Yet Another E-Bike: It's Cake!

Yet another e-bike is here, apparently, finally! Based in Sweden, Cake (yes that’s their real name) has heretofore been manufacturing off-road electric motorcycles, but they’re introducing the “Kalk&” (a step up from the Kalk OR) as a street-legal version.

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The bike looks like a hoot: a tiny thing that’s barely a step up from a bicycle. The styling is, as per usual with e-bikes, blocky, but that’s probably something we’re all going to have to get used to, especially when it comes to budget e-bikes. The on-road version seems to be the exact same thing as the off-road “OR” except fitted with a headlight, taillight and turn signals. The missing component is mirrors, and having a good stare at the signals tells me they’re probably not USDOT compliant in their current configuration.

You can currently order the off-road Kalk OR in USD and have it shipped, for free, to you here in the States. The “&” will be available for pre-order next month (no word on the free shipping).

The off-road version stats: the weight of the bike is about 117 lbs, plus the weight of the battery at 35 lbs puts the total curb weight at 152 lbs, so add a pound or two for the street version's lights and wiring. Its top speed is 46 mph, which is quite respectable for its size and would put it squarely into a plate-able road bike category here in the US. It puts out 31 ft-lbs of torque, and that’s immediate because electric motor. Published charge time is 2.5 hours from dead flat to 100%, but if you’re OK with 80% that only takes 1.5 hours–the site claims “in a standard outlet.” Keep in mind, however, that all of Sweden is plumbed at 230V, as opposed to the US standard voltage at 120: in simple terms, that’s electrical pressure; US voltage is a garden hose and Sweden’s is a fire-hose, so that’s going to make a big difference. Someone do that time to charge math! Regardless, a full charge will get you up to 2 hours ride time in the “explore” setting or only 1 hour in the “excel” setting with the “excite” setting somewhere in the middle.

The bike is fitted with adjustable Öhlins suspension front and back, and runs a 420 chain on a 13-tooth front sprocket and an 80 (yes, eighty) tooth rear.

You can order the off-road version right now, and it will run you $13,000 USD (which is certainly not "budget bike: territory, so come on Cake, make it prettier!), or you can wait and see what the street-legal version runs.

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The big difference I see with Cake as a manufacturer: they offer components and spare parts on their website. I haven’t seen that with any other e-bike manufacturer, and that gives me hope for the future of this particular marque.

The real question is, though, how do we pronounce “Kalk?”

Sources: ElectricMotorcycles, RideCake.com, Youtube

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