A16z-backed Infinite Machine is building e-bikes that feel like mopeds. Cyclists may have some qualms
This was not the e-bike ride I was expecting.
Last week, in Queens, I met up with Infinite Machine CEO Joseph Cohen at his startup’s new vibey office space in Long Island City. After a brief tour, Cohen and I donned motorcycle helmets and went for a ride, spinning through the cobble and paved roads and bike lanes on Infinite Machines’ new e-bike, the Olto. The Olto is quick, fun, and smooth, and it was a blast.
As Cohen and I waited at a traffic light, people on the corner pointed at us, grinning. Olto’s sleek and modern design—like a Cybertruck for the bike lane—tends to grab attention. But is it really a bike?
The Olto follows all the technical parameters of a Class 2 e-bike, where you don’t need a license plate or registration, and it’s allowed in the bike lane. Legally, it’s a bike. In motion, it felt more like I was riding a moped. The Olto is a whopping 176 pounds, has a moped-style seat position, and uses a throttle that gets it up to 20 miles per hour—or more if you’re in a city like New York where higher speeds are allowed.
While there technically are pedals, Cohen advised me not to use them, and said that customers keep the pedals in the locked position—like pegs. Almost as proof of this, the chain on the Olto I rode was really rusty, and a piece of black plastic covered most of it, which I couldn’t help but notice would make the chain impossible to lube or service.
For Cohen, these quirks are exactly the point. He and his brother, Eddie, wanted to design a brand new kind of two-wheel transit option designed for both the road and the bike lane. The two spent a lot of time riding their Vespas during Covid, and Cohen says they realized “that two wheels is kind of a hack for New York.” Infinite Machine started manufacturing its first vehicle, an electric moped the P1, and later this e-bike Olto, which they started delivering to customers last year, though he wouldn’t tell me how many had been sold yet
Infinite Machine, which launched a moped motorcycle before the Olto, is already dabbling in what other kinds of vehicles it can build next—and how the startup could (eventually) plug in some sort of autonomy to its e-bikes and scooters. It’s a well-funded venture, with $14.2 million from investors including a16z’s American Dynamism fund (a little funny when you consider that Infinite Machine, like many transit companies, has its scooters and e-bikes assembled in Shenzhen, China). Cohen and his brother, Eddie are energetic and bubbly about their sleek designs and where they see the future of transit going. When you’re talking with them, it’s hard not to get excited right along with them.
At the same time, it’s hard to imagine Infinite Machine won’t run into some trouble as they scale. The e-mobility space is notoriously difficult and full of cautionary tales, but more than that, I wonder what the reaction will be from cyclists like me to have something like Olto passing them in the bike lane. At a speed of 20 or 25 miles per hour, a 176-pound bike carries much more energy than a traditional bicycle, and collisions don’t look the same. E-bike accidents are drawing additional scrutiny from residents in cities, including New York, where some groups are pushing for more parameters for e-bikes and scooters.
After thinking all of that over for a few days, I called up Cohen yesterday and asked about some of those concerns. He said that Infinite Machine is proactive with regulators and has built a “good relationship” with the New York City transportation department, and pointed out that he hadn’t heard of any complaints so far. From his perspective, he wants customers to ride in the bike lanes as a safety precaution from cars and dangerous drivers. “The real threat to safety is from cars and trucks, not from e-bikes,” he said.
Olto isn’t the only vehicle that may redefine the bike lane. Last week, I saw Amazon’s new four-wheel “e-cargo quadricycle” pedaling through the Lower East Side and making last-mile deliveries. It’s a stretch, but the enormous quadricycle technically meets all of the qualifications of a bike, even though it weighs many hundreds of pounds.
It’s hard not to feel that these new modes of transportation may erode the social order of the bike lane—the idea that bike lanes are solely for lower-speed vehicles and the commuters who are most vulnerable on the road. I’m a cyclist with four bikes—I use bike lanes all the time—and can’t help but wonder as some of these new designs get prolific, whether it could start to feel hostile to the people who are actually pedaling.
See you tomorrow,
Jessica Mathews
X: @jessicakmathews
Email: jessica.mathews@fortune.com
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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com