I was without my Edison e-bike for nearly two weeks, during the last stretch of great weather before Atlanta goes cold and wet for what we call winter.
My world shrank. Walking anywhere at three miles per hour makes even short trips an effort. Driving takes out spontaneity. You either plan and organize your trip or nothing gets done.
After being driven to the repair shop, then paying for a new motor controller and brake pads, I took my time riding home from downtown. I was no longer separated from the world. I was in it as I went by it. (So THAT’S where Magic City is, a troll under overpasses where the Connector crosses I-20. How fitting.)
My eyes were opened to how the city has changed since before COVID. During the day roads are dominated by delivery vehicles, trailers, and immigrants with leaf blowers louder than a F-1 race car. There are also road and sewer repairs going on everywhere, blocking roads.
If I were driving this would anger me. On a bike, I could turn around and give a friendly wave to the workers. East Atlanta remains a 19th century grid, with many alternate routes, where vehicles are slowed to a bike’s speed. That’s why so many bikers live here. It’s not the fancy “paths” the city is so proud of. It’s the fact that you can pick your way from here to there without risking your neck. You can also stop along the way to chat with a friend, something I’d never think of doing in a car.
I pulled the Old Hoss into the house and let it drink some electricity. Then I sat down to see that the E-Transport Revolution is making it as obsolete as a Model T.
ALSO, The Revolution Continues
The big news comes from Rivian, the e-car company.
It’s a full line of bike-based vehicles called ALSO.
Super-expensive, at nearly $5,000. But the TM-B platform creates semi-compatible cargo bikes and cargo vans. Amazon has already ordered thousands of them, each capable of carrying 400 pounds and narrow enough for a bike lane. Replacing short-range delivery trucks and golf carts are a big use case for ALSO.
As a bike, the ALSO can take a standard bike seat or a motorcycle seat. The controls are in the center of view, where the handlebars connect to the downtube which holds the batteries. The batteries can be charged by USB-C, just like your phone, and they’re removable, so you can add range by just carrying extra batteries.
The ALSO is completely Pedal By Wire. There’s no chain. Your pedaling re-charges the battery, as does slowing down, and the battery is connected by a wire to the motor. This also means there are no gears, just “assist levels” – you’re pedaling an electric car.
This is a software-driven bike, with multiple “modes” and “profiles” for different riders. The modes mean it can operate like a Class 1 e-bike. Or it can zip down the road at 28 mph. Thus, the name. It’s a standard e-bike but also a cargo bike, but also a delivery vehicle.
Boundaries Appear and Disappear
E-Bikes are the first major consumer product to appear in the “post-regulation” era. In other words, we won’t get any help from Washington in controlling what happens here. It will be up to states and cities to create a unified set of rules.
New York is at the center of this. One reason Eric Adams won’t be mayor any more is because of stupid e-bike regulations, including ticketing ordinary e-bike riders. It’s stop-start, ad hoc, and largely ineffective.
Cities around the country are under pressure to both support e-transport with infrastructure, and to regulate in the name of safety. Kids are being killed on electric motorcycles that are sold as e-bikes. Towns are responding with regulations that can ban all e-bikes, and creating path speed limits that are impractical.
I made some simple proposals for this in Opa Fiets and the folks at Streetsblog have been advocating for such rules in their Micromobility Guide since 2021. But putting a uniform law together that covers one-wheel scooters, rental scooters, cargo bikes, and vans with adjustable speeds and modes, like ALSO, is going to take time.
That’s going to be an important beat here in 2026, and beyond.
