MICROMOBILITY
And if 2023 was a big year for the brand, then 2024 is
set to be even bigger and better. They recently announced their bikes will be sold by John Lewis – only the second brand to do so, after Brompton.
Alongside this, earlier this year they relocated their
shop to a bigger and better premises in London, and launched Café Volt – which we have on good authority, serves Frenchwoman approved pastries. “I know my croissant and when it comes to London, I’ve not really found a pastry that I like. But actually these ones are amazing. And in terms of the space, the new shop is bang on the high street and it’s big enough so you have space for the bikes and the coffee shop, and I think the café might ease people into being around bikes a bit more.”
As well as showcasing what’s on offer at the counter, the menu boards in the café also identify how much an equivalent e-bike would cost if you were to undertake one of the brand’s subscription offerings. “In the coffee shop, you’ve got the price of the tea, coffee, latte, whatever, and we have the price of a subscription, which is our cancel any time, monthly subscription. So it says £3.30 per day, for example, so when people see that they’re like, ‘Oh, I could do that’.” The subscription service is offered across several of the brand’s e-bikes, and Rineau says it’s been pretty successful so far. “We’re getting a lot of traffic on the website, more than any of the other pages. I think it works because this package has got insurance, maintenance, and GPS included, it’s kind of like the whole package that you want with a bike. So this is really showing a great interest from people.”
38 | June 2024
Speaking of bikes, there’s a new one on the way for the brand. The Lite is due to launch in summer, and has been in the design process for a few years. Lite by name, Lite by nature, the bike is already on the website, but in essence is a lightweight mid-drive folder.
And it’s something Rineau has been asking for since she started with the brand.
“I remember during the pandemic when I started, I was
new to the bikes and I was helping with the opening of the factory. So I was often on site, physically helping moving the bikes, and I struggled with the weight of them. So I asked the founders if we could do a bike that is lighter. Not just speaking for myself, but for people that need to take their bikes to their flat in London.” And Rineau’s wishes were granted – the new Lite weighs just 15kg, or 18kg with the battery.
Beyond new product launches and tasting pastries, Rineau is also busy developing Volt’s social presence. They’ve partnered with people like Travis and Sigrid the cat, by loaning them an Alpine earlier in the year with some cute resulting videos of the pair. But Volt is also collaborating with charities like Beder, a suicide prevention charity, and Positive News – with whom they’ve donated a specially wrapped e-bike for guests of the show to do challenges on. All in all, there’s plenty to get excited about with the British e-bike brand, whether you’re a dealer or a customer.
And it’s partly down to Rineau’s passion and her enthusiasm for bikes and their overarching benefit to people’s health as well as their sustainability benefits. And at the core of it, she’s just keen to get people to “see how fun it is to ride a bike.”
www.bikebiz.com
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