Oliver Bruce is back for this episode! Upway is an innovative company in the e-bike marketplace, specializing in the refurbishment and resale of electric bikes. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Paris, France, Upway has made significant strides in the e-bike industry. Toussaint Wattinne, the CEO and co-founder of Upway, along with co-founder Stéphane Ficaja, have backgrounds in leading roles at Uber Eats, bringing their expertise in tech-driven business models to the e-bike industry. The company is notable for refurbishing and certifying a vast array of electric bikes, offering customers a wide selection of over 400 brands. As of March 2023, Upway had refurbished and certified more than 20,000 electric bikes, showcasing its commitment to providing quality and sustainable transportation options. The company has successfully expanded its services beyond France, with availability in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. This expansion is a testament to the growing demand for sustainable and affordable mobility solutions. Upway's approach to e-bike sales centers around a seamless ordering and delivery process, ensuring that the bikes and their batteries are of high quality and safe for use. This business model has attracted notable investors like Sequoia Capital, Global Founders Capital, Exor Seeds, and Origins, contributing to Upway's impressive total funding of $60.6 million. Highlights 🚲 Upway, a company specializing in selling refurbished electric bikes, has successfully raised over $30 million in Series B funding. 🌍 Founded in 2021 and based in Paris, Upway has expanded to Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. 🔄 They have refurbished over 20,000 electric bikes from more than 400 brands, offering up to 35% discount compared to new bikes. 🛠️ Upway's business model focuses on rebuilding trust in the used ebike market by refurbishing bikes to a high standard and offering a one-year warranty. 📈 Despite initial skepticism, the market demand for used ebikes has been strong, with Upway receiving high customer satisfaction ratings. 🤝 Upway collaborates with over 1500 retailers and ebike dealers, using trading software for customer trade-ins and managing returns for D2C manufacturers. 📊 The business mix varies by region, with a significant portion of sourcing in Europe coming from dealers, while in the US, direct consumer purchases and manufacturer returns play a larger role.

Melvin Lian is the Founder and CEO of @VoroMotors . He discusses his company's journey, from its beginnings in Singapore to its current base in Los Angeles. Melvin detailed the challenges he faced in Singapore, including strict regulations that culminated in an overnight ban on scooters. Melvin also talks about the company's innovations in seated scooters, its distribution of Kaboo and Dualtron scooters, as well as its own EMOVE line of vehicles. Highlights - 🛴 Melvin Lim, founder and CEO of Voro Motors, explained how the firm began in Singapore due to the city's need for convenient and portable e-scooters. - ⚖️ He explained the various laws in Singapore that gradually constrained scooter usage, leading to an unexpected overnight ban on scooters in 2019. - 🖊️ Following this, Melvin made the decision to move operations to Los Angeles where he believed the desire for e-scooter use was increasing. - 🚀 In L.A. they primarily sold their own models, the Emove Cruiser and the Emove Touring, however consumer demand led to them also distributing dula motor scooters by other brands like Kaboo and Dualtron. - 🌍 Despite the challenges from strict regulations and sudden changes in operating environments, Voro Motors has successfully adapted and grown, serving different customer bases with varied products.

Automotive journalist and author Ed Niedermeyer discusses with Waymo how autonomous vehicles can improve cyclist safety in cities like San Francisco. The panel emphasizes the importance of infrastructure and social norms for cyclist safety. Waymo team members explain their role in automating driving tasks and the need for autonomous vehicles to respect human needs. The discussion also includes the evolution of San Francisco as a bike-friendly city and the challenges of sharing the road with different types of road users.

At Micromobility America 2023, policymakers and fire-safety experts discuss why li-ion batteries in ebikes and scooters are suddenly catching on fire and how cities can minimize the risk - Panelists include Tristan Brown, Deputy Administrator of the Pipeline Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA), Jason Levine, the Executive Director of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and Laura Kavanagh, the FDNY Fire Commissioner. - The discussion focuses on the challenges and safety concerns related to lithium-ion batteries in micromobility vehicles, particularly in densely populated areas like New York City. - Commissioner Kavanagh highlights the unique challenges faced by the FDNY in a delivery-intensive city like New York, including issues with battery charging and swapping - Deputy Administrator Brown emphasizes that the problem extends beyond micromobility and is related to the misuse of batteries in general. - The discussion also touches on the underground economy surrounding battery charging, DIY conversion kits and the need for safety regulations and certifications. - The panelists express the importance of public safety and innovation coexisting and working towards safe solutions.

