike, are working for Accell Group, the Dutch biking large chargeable for over a dozen bicycle manufacturers together with Batavus, Sparta, Carqon, and Raleigh. In response to a number of sources, the primary e-bike, developed for the Raleigh model and pictured above, is nearing completion.
The bike’s growth has been an open secret in my dwelling metropolis of Amsterdam. It’s right here that the brothers based VanMoof in 2009, earlier than the heavily-funded startup went bankrupt in 2023. It re-emerged later that yr with out its co-founders underneath McLaren Utilized’s stewardship.
Numerous prototypes of the brand-less e-bike have been noticed in and across the metropolis over the past yr — generally close by the house of one of many brothers. The prototypes match photos of a Raleigh-branded e-bike that not too long ago leaked. These photos had been inadvertently made public (and later eliminated) by Amsterdam-based Uni_verse Studio, the digital manufacturing home that lists VanMoof as a shopper.
The Raleigh commuter e-bike appears to be like very VanMoof-ish, solely higher: the battery is detachable for charging, it’s belt pushed, and the motor has been moved to the rear wheel. The result’s an e-bike that carefully resembles the Tenways CGO009.
After I reached out to Raleigh for remark, Accell Group Model Lead Ertu Bilgin mentioned that the e-bike was developed with assist from “some former VanMoof crew members,” however it’s “very a lot a product of the Accell Group.”
In 2022, the Accell Group reportedly turned down a monetary stake in VanMoof when approached by the rival co-founders, determined for capital to offset nearly €150 million in debt. With this new Raleigh e-bike, it will appear that Accell managed to keep away from the sickly cow and nonetheless get its milk totally free.
