Cycling icon Gary Fisher has launched a new company aimed at designing electric bikes that he believes will revolutionize the micro-mobility industry.

The new e-bike company, called Morelle, names Fisher as the head developer and battery scientist Kevin Hays as a co-founder, the cycling pioneer said in a recent interview.

Morelle is a subsidiary of Ionblox, a battery company focused primarily on technology for battery-powered aircraft.

Ionblox, which has raised $32 million in Series B investment, has allegedly produced lithium-ion pouch batteries that have 50% higher energy density than traditional li-ion cells, are five times more powerful, and quick-charge faster.

Fisher is considered the Godfather of Mountain Biking and one of the inventors of the first ever mountain bike.

Fisher left Trek Bicycle, where he was working since 1993, last year without giving any indication of where he was headed.

Fisher Aims to Offer E-Bikes on Subscription

Fisher’s plan is to offer affordable zero-emission e-bikes on subscription through Morelle, providing a high-quality, low-cost option to casual cyclists.

At the start, the subscription is expected to cost around $100 a month. Fisher hopes this model would convince users to purchase a top-quality bike instead of buying a cheap one online.

He also plans to offer charging stations around areas of California near the company’s base for customers, allowing subscribers to fast charge their bikes while they shop or visit a coffee shop.

Fisher has a relatively simple plan for the company’s first e-bike offering: an aluminum-framed bicycle equipped with a mid-count motor and state-of-the-art sensor technology.

He claimed the bike would be designed to work with standard bike parts to make maintenance, customization, and adjustment more accessible to riders.

“I want to make stuff that lasts, that I know you can work on and actually get a replacement part that fits in there nicely. It will be a mix of the old and the new.”

Fisher Aims to Offer E-Cargo Bikes

Fisher envisions that his newly-launched company Morelle will eventually expand to include other models, including a line of e-cargo bikes tailored to the US market.

“I want to Americanize the electric cargo bike. Most of these things were designed for Europe where things are different.”

Drawing inspiration from American auto companies‘ market research, he plans brighter blinky lights for cargo bike riders in big cities, as well as improved kickstands and lightweight fenders designed through 3D printing.

Fisher sees 3D printing technology as an opportunity for the cycling industry to tackle inventory management problems by manufacturing parts as required. “Now you don’t have to have inventory that is out of date,” he said.

Fisher’s plans for e-cargo bikes come as there has been a significant increase in the popularity of these bikes in recent years.

According to the European Cargo Bike Industry Survey, total sales of cargo bikes in Europe grew to nearly 45,000 bikes in 2020 and were expected to reach over 75,000 bikes in 2021. That meant that cargo bike sales had an annual increase of over 38% in 2020, and were projected to have a 66% increase in 2021.

Furthermore, survey results also showed that presently 92% of cargo bikes are E-cargo bikes, and only 8% are non-motorized.

Comparing the number of cargo bikes to traditional two-wheel bicycles, cargo bikes accounted for 2% of the total bike sales in the German market in 2020.