Swedish electric motorcycle company CAKE is unveiling its new CAKE :work line of electric motorcycles today at the EICMA Milan Motorcycle Show. The :work bikes feature a wide range of accessory mounts that can be used for everything from mounting cargo boxes to miter saws, and their batteries can even be used for providing off-grid power for tools and devices.
The CAKE :work line is built upon the same foundation as CAKE’s main three models, the Kalk electric motorcycle, Ösa electric utility bike and the newly-released Makka electric moped.
According to CAKE, the vehicles in the :work line are designed for professional applications such as delivery riders, craftsmen and service professionals.
As CAKE CEO Stefan Ytterborn explained:
“The CAKE :work series offers the immediate potential of moving last-mile deliveries and mobile workforces away from traditional solutions for urban transportation, clearly exceeding the efficiency of both cars and bicycles, making this initiative our single most important contribution to date in speeding up the process towards a zero-emission society.
Any industry that handles large volumes of short-haul transportation of both people and goods understands the daily struggle with traffic jams, parking fines, and the need to find both economical and sustainable fossil fuel-free vehicles. At CAKE, we truly believe that the future for last-mile deliveries will be electric and run on two wheels.”
The bikes themselves seem to offer a number of new accessories and configurations that could be uniquely useful to professional service providers.
The lighterweight vehicles like the pint-sized CAKE Malka could be good for last-mile deliveries, while the Ösa’s higher speed and utility could give it expanded reach. Plus it looks pretty cool seeing that mobile lumber mill powered by the onboard Ösa battery.
The dirt bike-style Kalk might be better suited for off-road work, such as the example photo below of an electrician needing to work on a remote power station.
Each of the bikes appears to offer new custom additions designed for these various use cases.
As the company continued:
“Optimizing power, reach, efficiency, and capacity, the adjustments and reinforcements specific to the :work series include an increased range that allows the bike to run for the full working day, and power support which enables workers to power electronic tools or regulate the temperature of food delivery boxes, for example. Additionally, :work has an increased towing capacity as well as a more compact design, such as narrower handlebars, allowing riders to more easily weave between cars. CAKE is also offering a wide range of purpose-built accessories that will allow riders to customize their bikes, as well as 19 complete configurations.”
Electrek’s Take
A couple years ago my wife and I returned to our apartment to find that the old lock had finally frozen. We had to call a locksmith, who arrived on a motorcycle with a giant, unwieldy tool box haphazardly strapped to the back. Something tells me he would have been glad to swap his bike for one of these CAKE :work models – a move that likely would have received support from most of the people driving behind him.
Not only do these bikes look like they are properly suited for the tasks, but they offer advantages that gas bikes simply don’t. Good luck running your miter saw off of your gas bike!
With so many two-wheeled vehicles on the roads and their lower relative purchase prices compared to cars, they make excellent targets for electrification in order to replace gas-driven miles with cleaner, more efficient alternatives. And so seeing solutions like these that don’t just offer an electric alternative but also offer a better product seems like a major step in the right direction.
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