Vintage Electric’s Café ebike blends classic ’50s design with 21st-century tech

By Kraig Becker July 11, 2017

The Café | Vintage Electric

In the increasingly competitive electric bike market, companies are finding new and unique ways of making their products stand out from the competition. For instance, a company called Vintage Electric took the unique approach of finding ways to seamlessly meld old-school styling with modern ebike technology to create a bike that doesn’t look like anything else on the road at the moment.

The company’s new Café model is a cruiser bike that at first glance looks like something that could have easily been found on city streets during the 1940s or ’50s. Available in Skyline Bronze or Golden Gate Red, the bike’s design includes sweeping features along the frame, classically shaped handlebars, and retro-looking fenders over both tires. If the team at Vintage Electric was hoping to generate a strong sense of nostalgia with this model, it succeeded completely in that mission.

Vintage Electric — Image used with permission by copyright holder

But upon closer inspection, the Café’s modern components become much more apparent as well. For example, the bike features a 750-watt electric drive system mounted on the frame and a small LED display connected to the handlebars. As with most ebikes, the drive automatically detects the amount of torque that is applied to the pedals and offers assistance to the rider as needed. There are five different levels of pedal assist available, each of which are controlled using a set of controls on the LED screen, which also doubles as a speedometer and odometer too.

An onboard battery supplies the power necessary to keep the motor, LED display, and a built-in Supernova lighting system running. On a full charge, the bike has a range of up to 60 miles with a pedal-assist speed of as much as 28 miles per hour. Sticking with the theme, the battery also has a retro design that somehow manages to look both modern and vintage at the same time. The removable battery’s quick-charge capabilities even allow it to be completely topped off and ready to roll again in just two hours, which is surprisingly quick by ebike standards.

The Vintage Electric Café is available now in three different sizes. It comes with a two-year warranty and retails for $3,995.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributor

Kraig Becker is a freelance outdoor writer who loves to hike, camp, mountain bike, trail run, paddle, or just about any other…

Outdoors

Speed up your daily commute with these e-bike deals

ENGWE EP-2 Pro e-bike right side shot next to an unmowed field.

The best electric bikes have come a long way in recent years and we don't just mean in terms of the miles you travel. With technology changing quickly, there are also an increasing number of electric bike deals around and we've picked out some of the very best. Electric bikes are a great way of getting around more easily and without necessarily needing to use as much stamina as a regular bike. Below, you'll find fantastic e-bike bike deals from many different retailers. There'll be something for every need here. Let's take a look at them.
Jasion EB5 Electric Bike -- $430, was $750

With a 350w brushless motor, the Jasion EB5 Electric Bike can achieve a top speed of 20 MPH with a range of up to 25-40 miles per charge. It has four working modes with a PAS mode where the motor assists with a moderate amount of power as you pedal, along with a Pure Electric Mode, a Pedal Mode, and a Booster Mode where the bike assist on hills and anywhere else you might be struggling. 26-inch puncture-resistant tires provide excellent durability while there's a high-strength front fork suspension, Shimano 7-speed gears, dual lights, and an LCD display. The latter offers controls for adjustable backlight brightness with one of five levels, along with mode controls.

Outdoors

Jackery graduates from pioneer to sustainable master with latest launch

Jackery 2000 Plus used outdoors while camping

This content was produced in partnership with Jackery.
In 2012, at a critical time when sustainability efforts were ramping up everywhere, Jackery was born. The prevailing vision behind its creation was to provide accessible green energy to everyone. Years later, in 2016, Jackery launched the world's first outdoor-friendly portable power stations, and soon after, introduced the world's first portable solar panels. They would change many lives for the better but also transform an entire market that's now dedicated to green, sustainable energy solutions. Today, over 11 years later, Jackery is still going strong, and getting ready to launch one of its most advanced products to date, the Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus.

Ideal for outdoor applications, portability, and emergency backup usage, the Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Plus delivers some incredible features that honor Jackery's original mission -- "to make green energy accessible anytime and anywhere". More importantly, it offers safe and reliable power independence for all, thanks to a combined software and hardware defense system, which we'll explore in more detail below, and industry-leading fast-charge technology to get you working, playing, or back in the game as quickly as possible.
Learn More

Advanced technology for a better anywhere experience

Outdoors

From $500 to $210: This Segway electric scooter is $290 off for Prime Day

segway hoverboard scooter black friday deals amazon max

Gas is getting expensive. All around the world people are exploring alternative transportation methods that are cheaper, better for the environment, and more fun. One method that has exploded recently is the electric scooter. E-scooter ride share apps have descended on cities. If you've tried one out and want to get your own, Prime Day deals provide a great opportunity to snag one for cheap. Right now the Segway Ninebot Electric Kickscooter is down to just $210 from its usual price of $500. That's over 50% off! It's also the lowest price it has ever been. Before this, the cheapest it's ever been is $295. Read more about the scooter below, then check out the deal yourself before Prime Day is over.

Why you should buy the Segway Ninebot Electric Kickscooter on Prime Day
Segway is most famous for the two-wheeled balancing devices that got popular in the mid-2000s. They were seen as futuristic and a bit goofy. They never really took off, and the similar but less goofy (if more unstable) hoverboards were the devices that blew up (figuratively and literally). Today we see Segways mostly in science fiction movies and on city sightseeing tours. They were discontinued in 2020.