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Stuff.tv
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Stuff.tv
Back-to-back rides showed me how far the VanMoof S6 has been refined in a single e-bike generation
The S6 and S6 open aren't just VanMoof's latest fashion-forward, tech-infused e-bikes. They're a statement of intent from a brand that's been revitalised under new ownership – and which still isn't scared to do things a little differently from the rest of the electric bike world. Having weathered some stormy seas in recent years, the firm is returning stronger under the stewardship of Lavoie and McLaren Applied. The S6 and S6 Open promise a smoother ride, smarter security and styling guaranteed to draw attention wherever you ride it, but also greater reliability and the firm's biggest ever service network. Both are up for pre-order in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium today for €3298. With deliveries set to start from August, and the UK to follow later in the year, I headed to Amsterdam to get an early experience of the new e-bikes first-hand. Having previously tested the VanMoof S5 (and refreshed my memory of it on a VanMoof staff runabout the night before I headed to the R&D warehouse), it's clear the new model expertly refines and improves on what was already one of the most distinctive e-bikes around. How we test e-bikes Every e-bike and electric scooter reviewed on Stuff is used for a minimum of one week, across a range of distances and terrains. We use our own years of experience to judge general performance, battery life, companion apps, and overall value for money. Manufacturers have no visibility on reviews before they appear online, and we never accept payment to feature products. Find out more about how we test and rate products. The new bike is instantly recognisable as a VanMoof, with sharp angles and a frame so slim you'll question whether there's actually a battery inside. Only this time around, everything is somehow even sleeker, with frame welds that are truly seamless. The smaller S6 Open arguably looks even more distinctive with its lower, slanted top tube. It rides on 24in wheels and weighs 22.5kg, while the S6 gets 27.5in wheels and tips the scales at 23.5kg. The new colour options are stunning, too. The Electric Blue in particular looks beautiful in the light, with pearlescent highlights that shine like a sports car. Drift Black is more incognito, while Pearl Mint sits somewhere in the middle. Extra layers of paint have been used this time around, so scratches shouldn't be as noticeable. All the firm's signature features are present and correct, from the integrated front and rear lights to the 'halo ring' LEDs built into the handlebars. Except pretty much all of 'em have been tweaked or retuned in one way or another. The kick lock is more weather resistant, faster to engage, and doesn't need to be lined up as precisely as it did on the S5; the brake light plays a funky animation when the bike powers up; and the halo ring LEDs are significantly brighter, so are far easier to see on the sunniest of days. That's handy, as they'll soon be able to double as directional indicators. VanMoof has teamed up with mapping experts Magic Lane to make its app-based navigation more bike-friendly; it'll be arriving as an update later this year. Once you've plumbed in a route, the bike will then use light and sound to direct you, without needing to stay glued to a smartphone mounted to your handlebars. That's still an option, of course – and now a much slicker one, as every S6 will ship with a Peak Design Slimlink phone mount. While it can't charge your device while you cycle like Cowboy's optional QuadLock mount, it's slim, subtle, and (importantly) secure. Your device is easily detached with a firm squeeze to either side. iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy owners are all catered for, and there's a universal adapter for everyone else. As with the S5, pairing your phone to the bike will let it unlock automatically as you approach. You'll be able to track its location (now with 2G cellular triangulation as well as GPS for greater accuracy) through the app, with one year of the company's 14-day bike tracking service thrown in with each bike sold. iPhone users will also soon be able to add the S6 to their Find My network, once it passes Apple's certification. VanMoof's sense of fun hasn't gone anywhere either. The startup sound doesn't give as strong a spaceship vibe as the S5 did when it powered on, but the bunch of new digital bell sounds have some gems in there. New is the second, softer bell, which raises in volume the longer you hold the button. It's a politer way of announcing your presence to unaware pedestrians than the main 'get out of the way!' bell. Arguably the biggest change is one even VanMoof die-hards might've struggled to spot from my photos. There's now a second saddle option, which has a suspension system built into the seat post. While the ultra-smooth cycle lanes of Amsterdam meant my posterior wasn't exactly crying out for relief during my test ride, the difference the 30mm of adjustable travel made going over kerbs and manhole covers was significant. The UK's rutted roads will be a tougher test for sure. VanMoof S5 owners with numb bums will also be happy to hear the optional upgrade will be backwards compatible with their bikes. The S6 keeps VanMoof's familiar layout: powerful 250W hub motor up front, electronically controlled three-speed chain drive at the rear, disc brakes all round for effective stopping. Rivals might argue belt drive systems are cleaner and require less maintenance, but the chain guard means dirt and grime aren't really a concern here either. One staffer told me that of all the S5 bikes brought in for