Premium e-bike brand Gocycle unveils the sleekest-looking cargo bike you’ve ever seen
If you know anything about Gocycle, you’ll know that they make fancy electric bikes designed with sleek, exotic designs. Now, the company is leaning hard into its lightweight, futuristic design legacy as it unveils the new Gocycle CXI Family Cargo Bicycle.
And it makes sense, considering that Gocycle’s founder and designer Richard Thorpe was formerly an engineer at McClaren. That same penchant for exotic materials and gram-shaving engineering found its way into several award-winning models of Gocycle folding e-bikes.
Now with the new Gocycle CXI, we’re seeing the company apply that dedicated level of design in a whole new category of cargo e-bikes designed for families and heavy haulers.
As Thorpe explained, “Entering the cargo e-bike scene is a bold move for Gocycle, expanding our product family into uncharted territory. We’ve focused on our core values of lightweight and portability – addressing a vital gap in the market, especially for customers turned off by cumbersome and heavy cargo bikes.”
“We’ve also stayed true to our OneDesignDNA® philosophy, preserving a cohesive design language and sleek identity across all Gocycle products,” Thorpe continued. “Instantly recognizable as a Gocycle, the all new CXi employs Gocycle’s kernel of patented innovations such as our side-mounted Pitstopwheels®, Gocycle’s F1-inspired monocoque chassis, enclosed Cleandrive® drivetrain and internal cabling.”
Looking around the bike will betray no trace of a single chain, spoke, cable, wire, gear, grease, or a litany of other conventional bike components. Some are replaced. Others are entirely hidden from view behind cleverly engineered shrouds and inside of specially designed frame tubes. It all combines to create that classic Gocycle aesthetic we’ve come to know and love over the years.
New innovations help continue that design spec, such as the all-new Flofit® handlebar designed for rider ergonomics and comfort. It is adjustable to provide either an upright riding position or a forward racing style, changing its reach, height, and grip angle to provide multiple hand positions and fingertip controls. The patent-pending technology gets packaged and protected inside the handlebar body, giving one bolt access for brake adjustments and tuning.
On the opposite end of the bike, a Gates carbon belt drive is hidden away inside Gocycle’s Cleandrive packaging leading to the rear wheel, where it terminates in a Shimano Nexus 5-speed internally geared hub.
Tying it all together is the “bold new WingPillar Frame® design [that] builds from Gocycle’s core F1- inspired monocoque chassis DNA. Tested to meet the high-load and safety standards (480lbs rated) demanded for hauling stuff, kids, and pets – and lightweight. The rear deck is compatible for MIK child seats and accessories making multimodal configurations a breeze to fit. Optional premium cherry and teak wood available.”
On the tech side, the US version of the bike will carry a 500W motor and reach a top speed of 20 mph (32 km/h), while the European version will swap in a 250W motor and have a reduced top speed to meet local regulations. Both models come with the same torque sensor for smoother and more responsive pedal assist action, as well as the same quickly removable 375 Wh battery that claims a 50-mile (80-km) range. Also included standard are hydraulic disc brakes, Schwalbe Moto X tires, single-sided proprietary carbon fiber fork, daytime running lights, custom double kickstand, and detachable pedals.
Compared to most bulky and heavy cargo e-bikes, the Gocycle CXI is comparatively svelte at just 50 lb (22.7 kg). To put that in perspective, the Rad Wagon 4 cargo e-bike weighs over 50% more. Imagine being able to take a cargo e-bike that can carry 480 lb, but then fold it up and carry it under your arm. That’s never been seen before, and frankly, I’m not sure I thought I’d ever see it.
The CXI may have significantly trimmed the weight, but as is usually the case in the e-bike industry, that has an inverse effect on the price. Considering all the other custom designs, proprietary components, the fact that a cargo e-bike even folds, and the advanced engineering that went into making all of that happen, you didn’t expect to get away for a song, did you? The base model starts at US $6,999, while the higher-spec CXI+ that includes the fancier Flofit handlebar is priced at US $7,999. Pre-orders are now open with $499 reservations holding a spot in line.
Electrek’s Take
Wow, it’s a beautiful bike. And if I can dust off my old mechanical engineering degree for a moment, the ME in me is drooling over the design and engineering that make this bike possible. But then if I can dust off my old MBA for a moment, I’m wondering how many of these the company can actually sell at this price point when the e-bike industry is hurting in a way it hasn’t seen in years – if ever.
