GM's electric bikes branded 'Ariv,' offer 40 miles of range – Roadshow

General Motors is launching two new electric bikes under the Ariv — styled ARĪV — brand name. GM crowdsourced the name for the new e-bike brand with a competition that kicked off in November 2018, and confirmed on Thursday that it’ll start selling the new models in Europe in the second quarter of this year.

The Ariv e-bikes use lithium-ion batteries and can deliver four levels of pedaling assistance at speeds up to 15.5 miles per hour. GM says the bikes can be fully recharged in 3.5 hours and that they’ll offer about 40 miles of range on a single charge.

Although several other companies already offer electric bicycles, the Ariv bikes use components designed and engineered in-house by GM. The motor, for instance, is a unique GM design that the company says was built “from the ground up” for the bikes.

The Ariv bikes will be offered in two models, the standard Meld and the folding Merge. Both have a “walk” mode that uses the electric motors to help riders push the bikes manually if needed. There’s a built-in smartphone mount from Quad Lock, as well as a USB port to allow riders to charge gadgets while riding. Also included are front and rear lights and disc brakes. An accompanying smartphone app will pair with the bikes via Bluetooth to give riders information on their trips.

The Ariv Merge and Meld will launch in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands first, because the company says those countries already have high popularity of e-bikes. As to whether the bikes will be offered in the US, a spokesperson told Roadshow that GM, “cannot share details on future markets at this time.” Pricing in Germany starts at 2,750 euros (about $3,100) for the Meld and 3,350 euros (about $3,785) for the Merge.