Almost exactly two years ago, mountain bike legend Gary Fisher sent out an amazing sign of life. Together with two partners, he founded the Morelle brand and wanted to build his first ever ebike. Now, under the Californian sun at the Sea Otter Classic bike festival, he presented the current state of play. And it promises to fully charge the ebike battery in less than 15 minutes. A battery with more than 300 watt hours. Charged in a quarter of an hour. 😮 Just to spell it out for you. In other respects, too, the novelty seems to deliver on almost every promise made in 2023.
According to a statement, Gary Fischer and his two colleagues Michael Sinkula and Kevin Hays set out to achieve something that, until a few years ago, would have meant squaring the circle. They wanted to create an ebike that was lightweight, quick to charge and, ideally, self-explanatory to use. The idea was to get from concept to implementation in no more than two years. Fisher told the US magazine ‘Bicycle Retailer and Industry News’ that combining the motor and battery took longer than expected. ‘All the basics were there. We weren’t in such a hurry to bring a piece of junk onto the market.’ He does not consider the final ebike to be a game changer. Instead, a model that could definitely change the way people use ebikes.
1. The battery – the heart of the Morelle ebike
2. The world’s best charger?
3. Urban ebike with questions still unanswered
4. E-drive in cooperation with Bafang
5. Sales of Morelle ebikes launched
6. Morelle with idea for public charging infrastructure
1. The battery – the heart of the Morelle ebike
The comment about the changed behaviour refers primarily to the battery of the Morelle ebike. After all, this is no ordinary lithium-ion battery. In terms of charging, it differs significantly from familiar patterns. Despite its capacity of 350 watt hours, the entire charging process takes only the aforementioned 15 minutes. Partially silicon-based anodes make the difference. Graphite has mostly been used in this area up to now. However, its capacity is only a tenth of that of silicon.
Unfortunately, silicon expands significantly during charging. How Morelle has managed to overcome this problem in its fast-charging batteries remains a well-kept trade secret. In any case, the manufacturer claims that its cells offer high power, high energy and high charging rates without compromising cyle life. The manufacturer promises more than 1,000 charge cycles with consistently high quality.
Know-how from aviation
The fact that the charging time is accurate is supported by the specified charging current of 50 amps. By comparison, Bosch’s most powerful charger for the current Smart System delivers four amps. With earlier Bosch drives, it was six amps. Even DJI and its charger with GaN fast-charging technology for the Avinox system cannot exceed twelve amps.
According to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, Kevin Hays is largely responsible for this competitive edge at Morelle. As a former director of product developement at Ionblox, he designed batteries that have to prove themselves in aviation. On its website, Ionblox advertises that it can achieve energy densities in lithium-ion batteries that exceed conventional standards by 50 percent. Externally, the difference in Morelle’s battery is evident in the pouch format of the cells, which are not manufactured in the currently widely used cylindrical format.
2. The world’s best charger?
Given the astonishingly short charging time of the batteries, it seems only logical that the accompanying charger also has technical features that make it stand out from the crowd. A device for a typical electric drive delivers a charging power of between 100 watts and 300 watts. Morelle calls this category ‘Level M1’ devices. The company’s own charger belongs to the ‘Level M2’ category with a power output of between 1,000 watts and 1,200 watts. It fits into standard sockets like the ones you use at home. Morelle also mentions ‘Level M3’ chargers for its ebike system, which have a power output of more than 1,500 watts. The information available to us does not indicate whether we are still talking about portable chargers. It could also refer exclusively to public charging devices, which are similar in concept to a wallbox for e-bikes. Read here to find out what they have to do with Morelle’s ebike.
The compact chargers for home use contain special hardware and software. During the charging process, their help is used to analyse the battery and adjust the charging protocol to the battery’s status in real time. In this way, the manufacturer aims to optimise the service life of the batteries.
