General Motors’ new e-bike brand ARIV will, ahem, arriveon the scene in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands later this year with two models, called Meld and Merge. Each is powered by a compact electric motor, which assists pedal power with four different modes to move riders up to about 15 miles per hour with a 40 mile range.
I took a trip to those three countries, coincidentally, last December, and I can attest that Amsterdam especially is packed from top to bottom with cyclists. EV-assist bikes are already quite popular in mainland Europe, and ARIV is banking on that fact helping its launch. It’s an attractive and unconventional bike design, which will also help riders differentiate themselves from your average Schwinn rider.
Both the Meld and the Merge are pretty much the same bike with the same appearance, motor, range, and top speed. The only real difference is the fact that the Merge can fold up.
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There are LED safety lights front and rear, integrated USB ports to charge your devices, and an ARIV app to use your phone as a gauge cluster of sorts.
Bikes will be ready to ship in Q2 of 2019. A Meld will cost buyers 2800 Euros and a Merge will cost 3400 Euro in Belgium and the Netherlands. German buyers get a 50 Euro discount.
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There are a number of competitors already in the market, so it will be interesting to see if GM can catch up to the sales leaders with Shimano and Bosch motors.
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