FLIT first ride: This is the folding electric bike Brompton should have built
At the Micromobility Europe conference in Amsterdam last week, I got my first look at (and first ride on) the new folding electric bike known as FLIT. As it turns out, there’s a new ultra-compact British folding e-bike in town.
When it comes to UK-based folding bikes, most people already know of Brompton. The super-tiny folding bike riding on little 16-inch wheels has been the darling of the compact folding bike space for decades.
Brompton’s folding bikes are iconic, combining classic bicycle design with modern engineering principles to create the perfect tiny folder. It’s a bike that packs up compactly and then opens back up to ride pretty darn well, at least for a 16-inch narrow-tire bike.
But when Brompton joined the modern era and electrified their bikes, the same design decisions that made the original bike so effective were also a hindrance to advanced e-bike components. That resulted in a bike that looked like it was wearing an eBay conversion kit with a battery in a shopping bag, not to mention a front wheel motor that limited power and traction.
Enter FLIT: another British folding bike, but this time designed from the outset for electric drive.
Because the company started with electrification in mind, they designed the bike with a wide enough central frame tube to support the 36V 6.4Ah battery hidden away inside the tube. A custom-designed battery shell allows the battery to be easily removed for charging by first sliding out the seat tube.
Next, the use of a rear motor instead of a front motor also allows for much more peppy acceleration. The 250W motor may only be rated for 35 Nm of torque, but in my test ride of the bike, I was impressed with just how potent that power felt. Surely the inclusion of a torque sensor helped, but the rear wheel drive is key to being able to dump all of the available power as quickly as possible.
By comparison, Brompton’s front motor has reduced traction and can spin the tire in loose terrain or when climbing hills, meaning Brompton engineers had to dial back the power ramping to slow down the application of torque, minimizing that tire slip effect.
FLIT had to make some of their own sacrifices as well, underlying the fact that folding bikes are often rolling compromises.
For example, the optional fender set includes a super funky rear mudguard that telescopes and folds in three pieces. It’s certainly odd, but the advantage is that it allows the folded bike to roll on its rear wheel instead of small plastic roller, which is better for pushing the bike around on uneven ground like bricks or cobblestones.
And the bike is also single-speed, lacking the internally geared hub you’ll find on Brompton’s folders. Many commuters appreciate the option to switch gears, which is extra helpful on inclines. On the other hand, the single-speed design removes a potential failure point as well as a maintenance concern, plus it reduces the overall weight of the bike.
At just 14 kg (30.8) lb, the aluminum bike is fairly light for lifting, but that rolling feature is nice for longer pushes, such as along subway platforms and through train stations.
FLIT’s current model, the FLIT M2, is on sale for £1,999, with that promotional pricing marking down from an MSRP of £2,499 ahead of deliveries beginning later this year.
It’s probably not a bike that I would buy for myself, mostly because I enjoy the higher power of North American e-bikes and the comfort of fat tires (though the FLIT does have elastomer-based rear suspension). But if I did regularly need a small folder as a regular car or train commuter, this would absolutely be on my list. However, my wife rides a 250W folding e-bike to work every day, so perhaps this would be on her list.
And sorry, Brompton. I don’t mean to take potshots at you. You’ve got a great folder, and have for decades. But this is what happens when you design a bike from the ground up with electrification in mind.
But that’s the beauty of today’s e-bike market, which has more options than we can count. Different strokes for different folks!
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BMW Motorrad’s futuristic electric scooter just got its first real refresh since beginning production in 2021. The BMW CE 04, already one of the most capable and stylish electric maxi-scooters on the market, now gets a set of upgraded trim options, new aesthetic touches, and a more robust list of features that aim to make this urban commuter even more appealing to riders looking for serious electric performance on two wheels.
The BMW CE 04 has always stood out for its sci-fi styling and high-performance drivetrain. It’s built on a mid-mounted liquid-cooled motor that puts out 31 kW (42 hp) and 62 Nm of torque. That’s enough to rocket the scooter from 0 to 50 km/h (31 mph) in just 2.6 seconds – quite fast for anything with a step-through frame.
The top speed is electronically limited to 120 km/h (75 mph), making it perfectly capable for city riding and fast enough to hold its own on highway stretches. Range is rated at 130 km (81 miles) on the WMTC cycle, thanks to the 8.9 kWh battery pack tucked low in the frame.
But while the core performance hasn’t changed, BMW’s 2025 update focuses on refining the package and giving riders more options to tailor the scooter to their taste. The new CE 04 is available in three trims: Basic, Avantgarde, and Exclusive.
The Basic trim keeps things clean and classic with a Lightwhite paint scheme and a clear windshield. It’s subtle, sleek, and very much in line with the CE 04’s clean-lined aesthetic. The Avantgarde model adds a splash of color with a Gravity Blue main body and bright São Paulo Yellow accents, along with a dark windshield and a laser-engraved rim. The top-shelf Exclusive trim is where things get fancy, with a premium Spacesilver metallic paint job, upgraded wind protection, heated grips, a luxury embroidered seat, and its own unique engraved rim treatment.
