is a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for 20 years.
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Two good things have come from the 2023 bankruptcy of VanMoof. The first is the all-new VanMoof S6 e-bike that recently launched under new ownership. The second is a new commuter e-bike developed for Raleigh by VanMoof’s departed founders, Ties and Taco Carlier.
Like a VanMoof, the Raleigh One e-bike comes with anti-theft features like GPS tracking and an alarm, cables routed through the aluminum frame, wide tires, mudguards, integrated lighting, and hauling options needed for daily commutes across a city. It also comes packed with lessons learned about reduced complexity and serviceability, including a bevy of off-the-shelf parts and a single-speed, belt-driven transmission connected to a rear-hub motor with a battery that can be quickly removed for indoor charging. The bike also emits pleasant sounds when doing things like powering on, enabling the lights, and arming security without being all hey, look at me and my fancy bike like VanMoofs of old.
It’s pretty much the simpler VanMoof I always wanted the company to build. The only thing missing is the boost button, which is a shame.
I’ve been testing the Raleigh One in flat Amsterdam for the last few weeks. That’s important to know because this single-speed e-bike produces just 35Nm of torque from its 250W motor with a max speed of 25km/h (16 mph). It really suffers on hills without the boost button found on VanMoofs and the Tenways CGO009 this e-bike resembles.
Nevertheless, it is a very good e-bike priced at £2,399 / €2,699 (around $3,000 USD) for the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. That’s expensive for a Raleigh, but it’s still close to the €2,681 average for European e-bikes and cheaper than local competitors like Cowboy and VanMoof.
7 Verge Score Raleigh One $ 3155 $ 3155 The Good Simple, single-speed belt drive
Removable battery
Decent range, fast charging
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