servicing, very few had any issues with the chain. Pretty much all the internal components have been upgraded, with special attention paid to the transmission. The gearbox (custom-built, of course) is now way smoother and a whole lot quieter than before. On the S5, you could often feel the pedals go slack as the bike changed gear, but on the S6 the transition was a lot more subtle. I actively had to try and feel the changeover, no matter which power mode I was in. Existing VanMoofers will be instantly at home with the minimalist controls; two buttons on either handlebar, with the left side on digital bell duties and the right controlling power and boost. The firm is experimenting with letting users customise one of the left side buttons through the companion app, with functions like skipping Spotify tracks being kicked about – but there's no firm timeline just yet. The Halo rings will feel familiar, too, even if the colours have changed from soft purple to electric blue. The left side indicates remaining charge, while the right side shows which power level is active. Even with sunglasses on, I could always tell which mode I was in; a definite improvement from the S5, which I'd often have to shield with my hand to see clearly in bright light. The new bikes were still going through their final software tune before launch, so the torque curves and power delivery I experienced on my test ride weren't quite what customers will get in August when the first retail units start shipping. They felt pretty dialled in to me, though; the four different power levels gave progressive levels of assistance, and the boost button gets you up to top speed at a wicked pace. I wasn't about to wheelie when activating it at junctions or traffic lights, but it's so much more responsive than similar systems I've used on other e-bikes – and crucially kicks in from a standing start. My short demo didn't give any indication to range, so I'll have to go with VanMoof's estimates. The 487Wh battery hidden inside the frame provides enough juice for a rated 60km / 37 miles at full power or up to 150km / 93 miles in Economy. Once again it isn't user-removable, so you've got to be able to get the bike in range of a power socket. A full charge takes north of four hours. Talking to the VanMoof team, it was clear just as much effort has gone into reliability and serviceability as it has the on-bike tech. Every new component is more durable than the one it replaces, and the brand's service network has never been bigger. It spans 13 countries and some 250 bike shops; mechanics and technicians are visiting the warehouse every week for training, and now 95% of customer issues are solved within twenty four hours. Sensibly, the firm isn't rushing a return to America; instead the plan is to wait until it can establish a support base – most likely in a state with lots of e-bike fans. With off-the-shelf parts not able to be as tightly integrated as custom ones, VanMoof has also worked with its suppliers to ensure spare parts are much easier to get hold of. The wiring is modular, for simpler servicing, and each bike comes with a longer three-year warranty as standard. That'll hopefully put customers' minds at rest, given the issues the firm faced before McLaren Applied stepped in to steer the ship. I won't be ready to deliver a final verdict until I've ridden the finished product, but on these early impressions alone, the total package is arguably as compelling as a VanMoof bike has ever been. The VanMoof S6 and S6 Open will be on sale from August in Europe for €3298, and September in the UK
Stuff.tv
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Stuff.tv
I talked to VanMoof's chief about building the firm's best ever e-bike
Given he was just days away from unveiling the first all-new e-bikes produced under his watch, it'd be understandable if Eliott Wertheimer was a little on edge when we sat down over video call to talk all things S6 and S6 Open – but the VanMoof co-CEO was in great spirits. The new bikes are meant to represent a turning point for the Dutch firm, now under new ownership. Issues of the past have been addressed, and there's more tech squeezed inside than ever. And as I'd already visited the Dutch firm's R&D warehouse for an early ride of a prototype earlier that week, I could understand his confidence. Read more: our first ride of the VanMoof S6 As well as exploring the S6's biggest upgrades, I also found out what it was like stepping in to run a company known for its stand-out styling, and his thoughts on the rapidly evolving electric bike market. I went from studying nuclear energy systems for deep space to electric scooters One of my best friends at the time, Albert (Nassar, now VanMoof co-CEO), was doing similar intensity research on robotics. We loved what we did, I loved how intellectually rewarding it was, but the academic world is inherently limiting. This was 2016; e-Bikes and scooters were starting to become a thing thanks to advances in battery and systems electronics. We bootstrapped a company in the UK, focusing on electric folding bikes and high performance e-scooters. Then Brexit happened. That stressed the business a bit, so we initiated fundraising and got acquired by McLaren Applied. Internally McLaren Applied had a secret crazy project where they were trying to launch a premium e-scooter for the ultra high-end market. It went a bit overboard in terms of budget and features, and they realised they needed a specialised company to take care of it. That's where Lavoie came from. There are a ton of e-bike companies, but not many are really innovating The bulk of the market is labelling Asian factory products. Some of the bigger brands create new frames, cool new form factors that integrate standard components in different ways. That's 99% of the market. Off the top of my head there are three companies including VanMoof that go and research, 'how can I improve that for the rider without the limitations of standardised parts?'