In recent years, electric bicycles have seen a massive increase in popularity all across the globe. While folks in Europe and Asia are turning to e-bikes for personal mobility, in the U.S., e-biking is still mostly a for-fun outdoor activity. Nevertheless, electric bicycles present themselves as solid alternatives to taking a car, especially on short trips around town.
Compared to most countries in Europe, regulations surrounding the performance of electric bicycles are much more relaxed in the U.S. This results in models that pretty much blur the lines between e-bike and electric motorcycle. Additionally, this has resulted in quite a lot of new players in the game—some of which very much established in the automotive sector.
One such manufacturer is Rivian. Best known for its electric trucks, we've known for sometime now that Rivian has been interested in electric bikes. However, the company remained rather quiet about its future e-bike projects—until company CEO RJ Scaringe announced concrete plans surrounding e-bikes in a company meeting held on February 3, 2023.
Furthermore, according to a recent article by Electrek, prior to the announcement, Rivian filed trademarks to cover electric bikes, as well, pretty much cementing the company's intention of entering the electric bike market. On top of that, the company recently hired quite a few high-level designers from popular cycling brands such as Specialized, hinting at the segment of e-bikes the brand plans to target.
At present, however, not much is known about Rivian's upcoming electric bikes. It isn't a far-fetched notion, however, that the brand's upcoming models will be electric all-terrain bikes or mountain bikes, in line with its off-road-ready range of electric trucks. All we know so far is that Rivian's first e-bike model is currently under development, as confirmed by Scaringe in the company meeting.
