When it comes to ebikes it seems that everything that was old is new again. First, we saw a pair of bikes that take their cues from the classic Scrambler style motorcycle and now we have one that is looking to cash in on the café racing scene. The new Cruzer from Rayvolt Bikes may be a modern electric bike at heart, but it looks more like something you might have expected to find on the streets back in the 1960s instead.
When designing the Cruzer, Rayvolt went to great lengths to re-create the café racer aesthetic. The bike pays homage to Grand Prix road racing motorcycles, which featured a minimalistic style, low-mounted handlebars, and a longer than usual gas tank. The Cruzer mimics that design closely, adding pedals and other bike components seamlessly to the mix.
The Cruzer sports a rear-mounted hub motor that comes in two versions, the standard model that offers up to 400 watts of power, and the Power Hub that cranks that number up to 1,000 watts. A 48-volt Samsung lithium-ion battery with 567 watt-hours of juice supplies electricity to both versions, although an optional double-sized battery with 1,137Wh is available to keep the bike running longer. The Cruzer even has a regenerative disc braking system that harvests power from the brakes to help recharge the battery while on the go. A 60-lumen headlight provides illumination when riding in low-light conditions, while a red taillight aids in visibility for oncoming traffic as well.
But the technology hidden inside this ebike doesn’t end there. For instance, in the future riders will be able to connect their smartphones to the Cruzer via Bluetooth and check and fine-tune settings using a Rayvolt app. The bike reportedly has a built-in intelligent virtual assistant — named EIVA — that helps monitor its electric drive and other components and will alert users to any potential maintenance issues. Beyond that, however, EIVA also has onboard GPS and can provide maps with turn-by-turn directions for riders as well.
Rayvolt has given the Cruzer both a pedal assist mode and a handlebar mounted throttle. When the pedal assist is activated, the bike can reach speeds of up to 15 mph with minimal effort. The throttle is limited to just 3 mph, however, but is designed to assist riders when they are starting from a complete stop.
Surprisingly, the Cruzer doesn’t have an overly high price tag when compared to other ebikes. This model starts at about $3,210. Still a considerable investment, but about half the cost of some other retro-styled ebikes we have seen.