. That's ambitious, that's difficult, but it's also necessary. We saw that VanMoof (which by July '23 had entered bankruptcy) was important. We started studying it. The plan was incredible, the way people related to it, the way people loved it. Even in markets where e-bikes weren't such a big thing, people that never actually thought about buying an e-bike, thought about VanMoof. The product was insane, in terms of technology and product ecosystem, electromechanical integration, back-end, apps… Everything was so impressive. There were problems that everyone knows now, like reliability and repairability. That led to issues – but we could fix that. We were like, okay, let's acquire it and restart it, because there's so much value there. The e-bike market is here to stay and will grow for sure The last few years have been horrible for the market. Demand stagnated post-COVID, and because of the big boom the year before everyone over-ordered. I think the bigger brands suffered less because they forced their retailers to dump that stock, which led to undercutting and underpricing. A lot of good brands died. Now it's stabilising. If you take the average, the growth curve over, let's say, 10 years will have been the same as we initially anticipated. I can see in 10, 20 years, depending on cultures, e-bikes and e-scooters will be the main modes of transport in cities. There's no way around it. Infrastructure and regulation is going in that direction. Go to Amsterdam today and you'll see what that looks like. Beautiful design should be at the service of function, rather than itself It's a bit of an Iconic shape, a VanMoof. Most people will agree – I'm sure some don't – that it's beautiful. It's simple and minimalistic in a functional way. It's also characteristically integrated, because every electronic part and the battery is designed to fit nicely in that beautiful design. Everything is really 'If I'm gonna put that in there, what does it do for my riders?' That's super hard, because most people don't know what they want. Through observing behaviour and product usage we can identify creative solutions. And then once you do that, oh wow. The kick lock sounds so simple. I arrive, I kick the thing with my foot and it locks the bike brakes. But that product needs to take kicks all the time, in tough weather. It needs to lock the mechanical system of the bike and deactivate its electronic system; it needs to make sure the bike's communicating to the app and the servers that it's in that locked state, so then we can trigger the right alarms; it needs to auto unlock if you're close enough so you just touch the bike and it unlocks. The usage is simple but the technology behind it is incredibly sophisticated. Doing things differently is risky, but it's the only way to push the industry forward Way before I was here VanMoof took the ambitious decision to go with front motors. It's more aesthetic, allows for better gearing, and means you have all-wheel drive; you're putting power to the rear wheel, the motor sends power to the front one. But if that's not done properly it's not a nice experience. When e-bikes started, electronics weren't that good to really tune your power curves, so you had some joltiness. So most brands went with rear motors. VanMoof said 'let's just develop through and innovate through the issues we're seeing, then eventually we'll have a great thing.' We've got years of positive handicap now. Even for the big companies it's not going to be easy to catch up with us. The thinking and implementation takes time, no matter how many people you put on it. Vocal customers are super-important when developing new bikes. But so are the quiet ones. A single person giving you feedback doesn't have much value, because it's very personal. But if you watch an entire discussion with a lot of riders, you can flesh out what's required, even when it's not mentioned. They are saying this, but if we had that then it would be gone, you know? We've got multiple feedback channels. Sales partners provide great sales feedback; we have teams who watch online communities like Reddit and Facebook; we send huge rider surveys every six months. The app is an amazing tool it provides us with anonymised data like power consumption, speed. Then we have the beta program within the app. It all helps us decide what is good but could be improved, what is OK but no-one cares about so let's remove it, and what are the things we don't have that people would like us to have. We've learned from the past. Sometimes it's better to let other people solve your problems for you We partnered with Peak Design for the S6's phone mount. You won't really need your phone with the integrated navigation, but we have a great dashboard app, so if you do want that we need the best available system. We're not going to do it ourselves, we've got enough to do. So we went to all the big providers. Peak, beyond their company ethos – which is really aligned with what we do – the product is so smooth and aesthetically matching our product. I'm super happy how it's worked out. My motorbike is black, my phone is black, my computer is black… but I think the blue S6 is the most beautiful one Our approach was 'everyone wants a dark bike, let's go for that for sure'. We created our own Midnight Black colour combination, with peal to make sure the reflections look good. Then we had the pale mint, which we're super happy with how it enters the light. The blue was just 'OK, let's go for something flashy' in a way people will be proud to own it, that's nice on the eyes. I love it.
