City cargo options and last-mile supply are shortly present process fast electrification. Since massive supply vans and vans don’t work effectively in crowded cities, many operators are shifting in direction of cargo e-bikes and scooters. However what occurs when these options simply aren’t large enough? Then you could need to try the PNY Ponie, an electrical cargo bike designed for heavy hauling in tight areas.
At the start, the PNY Ponie is designed for cargo responsibility and supply purposes. It might carry as much as 120 kg (265 lb) of cargo and has 400 liters (14 cubic ft) of cupboard space on board. For comparability, a metropolis automotive’s trunk typically has round 300 liters or much less of house.
You recognize these insulated meals luggage you typically see supply riders carrying on a motorcycle? The PNY Ponie can carry three of them. It additionally has an non-obligatory hardcase storage trunk filling all the heart part of the body – nonetheless leaving room for one more insulated bag on the rear rack
However regardless that it’s constructed for cargo, the Ponie remains to be a bike in lots of regards. It might attain speeds of as much as 100 km/h (62 mph) and has a spread of as much as 150 km (93 miles) on a single cost from its 6.7 kWh CATL battery. The Ponie makes use of a robust 4,000 Watt continuous-rated rear hub motor, serving to to release much more house within the body for storage.
The motorbikes function ABS brakes, a CarPlay-ready 7-inch coloration display, and embody a glovebox with a USB port for charging electronics just like the person’s telephone.
To be taught extra about these spectacular machines, I spoke to the corporate’s founder and CEO, Netzah Sadeh, earlier at this time on the 2023 EICMA Milan Bike Present.
“They are perfect for conditions the place an e-bike or scooter isn’t sufficient, however a supply van can be an excessive amount of,” Sadeh defined. “We’re already working with postal providers and supermarkets that ship groceries.”
We’ve typically seen cargo e-trikes and pedal automobiles used for city supply options, and people work nice in slow-speed areas or the place bike lanes are prevalent. However their prime speeds of 15-20 mph (25-40 km/h) restrict the areas they’ll safely function. PNY’s autos, alternatively, can journey as much as 100 km/h (62 mph), which means they’ll take shortcuts by city highways after which reduce into dense city facilities, all with the identical car and cargo load.
In areas that permit lane splitting, like most rational international locations do, these cargo bikes can carry as a lot as a automotive’s trunk, but don’t get caught in site visitors like a automotive. As an alternative, they’ll merely slip previous site visitors to make extra deliveries in much less time and traverse a metropolis quicker.
The PNY Ponie 2, a two-wheeler model, has been homologated to be used in Europe as an L3e class bike for A1 license holders. The Ponie 3, a three-wheeled variant, remains to be present process testing. The Ponie 2 is now slated for manufacturing with deliveries prone to start in Q2 2024.
What do you assume? Would you prefer to see your groceries delivered on a Ponie? Or do you like your ice cream melted?
