New eBikes from the USA, Italy and the UK – each one with a very different target market in mind – will get their Whittlebury debuts in January.
Kinesis RISE from Upgrade Bikes
The team at Upgrade will have been making mountain bike products for 25 years in 2020 so they know a thing or two about what British riders need. It’s not surprising then that their first foray into the ebike market is a capable E-Trail hardtail created for real mountain biking. The Kinesis RISE is born from a British love of the hardtail, and coupled with a lightweight Fazua drive system to maintain the fundamental characteristics that make sliding around the woods so fun.
Thanks to the lightweight and replaceable battery, RISE allows riders to swap out the battery and motor system with a blanking plate. So when the time comes, you can ride the RISE as the capable hardtail that it is, completely unassisted.
Upgrade will be bringing RISE to Whittlebury for the first time and they’ll be in their usual spot in the Bentleys room, with deliveries to dealers in February.
Colnago EGRV from Windwave
A brand known for its Italian heritage and historical success in the professional peloton, Colnago has quietly, but with all the panache you’d expect from the Milanese heavyweight, branched out into the gravel and ebike markets. The brand added an electric version of its flagship C64 bike to the range a little while back and now hot on the tail of the new GX3 gravel bike comes the Colnago EGRV. Part of their ‘Evoluzione’ project, Colnago aim to make their electric bikes look as close to their traditional classic bike frames as possible and you’d be hard pressed to spot the difference on first glance.
The EGRV houses a hidden Ebikemotion hub motor system which features a neatly placed battery in the downtube of the full carbon frame, connected to a hub-based motor. The Ebikemotion system, with three levels of assist controlled via the handlebar mount, puts out an additional 250 Watts of assistance.
There’s been a few sightings of the EGRV in the UK, but dealers are guaranteed a good look courtesy of Windwave at COREbike in the Bentleys room.
Benno bikes from ISON Distribution
New brand addition for the Cambridge distributor in 2020 – the ETILITY range of ebikes from Benno.
The man behind the brand is Benno Baenziger – German born, but residing in California where he co-founded the Electra Bicycle Company back in 1993. Jumping ahead just over 20 years, he launched Benno bikes in 2015. The team at Benno have based their thinking for the brand on a simple ethos. The typical ebike offers a nice ride, but not much utility. Whereas traditional cargo ebikes are great at carrying heavy loads, but can be difficult to manoeuvre in busy cities. The Benno team believe what people really need is an everyday ebike engineered with the perfect blend of ride dynamics, cargo capacity and good looks. Awesome agility with the ability to carry exactly what’s needed. They call it Etility® Design and it’s at the heart of every Benno ebike.
Benno bikes will be available in the UK from Spring 2020 via Ison Distribution. But you can come and see the bikes and meet Ben in the Hungagoring and Indianapolis rooms at COREbike 2020.
