It’s been over a year since Cleveland CycleWerks unveiled its first-ever electric bike, the Falcon. To be more specific, it was March, 2020—and with everything that was going on in the world right around that time, we don’t blame you if it got lost in the shuffle. Still, it marked two departures for CCW: Its first electric bike, and also the first CCW model that would be made completely in the U.S. 

So, what happened? Like a lot of us, it seems that Cleveland CycleWerks underwent some pretty major shifts over the past several months. In August, 2021, our colleagues over at RevZilla’s Common Tread spoke to CCW co-founder Scott Colosimo about what’s changed—and it seems like the Falcon was really a phoenix all along. 

You see, once Colosimo got deep into the Falcon project, he realized that he didn’t want to go back to combustion-engined bikes. As a result, he did two things: Founded a new electric-only, Cleveland-based moto company called Land Energy, and also started looking for a new owner for CCW. Something had to give, and he decided that something was both combustion and overseas supply chain-related headaches. The Falcon evolved into the District, which is now Land Energy’s first electric motorbike. 

Gallery: Land Energy - District

So far, it appears that CCW still hasn’t found the right buyer. Take a look at its contact page as of October 7, 2021, and you’ll see a banner announcing that fact, along with an e-mail address where interested parties can contact the company about that opportunity. Nevertheless, both CCW and Land Energy are still pushing forward on very separate paths, currently connected by a single owner. 

That brings us to Land Energy. In 2021, its main focus is its first all-electric model, the District. Offered in both a First Edition and a Founders Edition, District bikes are all about their swappable batteries. Land’s Core and Core + batteries can easily be removed from Districts and charged on a regular household outlet, at home, work, or school.  

Each of the District bikes is handbuilt in Cleveland, where Land currently has six employees and is undergoing a funding round to move to the next phase of production. The District Founders Editions each cost $15,000, while the First Editions cost $8,000. Just like most new technology, production versions will hopefully be priced a little lower to entice more riders to throw a leg over. 

They’re electric urban runabouts, capable of a top speed of about 65 mph. They’re meant more for low-speed fun, and aren’t built to set blistering lap records. Additionally, according to Land Energy’s statement of purpose, it wants the technology on the bike to be swappable so that you don’t have to toss out the entire chassis as the tech evolves. Will this plan work? It’s difficult to say, but it seems like a promising idea, at the very least.

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