Don’t get me wrong, this bike is a masterclass in design. But if the US e-bike market has proven anything, it’s that Americans assign much more value to decent but affordable bikes than to highly-engineered models. Europe seems to have a different calculus, putting a much higher value on long-lasting, well-designed, and quality-manufactured e-bikes. So I can see this competing nicely with the best of the German ultra-premium cargo e-bikes. But I’m curious how many we’re going to see cruising around San Francisco or NYC anytime soon.
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First Solar just cut the ribbon on a huge new factory in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, and it dwarfs the New Orleans Superdome. The company’s $1.1 billion, fully vertically integrated facility spans 2.4 million square feet, or about 11 times the size of the stadium’s main arena.
The factory began production quietly in July, a few months ahead of schedule, and employs more than 700 people. First Solar expects that number to hit 826 by the end of the year. Once it’s fully online, the site will add 3.5 GW of annual manufacturing capacity. That brings the company’s total US footprint to 14 GW in 2026 and 17.7 GW in 2027, when its newly announced South Carolina plant is anticipated to come online.
The Louisiana plant produces First Solar’s Series 7 modules using US-made materials — glass from Illinois and Ohio, and steel from Mississippi, which is fabricated into backrails in Louisiana.
The new factory leans heavily on AI, from computer vision that spots defects on the line to deep learning tools that help technicians make real‑time adjustments.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry says the investment is already a win for the region, bringing in “hundreds of good-paying jobs and new opportunities for Louisiana workers and businesses.” A new economic impact analysis from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette projects that the factory will boost Iberia Parish’s GDP by 4.4% in its first full year at capacity. The average manufacturing compensation package comes in at around $90,000, more than triple the parish’s per capita income.
First Solar CEO Mark Widmar framed the new facility as a major step for US clean energy manufacturing: “By competitively producing energy technology in America with American materials, while creating American jobs, we’re demonstrating that US reindustrialization isn’t just a thesis, it’s an operating reality.”
This site joins what’s already the largest solar manufacturing and R&D footprint in the Western Hemisphere: three factories in Ohio, one in Alabama, and R&D centers in Ohio and California. Just last week, First Solar announced a new production line in Gaffney, South Carolina, to onshore more Series 6 module work. By the end of 2026, the company expects to directly employ more than 5,500 people across the US.
Read more: First Solar pours $330M into a new South Carolina solar factory
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No, it’s not the new Bolt. GM’s design team previewed a new high-riding “sporty Chevrolet EV” that should be brought to life.
Is Chevy launching a new sporty EV?
This is the all-electric vehicle Chevy should sell in the US. General Motors’ design team released a series of sketches previewing a sporty new Chevy EV.
Although it kinda looks like the new 2027 Chevy Bolt EV as a higher-sitting compact crossover SUV, the design offers a fresh take on what it should have looked like.
The new Bolt is essentially a modernized version of the outgoing EUV model with a similar compact crossover silhouette. Nissan adopted a similar style with the new 2026 LEAF as buyers continue shifting from smaller sedans and hatchbacks to crossovers and SUVs.
Will we see the sporty Chevy EV in real life? It’s not likely. For one, the “exploration sketch” is by GM China Advanced designer Charles Huang.
GM Design posted the sketches on its global social media page, but the caption read “Sporty Chevrolet EV for the China Market.”
It’s too bad. The Bolt could use a sporty sibling like an SS variant. Chevy introduced the Blazer EV SS (check out our review) for the 2026 model year, its fastest “SS” model yet. Packing up to 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, the Chevy Blazer SS can race from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds when using Wide Open Watts (WOW) mode.
Will the Bolt be next? I wouldn’t get my hopes up. And if GM does bring the sporty Chevy EV to life, it will likely only be sold in China. Like all the fun cars these days.
What do you think of the design? Would you buy one of these in the US? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
While deliveries of the 2027 Bolt are set to begin in early 2026, Chevy is offering some sweet deals on its current EV lineup, including up to $4,000 off in Customer Cash and 0% APR financing for 60 months.
Ready to test drive one? You can use our links below to find Chevy Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EVs at a dealership near you.
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Environment
Podcast: Electricity is the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss electricity becoming the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, the new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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