Fresh off Micromobility America, James Gross talks with Jimmy Standley, the Co-Founder and CEO of Solé Bicycles. Solé Bicycles was founded in 2009, with the initial concept being a class project to create affordable bicycles, specifically aiming for a price tag of $200-$300. They subsequently won an Alibaba business plan competition, and used the $25,000 grant won to create their first product. They sold their products directly to customers, offering a high-quality product at a competitive price. They used the Shopify platform early on, and utilized digital marketing strategies on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to grow their business. The brand focuses on being relevant culturally, collaborating with various DJs and other artists for special products and promotions. Highlights 🎓 The idea for Solé Bicycles began as a college business plan project to create affordable fixed-gear bikes. 💡 Winning a business plan competition sponsored by Alibaba, they received a $25,000 grant to start their business. 🌍 Initial struggles included direct dealings with manufacturers in China and rapidly scaling the business. 📈 The company's focus on vibrant, artistic designs helped them break into the market and attract customers. 🚲 Solé Bicycles diversified into direct-to-consumer sales, online marketing, and various collaborations. 💻 Early adoption of Shopify and leveraging social media platforms like Instagram played a key role in their growth. 🛠️ Future plans include expanding into electric bikes while maintaining their core in acoustic bikes.

Meet Jason and Camilla Iftakhar of Swifty Scooters. Swifty Scooters is an innovative micromobility company that specilizes in foldable and portable scooters for adults. James Gross talks with Jason and Camila about winning the Startup Awards at Micromobility America 2023 and their brand new electric Scooter, the G500. You can see their Startup Awards pitch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRKQrqI04mM Highlights of the Talk 🔋 Swifty Scooters are powered by a LFP (lithium ferrophosphate) battery that can cover a range of 25km and assure the rider that these batteries won't catch fire in or around their home or work. 🏙️ These scooters are ideal for adults commuting in urban areas. 🛴 Convenient features such as adjustable handlebars, low center of gravity and a kickstand enhance maneuverability and add ons for paneers and other storage capabilities. 💦 Mudguards are added to keep the ride clean. 🎒 Thanks to their foldable design, these scooters are portable and easy to store.

Levi Conlow, CEO of Electric Bikes, discusses their rapid growth, commitment to high quality and low cost bikes, upcoming partnerships, and the need for industry regulation. They sell over 150,000 electric vehicles annually and are focused on DTC to get valuable customer feedback.

Ryvid's CEO, Dong Tran, discusses their new electric motorcycle built in California. They emphasize local manufacturing, funding from California, and innovative design. The goal is affordable EV transportation for urban commutes, eliminating manual shifting and simplifying operation.

Offer and Giveaway Enter for your chance to win a new VMAX VX2 at RideReview.com https://ridereview.com/giveaway/win-a-xmax-vx2-pro-electric-scooter-usd1-099-value Video Summary Dani Horwitz, CEO of VMAX, discusses the company's journey and mission to provide high-quality electric scooters with a focus on safety and reliability for the US market. Highlights 🛴 Vmax Mobility, a Swiss-based company, is expanding to the US with high-quality, reliable scooters. 🏞️ The scooters are designed for a wide range of users, offering reliability and performance for everyday use. 🏆 Vmax prioritizes safety with UL certification and built-in safety features going after some of the bigger barriers to scooter adoption. 🚴‍♂️ The company aims to appeal to those considering e-bikes, providing a smaller and more eco-friendly alternative. 📊 Negative news and safety concerns are barriers to scooter adoption, which Vmax aims to address with its quality and safety measures. 📈 Studies suggest that scooters may be safer than e-bikes, challenging common safety perceptions.

Offer and Giveaway Micromobility America is right around the corner. You can get your tickets to the show here and be one of the first to ride the Land Disctrict! https://micromobility.io/events/micromobility-america Enter for your chance to win a new Lectric Lite at RideReview.com https://ridereview.com/giveaway/win-a-lectric-lite-with-commuter-bundle Summary James Gross and Scott Colosimo, the founder and CEO of Land Energy, covers the company's origin, evolution, and its focus on electric motorcycles. With his background in Cleveland and previous experience in manufacturing motorcycles, Colosimo is now planning to bring manufacturing back to Cleveland, focusing on electric bikes, which they initially started producing under Cleveland CycleWorks brand. The decision to shift to electric motorcycles came naturally, aligning with the market's readiness and the company's desire to move away from China due to IP theft and growing tensions between the two countries. Currently, Land Energy is looking at the usability of motorcycles and focusing on innovation and improvement in manufacturing and product design. The ultimate question comes down to what Scott and his team are building, with 4 modes the current vehicle can be everything from an ebike to a moped to a performance motorcycle. This creates challenges and questions around regulation, technology and what is the safest for the driver. Emoji Summary 🏍 Scott started Cleveland CycleWorks to make affordable, customizable motorcycles in 2009 🇨🇳 He initially manufactured in China due to availability of eager young partners and 24/7 work ethic during manufacturing boom 🦠 COVID caused supply chain issues, so he pivoted to electric vehicles made in the US under Land Energy ⚡ Land Energy makes the District, an electric vehicle platform with software-defined ride modes from bicycle to motorcycle 🤖 The flexible platform introduces new riders safely and rethinks mobility between categories defined by outdated laws 🚦 Cities and laws aren't keeping pace with new electric mobility, creating confusion Scott aims to be part of the regulatory solution 💰 After bootstrapping, Land raised a $7M Series A to scale manufacturing of their connected battery platform 🛵 Scott wants to bend the metal to balance innovation and safety for new electric mobility platforms