3. Urban ebike with questions still unanswered
Parallel to the presentation at the Sea Otter Classic, Morelle published the first pictures of its ebike on its website. They show an urban ebike that is strikingly similar to what Gary Fisher and Co. had announced in 2023. Aluminium frame. Almost completely internal cable routing. Hardtail with classic rigid fork. 29-inch wheels. Flat handlebars. In terms of weight, we’re talking about around 30 pounds, which is roughly equivalent to 13.6 kilograms.
The concept seems quite simple. However, the manufacturer probably always had a solid ebike in mind that wouldn’t raise any major technical questions for riders and would require little maintenance in everyday use. Perhaps a belt drive version will be added later to the only model with a derailleur gear system available so far. We really like the three frame colours: blue, silver and brass. What we miss are mounts on the frame for mudguards and racks. Even when zooming in on the pictures, we couldn’t see any at first glance. In addition, there is neither permanently installed lighting nor a side stand.
However, it is quite possible that we are only looking at a small selection of the future model range or preliminary versions of the future series model.
4. E-drive in cooperation with Bafang
The pictures already give us a taste of how inconspicuous the electric drive will be integrated into the ebike. In terms of diameter, the Bafang mid-drive motor can hardly be larger than the TQ HPR50 or ZF Centrix. The total weight of the bike suggests that it probably doesn’t weigh much more either. Morelle has not yet released exact performance data. We can expect ‘high torque,’ according to Morelle. Whatever that means exactly.
What is known is that the drive is based on an operating voltage of 36 volts. Whether it can be operated exclusively via an app or with the aid of a display or control unit remains unclear. There is no indication of anything of this kind on the handlebars or top tube.
Long, slim and removable battery?
On the website of the US magazine ‘Velo’, you can already take a look at the battery integrated into the down tube. The photos there suggest that it will be removable from the side. However, other images seem to indicate that it will be permanently integrated. In any case, its length fills almost the entire down tube. At the same time, it appears to be quite slim, resulting in an equally slim down tube. With a capacity of 350 watt hours, Morelle expects about an hour of riding with full assistance. The manufacturer also announces that there will be no eco mode with this system. This may boil down to a single riding mode. You would then simply decide whether you want to ride with or without electric assistance.
Morelle specifies the pedal assistance as a maximum of 28 miles per hour. If this remains the case, the ebike would be classified as an speed pedelec in Europe, as this is exactly the permitted 45 kilometres per hour. A pedelec version with assistance up to 25 kilometres per hour is just as conceivable. In the end, this often only requires a change to the software and firmware.
5. Sales of Morelle ebikes launched
Sales have also started in conjunction with the launch of the Morelle ebike. You can pre-order a model on the manufacturer’s website. The asking price of 3,000 US dollars seems really fair to us. Perhaps one could even call it inexpensive. But that can only be said for sure after a test. And after Morelle has announced the complete equipment. This is to follow in the course of the year, together with information on options such as colours, frame sizes, geometry, etc.
Morelle plans to produce 1,000 units in the first batch. Anyone interested in purchasing one must pay a deposit of $100 in advance. This amount will be deducted from the purchase price. For batch 2, the deposit will be reduced to $50. Delivery of the ebikes is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year, i.e. in January 2026 at the earliest.
6. Morelle with idea for public charging infrastructure
Morelle is targeting both private individuals and companies as buyers for its ebikes. This is likely one reason why the company is thinking beyond its own vehicles. Morelle wants to set up its own charging infrastructure in public spaces. The aim is to gradually equip urban areas with appropriate charging stations. The plans do not reveal whether this project is limited to parts of the US state of California, the whole of California or parts of the USA.
Apparently, part of the plan is to technically upgrade existing infrastructure, such as charging stations owned by companies that rent out ebikes and e-scooters, so that Morelle ebikes can also be charged there. In addition, the manufacturer wants to collaborate with hotels, restaurants and other players to enable fast charging along popular cycle routes and at popular destinations for cycle tours.
Pictures: Morelle Bikes Inc.