The Verge
2 days ago
- Automotive
- The Verge
VanMoof's new S6 e-bikes fix everything but trust
VanMoof, the poster child of bikeaggedon, just launched the first e-bikes developed under new leadership following its 2023 bankruptcy sale to McLaren Applied. The bikes were supposed to be revealed tomorrow, but a link provided to an early access program has resulted in the details leaking early. The new S6 Series — which I briefly rode just a few hours ago — makes an excellent first impression. The real trick will be convincing riders to pay €3,298 for the promise of longevity. That's why the company is covering the S6 and low-stepover S6 Open with an extended three-year warranty as it tries to regain the trust squandered by the company's departed co-founders. I spent just 15 minutes riding a pre-production S6, but it already addresses almost every issue I've ever had with VanMoof e-bikes. It shifts smoothly and intuitively without any audible clinks; the light bars that show battery and power levels are bright and easy to understand; and the gimmicks and sounds (including startup and motion alerts) have been toned down to be less embarrassing and annoying. Overall, it's a very pleasant and relaxed ride. On the outside, the new S6 series looks nearly identical to the existing S5 and A5 models, which were first announced in 2022 and re-released in 2024 by the new company. But it's what's inside that counts, especially when it comes to long-term serviceability. That includes new modular wiring to make each redesigned component easier to service, all benefiting from the engineering, analysis, and control expertise of McLaren Applied. 'We looked at every element of our line-up and made improvements,' says new co-CEO Eliott Wertheimer in a statement. 'This goes from security, reliability and connectivity, but also, and most notably, the overall riding experience. The moment you get on a bike from the S6 Series, you will immediately notice the difference: the entire ride is smoother, more responsive and more intuitive than anything we've released before. Combined with improved reliability and serviceability, this makes the S6 Series our ultimate bike.' The S6 e-bikes see a return of VanMoof favorites like the Boost button, integrated Kick Lock, and front and rear lighting integrated into the iconic frame. I can't comment on the boost improvements yet as the power delivery from the 250W font-hub motor was still being tuned on my test bike, but the Kick Lock does have a larger sweet spot, making it easier to engage on the rear wheel. New for the S6 is an 'extremely reliable' three-speed AutoShift hub that replaces the wonky three-speed e-shifter found in S5 and S3 series of VanMoofs. The hub uses angular momentum to automatically shift gears as rotational speed increases. That makes the automatic shifting 100 percent mechanical just like VanMoof's e-bikes from 2019 — no problematic electronics required. Shifting gear on the S6 felt smooth, accurate, and intuitive in my limited testing, no matter how hard I mashed down on the pedals. I'll hold final judgement on the shifter for my review coming later this summer, but it sure seems like the new VanMoof has finally found a transmission that begins to compete with the likes of Enviolo. Unfortunately, there's still not option for a belt-drive. The S6 series also feature a new integrated Slimlink phone mount co-designed with Peak Design. It's included in the box with every purchase but can be left off the final assembly since not everyone will want to buy a compatible case. Optionally, you can add a suspension seatpost with an adjustable 30mm of travel to help dampen rough city terrain. That comfy seatpost is also backward compatible with VanMoof S5 and A5 models. VanMoof's anti-theft system is also returning with more granular location tracking to help the company's bike hunting service — they recover your stolen e-bike within 14 days or replace it for free. A full year of the service is included in the purchase price of the S6 series. After that you can pay up, or rely upon Apple's integrated Find My service and your own bike insurance. And just like VanMoofs of old, the battery is still integrated with the frame. The custom-designed (and slightly larger) 487Wh Panasonic battery can be removed for service but otherwise has to remain in the bike, where it can be charged from 0 to 100 percent by the included 48V / 2A charger. The taller S6 is fitted with 27.5 inch wheels and weighs 23.5kg (51.8lbs), while the 22.5kg (49.6lbs) S6 Open with its 24-inch wheels is designed to fit smaller riders. Either way that's a lot of unwieldy weight to carry up and down stairs for charging. VanMoof calls the S6 series its 'most reliable, intuitive, and fun ride so far.' I can vouch for two of the three points, but reliability is something that requires time to prove out. The company is currently partnered with some 250 bikes shops for service (and 130 sales partners) in a network that covers 13 countries and continues to expand since launching in 2024. You'd be wise to check for local service availability before buying a VanMoof or any direct-to-consumer e-bike, for that matter. Service is an inevitability, how much and how easy are the variables, and VanMoof 2.0 seems to be taking the right steps to minimize unexpected trips to the bike shop. The VanMoof S6 and S6 Open are available to reserve now with a fully-refundable €150 deposit. Some VanMoof partner bike shops will have S6 bikes available for test rides before deliveries begin to paying customers in August. The S6 series is available in 'electric blue,' black, and 'pearl mint' (my personal favorite) colors at launch in the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Belgium — Europe's largest e-bike markets — with UK sales starting 'later this year.' Once VanMoof's European operations are under control, it'll look to expand elsewhere, including a return to the US.
