Veloretti’s first electric bike was automatic and beautiful.

It’s not often that an iconic new electric bike brand emerges from Amsterdam. The cycling capital of the world The last time was when VanMoof launched the Electrified S back in 2016, so I was particularly interested in following the release of the mass-produced Veloretti Ivy and Ace e-bikes today. And I wasn’t alone in my expectations as the first batch of electricity started shipping to customers.

“We’re pretty much interested in e-bikes, it’s crazy,” said Veloretti founder Ferries Zonder, who put the prototype Ace to the test last week.

While it doesn̵

7;t sound good, Veloretti is all Dutch, with an Italian flare for retro chic. I mean just look at the top Ivy step-through model with white tires and leather grips and saddle. Despite their vintage look, Veloretti e-bikes are as futuristic as they can be. Both models are equipped with a maintenance-free Carbon belt drive system. Enviolo stepless automatic transmission, silent mid-drive Bafang motor (250W), hydraulic brakes, integrated headlights and taillights. A small screen for turn-by-turn navigation and a removable 510Wh battery simplifies charging after a 60 to 120KM range.

They also come with sensors for torque, speed and cadence, as well as Bluetooth, GPS and 3G and 4G radios. collision detection and live tracking in case of theft. Hell is also certified for the Apple Find My tracker, as is Amsterdam-based rival VanMoof.

Zonder is a big fan of the old Italian Velocifero motorcycle. (Which is the name of the company) produced his first city bike in 2013. Since then he has attracted an enthusiastic fanbase of young urbanites who have drawn the Veloretti to a more affordable mix of style, quality and service. 400 euros (which is relatively cheap for a new city bike from the Netherlands) Veloretti’s direct-to-consumer model has helped the company grow rapidly. The company has grown from 15 to 38 employees after deciding to enter the e-bike business and now ships urban bikes to 27 countries.

My complete review of the Veloretti e-bike will have to wait until I recover from my latest mountain bike injury. Which is fine, in fact, because that way I was able to test the bike in action. Veloretti also recently took over its own e-bike app, which allows the company to take advantage of all the technology contained in it. Ivy and Ace are even better.

What can I tell you when examining the first and second hand knowledge (My wife rides a prototype and she tests the shadow. all My e-bikes) is that the prototype Ace looks good with solid build quality. Although I prefer using less open cable and more precise welds from the Portuguese factory where it is built. And while the Bafang motor is truly quiet, The Enviolo automatic gear shifter on the prototype can be a little noisy. It also takes practice to prevent the wheels from freeing when starting the engine. Since my wife wasn’t generating enough torque to force it into higher gears in the first place, Zonder told me it was tweaking the Enviolo firmware and that the app was updated so riders could. More control over the torque threshold and other minor points, something I will test later in the review.

The electric Ivy and Ace will only be available in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany this year. to maintain strict quality control “We don’t want to create risks in our supply chain. And these markets we know very well. so that we can provide them with good service,” Saunders said. “We don’t want to jeopardize our reputation and customer satisfaction,” says Zonder, who claims the city bike failure rate is currently 0.8 percent. That’s below the 10 percent rate VanMoof saw when it launched the X3 and S3 last year. Veloretti will continue to expand e-bike sales to the Nordic and UK segments.

In the rapidly growing e-bike market, Veloretti has no room to make a mistake, not with current e-bikes priced at €2399, which is €2,299 more than the pre-order price of €2,299 and more than €400. Van Move. But even this new higher price tends to increase, Zonder tells me. That’s because of the limited spare parts. In particular, the microchips that both e-bike and EV makers are bidding to secure. The current price, including tax, is about $2,850 if the Veloretti e-bike is sold in the United States. But that’s unlikely to happen until 2023 at the earliest, Zonder said.

Zonder said it aims to sell about 8,000 electric bikes this year before increasing to 25,000 by 2022, a big leap for a company that has never received outside funding. and is fueling an expansion into electric bikes based solely on company profits (sales grew 300% last year), although Zonder tells me he likes the freedom that comes with self-funding. If there is no outside investment It is difficult to compete with Dutch bike powerhouses Stella, Gazelle and Accell Group. And startups like Cowboy, VanMoof, and RadPower have taken huge funding to fuel e-bike interest.

But let’s not go ahead of myself. I’ll be back with a complete review of the Veloretti production as soon as I can. But if you can’t wait, know that respected Dutch e-bike reviewer David Lemereis said the Ace prototype was one of the top three electric city bikes he’s ever ridden. which is highly regarded