There are also a few new tech upgrades baked into the options list. Riders can now spec a 6.9 kW quick charger that reduces the 0–80% charge time to just 45 minutes (down from nearly 4 hours with the standard 2.3 kW onboard charger). Tire pressure monitoring, a center stand, and BMW’s “Headlight Pro” adaptive lighting system are also available as add-ons, along with an emergency eCall system and Dynamic Traction Control.
BMW has kept the core riding components in place: a steel-tube chassis, 15-inch wheels, Bosch ABS (with optional ABS Pro), and the impressive 10.25” TFT display with integrated navigation and smartphone connectivity. The under-seat storage still swallows a full-face helmet, and the long, low frame design means the scooter looks like something out of Blade Runner but rides like a luxury commuter.
With these updates, BMW seems to be further cementing the CE 04’s role at the high end of the electric scooter market. It’s not cheap, starting around €12,000 in Europe and around US $12,500 in the US, with prices going up from there depending on configuration. However, the maxi-scooter delivers real motorcycle-grade performance in a package that’s easier to live with for daily riders.
Electrek’s Take
I believe that the CE 04’s biggest strength has always been that it’s not trying to be a toy or a gimmick. It’s a real vehicle. Sure, it’s futuristic and funky looking, but it delivers on its promises. And in a market that’s still surprisingly sparse when it comes to premium electric scooters, BMW has had the lane mostly to itself. That may not last forever, though. LiveWire, Harley-Davidson’s electric spin-off brand, has teased plans for a maxi-scooter-style urban electric vehicle in the coming years, but as of now, it remains something of an undefined future plan.
Meanwhile, BMW is delivering not just a concept bike but a mature, well-equipped, and ready-to-ride electric scooter that keeps improving. For riders who want something faster and more capable than a Class 3 e-bike but aren’t ready to jump to a full-size electric motorcycle, the CE 04 hits a sweet spot. It delivers the performance and capability of a commuter e-motorcycle, yet with the approachability of a scooter. And with these new trims and upgrades, it’s doing it with even more style.
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If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you combine a fruit cart, a cargo bike, and a Piaggio Ape all in one vehicle, now you’ve got your answer. I submit, for your approval, this week’s feature for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column – and it’s a beautiful doozie.
Feast your eyes on this salad slinging, coleslaw cruising, tuber taxiing produce chariot!
I think this electric vegetable trike might finally scratch the itch long felt by many of my readers. It seems every time I cover an electric trike, even the really cool ones, I always get commenters poo-poo-ing it for having two wheels in the rear instead of two wheels in the front. Well, here you go, folks!
Designed with two front wheels for maximum stability, this trike keeps your cucumbers in check through every corner. Because trust me, you don’t want to hit a pothole and suddenly be juggling peaches like you’re in Cirque du Soleil: Farmers Market Edition.
To avoid the extra cost of designing a linked steering system for a pair of front wheels, the engineers who brought this salad shuttle to life simply side-stepped that complexity altogether by steering the entire fixed front end. I’ve got articulating electric tractors that steer like this, and so if it works for a several-ton work machine, it should work for a couple hundred pounds of cargo bike.
Featuring a giant cargo bed up front with four cascading fruit baskets set up for roadside sales, this cargo bike is something of a blank slate. Sure, you could monetize grandma’s vegetable garden, or you could fill it with your own ideas and concoctions. Our exceedingly talented graphics wizard sees it as the perfect coffee and pastry e-bike for my new startup, The Handlebarista, and I’m not one to argue. Basically, the sky is the limit with a blank slate bike like this!
Sure, the quality doesn’t quite match something like a fancy Tern cargo bike. The rim brakes aren’t exactly confidence-inspiring, but at least there are three of them. And if they should all give out, or just not quite slow you down enough to avoid that quickly approaching brick wall, then at least you’ve got a couple hundred pounds of tomatoes as a tasty crumple zone.
The electrical system does seem a bit underpowered. With a 36V battery and a 250W motor, I don’t know if one-third of a horsepower is enough to haul a full load to the local farmer’s market. But I guess if the weight is a bit much for the little motor, you could always do some snacking along the way. On the other hand, all the pictures seem to show a non-electric version. So if this cart is presumably mobile on pedal power alone, then that extra motor assist, however small, is going to feel like a very welcome guest.
The $950 price is presumably for the electric version, since that’s what’s in the title of the listing, though I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. I’ve bought a LOT of stuff on Alibaba, including many electric vehicles, and the too-good-to-be-true price is always exactly that. In my experience, you can multiply the Alibaba price by 3-4x to get the actual landed price for things like these. Even so, $3,000-$4,000 wouldn’t be a terrible price, considering a lot of electric trikes stateside already cost that much and don’t even come with a quad-set of vegetable baskets on board!
I should also put my normal caveat in here about not actually buying one of these. Please, please don’t try to buy one of these awesome cargo e-trikes. This is a silly, tongue-in-cheek weekend column where I scour the ever-entertaining underbelly of China’s massive e-commerce site Alibaba in search of fun, quirky, and just plain awesomely weird electric vehicles. While I’ve successfully bought several fun things on the platform, I’ve also gotten scammed more than once, so this is not for the timid or the tight-budgeted among us.
That isn’t to say that some of my more stubborn readers haven’t followed in my footsteps before, ignoring my advice and setting out on their own wild journey. But please don’t be the one who risks it all and gets nothing in return. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; this is the warning.
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