Final 12 months on the EICMA Milan Milan Motorbike Present, I stumbled throughout a novel-looking automobile referred to as the Ponie P2. Described as a van substitute, the 60 mph (100 km/h) electrical bike sports activities an enormous cargo case under the seat and was prepping for manufacturing on the time. Now a 12 months later, I caught up with the corporate on the identical present to find out how the Ponie P2 is now getting ready to hit the highway.
The corporate behind the bike, PNY, has spent a lot of the previous 12 months finalizing its manufacturing path and is able to begin a number of pilot applications, together with with DHL and the native postal service, amongst others who’ve signed as much as snag among the first 50 Ponie P2s that simply rolled off the manufacturing line.
With 400L (105 gallons) of space for storing between the middle cargo space and an non-obligatory rear trunk, the Ponie P2 really is nearly as near a “van replacer” as you will get on two wheels. There are some bigger four-wheeled cargo e-bikes on the market, however they aren’t as quick or as nimble, limiting their use to bike lanes and in areas the place sidewalk parking is met with a blind eye.
The Ponie P2 won’t carry as a lot cargo as a Sprinter van, but it surely might doubtless do a complete route of mail deliveries whereas sustaining the identical lane-splitting and parking benefits of a bike – to not point out the power to achieve minimal freeway speeds.
The bike can be nearly as steady as might be, sporting its giant 6.7 kWh CATL battery as a flat pack under the principle cargo space. That low middle of gravity is additional aided by the hub motor protecting the motor weight at mere axle peak. It received’t do the unsprung weight any favors, however a supply bike isn’t precisely efficiency territory, both.
The P2 even has fairly vary per cost, quoted at 150 km (93 miles) when touring at metropolis speeds of 35 km/h (22 mph). Hopping on the freeway at prime velocity is bound to drop that vary determine, but it surely’s additionally exhausting to get the mail within the field precisely at freeway speeds, so riders are going to need to decelerate ultimately.
The PNY Ponie P2 appears to straddle the road between bikes and scooters, providing seating of the previous with utility of the latter. A big 7-inch TFT coloration show and ABS brakes provide the type of fashionable motorbike options many riders have come to anticipate, and there’s even a smaller glove field cargo space with an included USB charging port (preferrred for the rider’s personal private belongings in order that they aren’t mixing with everybody else’s packages and postcards).
The corporate was additionally exhibiting off built-in security expertise from RiderDome, a startup that makes use of AI-based laptop imaginative and prescient and sensors to offer 360-degree risk detection particularly for motorcyclists.
The identical body is designed to combine with a number of cargo equipment, together with the big middle cargo field seen on the DHL bike in addition to a number of smaller containers reminiscent of these utilized by meals supply corporations.
I’m hoping to check out one of many first 50 PNY Ponie P2 bikes that will likely be used within the upcoming pilot applications with DHL and different prospects. For now, I solely bought a static check on the sales space (above), however the bikes really feel surprisingly regular once you’re sitting on them. They could seem like a stretch limousine of the motorbike world, however they only really feel like a unadorned roadster with a cushty foot-forward seating place – at the very least, at relaxation.
The jury remains to be out on how they’ll carry out within the wild, however PNY has excessive hopes that extra cities all over the world will quickly be changing lane-blocking cargo vans with lane-splitting cargo motorbikes like these.
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