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E-mobility built like LEGO
Zurich, on 06.03.2020
Pictures: Manuel Wenk
Translation: Eva Francis
Light, clean and quiet. The electric motorcycles by the Swedish brand CAKE are redefining e-mobility. These modular utility commuters are assembled like LEGO.
The Swedish brand CAKE aims to help pave the way towards a zero emission future. With electric motorcycles. Is this the right approach? Let me just say: lithium production. After the corona hysteria, topics such as e-mobility and sustainability will certainly be on everyone's lips again. In this respect, the Swedish e-motorbikes are very zeitgeisty. What about aesthetics? Riding an e-scooter doesn’t have to look like it did when my colleague Michael Restin tested one in the summer of 2018. Poor guy.
The LEGO system
CAKE offers the models Ösa and Kalk. The latter boasts an especially impressive design, in my opinion. Both motorcycles are modular: they’re built like LEGO and with the intention of reducing the number of movable parts. There are no fluids, grease, gasoline or oil – as well as no screws, no dirty hands and no grease under the fingernails. If, for instance, a part of the drive train is broken, the entire drive is replaced. I’m not quite sure what’s sustainable about that, but so be it.
The battery
CAKE's mission is to inspire towards a zero-emission society, combining excitement with responsibility. However, the company is aware of the many problems surrounding batteries. As CAKE states, battery cells are inherently efficient, have a long service life and are recycled. However, producing battery cells involves unsustainable processes. The company adds that new technologies will increase the performance of the cells rapidly over the next few years, resulting in cells that are faster, feature a higher energy density, more cycles and better overall performance. CAKE is convinced that the growing demand for batteries and the quest for better performance and more sustainable solutions are accelerating this development, with companies such as Northvolt playing a pioneering role.
According to the Swedish manufacturer, this is only the beginning, and they’d switch to a new battery if a greener or more efficient one was available. The battery can be replaced on all models and at any time, so once a new battery standard is introduced, CAKE could use it for all their e-motorcycles.
“ With a noise and fume free vehicle, respecting the environment, the wildlife and fellow individuals sharing the backcountry, the intention is to open up for sustainable, respectful and active discovery. ”
Target groups
The Kalk models are all about off-road performance and innovation. These motorcycle are inspired by DH and Enduro MTBs in terms of geometry, suspension, stance, components and handling.
As the manufacturer’s website reads, there wasn’t anything off the shelf to support the category, so every single component had to be developed from scratch to support the intended level of quality and durability. The sizing, geometry and engineering of axles, hubs, rims, the cockpit and suspension, as well as building and customising the different parts of the drivetrain, together with developing a whole new chassis has led to numerous patents.
The Ösa model focuses more on commercial use. Equipped with a battery with several sockets, this is a power station on wheels, allowing the carpenter or gardener to bring and charge their power tools anywhere to execute their work – off the grid.
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Patrick Bardelli
Senior Editor, Zurich
What matters isn’t how well you play when you’re playing well. What matters is how well you play when you’re playing badly.