Commuting with the fun, stylish and expensive Bolt e-bike

The Bolt looks sort of like a motorcycle, but it’s really more like a BMX bike with an electric motor bolted to it. The startup’s electric bike doesn’t try to compete with motorcycle maker Zero or scooter manufacturer Gogoro; instead it’s targeting the bicycle commuter that wants a smoother ride to work. While it also looks like a cross between a moped and cafe racer, it’s technically a bicycle with an electric motor and can technically be ridden in the bicycle lane. Angry cyclists aside, that also means you don’t need a license to ride it or a have to get it registered or insured. For urban environmentalists tired of showing up to work all sweaty, it could be the ultimate commuter.

The Bolt M-1 is fun to ride. You just get on, twist the throttle and you’re off. Not off like a shot. It’s not a motorcycle — far from it — but its electric engine is zippy enough to pleasantly surprise you the first time you open the throttle. The 140-pound frame and pedals remind you that you’re on something closer to a bicycle than a motorcycle. But it’s heavy enough that those pedals should only be used on flat surfaces or while pointed downhill. Or better yet, not at all. You can ride the M-1 like a bike, but it’s not ideal.

Even though I was riding a pre-production version of the bike (code-named: Raven), it’s sturdy enough to be jumped over speed bumps (something co-founder Nathan Jauvtis was happy to demonstrate during my initial test ride with him) and has a sufficiently sporty look so that it doesn’t seem like a standard moped. It’s cool looking enough to get the attention of the Engadget staff when I rolled it into the office. Did I mention it’s technically a bike?

It has the expected technical touches you would expect from a Silicon Valley startup. It uses a passcode instead of a key and has a USB charger for your smartphone and a companion app that connects via Bluetooth. Two quick-release batteries sit at the top of the frame like a motorcycle gas tank. The batteries can be removed and charged in your home or at work. Jauvtis noted that not everyone has a garage to charge their vehicle. This way you can lock up the M-1 and charge its batteries without connecting the bike to a wall.

The bike has two settings: Eco mode with a top speed of 20MPH pushing 1,000 watts with a 50-mile range and Sport mode with a top speed of 40MPH with a 30-mile range pushing 5,500 watts. While you would be tempted to buzz around town in Sport mode, legally you shouldn’t. Bolt notes that it’s for “off-road use only.” That’s because once the bike is out of Eco mode, it’s technically not an electric bike anymore and is subject to registration and the rider needs a license. So owners should never ride on the streets in Sport mode (wink wink). Of course if you do, and you’re a fan of obeying the letter of the law, Bolt will help you register the vehicle as a “special construction” (like a custom motorcycle) with the DMV.

That is, when the bike is available to the general public. Bolt is currently accepting $500 deposits to be part of the initial production of the bike. The deposit will secure potential buyers a spot in the crowdfunding campaign it will launch in September. The first bikes will cost $4,995 with normal pricing landing somewhere between $5,500 and $6,000. It’s not cheap. The first generation of any product rarely is.

In the meantime, the Bolt team is hand building 10 bikes for beta testers out of a garage and a living room in San Francisco’s Richmond district. Jauvtis is excited. The Bolt M-1 offers scooter and moped convenience without the licensing and registration barriers associated with those vehicles. The bonus is that it’s fun to ride and easy on the eyes.

Filed under: Misc, Transportation

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Source: Bolt Motorbikes

What’s on your HDTV: ‘Ex Machina’, ‘Bojack Horseman’, ‘God of War III’

This week it’s discs vs. streaming, as the summer TV schedule is in full swing. On Blu-ray the sci-fi thriller Ex Machina arrives (as the first release with DTS:X surround sound), along with It Follows and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. For gamers, Rory McIlroy’s golf sim arrives, but the big highlight is God of War III Remastered on the PS4. Netflix follows up Chris Tucker’s comedy special last week with a feature on Tig Notaro, and the premiere of Bojack Horseman season two. Geeks Who Drink and Reactor premiere on Syfy, Mythbusters is back on Discovery and FX has the return of Married plus a new show Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll starring Denis Leary. If you insist on sportsing, there’s the MLB All-Star game on Fox while NBC has all the major racing series, and the surprisingly-controversial Espy Awards are Wednesday night. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

Blu-ray & Games & Streaming

• Ex Machina
• It Follows
• The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
• Powers (S1)
• X-Men: Days of Future Past the Rogue Cut
• Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
• The Longest Ride
• Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (Netflix, 7/15)
• The Human Experiment (7/17)
• God of War III Remastered (PS4)
• Godzilla the Game (PS4, PS3)
• Trials Fusion: Awesome Level Max (PC. PS4, Xbox One)
• The Fall (PS4, Xbox One)
• PieceFall (PS4)
• No Time to Explain (Xbox One, PC)
• Rory McIlroy PGA Tour (PS4 & Xbox One)
• The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (PS4)

Monday

• 2015 MLB Home Run Derby, ESPN, 8PM
• Penn & Teller: Fool Us, CW, 8PM
• The Fosters, ABC Family, 8PM
• American Ninja Warrior, NBC, 8PM
• So You Think You Can Dance, Fox, 8PM
• WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
• My Depression (The Up and Down and Up of It), HBO, 9PM
• The 2000s: A New Reality, National Geographic, 9PM
• Whose Line Is It Anyway?, CW, 9PM
• Chasing Life, ABC Family, 9PM
• Major Crimes, TNT, 9PM
• Running Wild with Bear Grylls (season premiere), NBC, 10PM
• Cuban Chrome (series premiere), Discovery, 10PM
• Teen Wolf, MTV, 10PM
• Unreal, Lifetime, 10PM
• Murder in the First, TNT, 10PM
• Becoming Us, ABC Family, 10PM
• Making of the Mob: New York, AMC, 10PM
• The Whispers, ABC, 10PM

Tuesday

• 86th MLB All-Star Game, Fox, 7PM
• America’s Got Talent, NBC, 8PM
• WWE Tough Enough, USA 8PM
• Deadliest Catch, Discovery, 8PM
• Zoo, CBS, 9PM
• Teen Wolf, MTV, 9PM
• Rizzoli & Isles, TNT, 9PM
• Stitchers, ABC Family, 9PM
• Hollywood Game Night, NBC, 10PM
• Royal Pains, USA, 10PM
• Scream, MTV, 10PM
• Clipped, TBS, 10PM
• Proof, TNT, 10PM
• Tyrant, FX, 10PM
• Another Period, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
• The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, Comedy Central, 12:30AM

Wednesday

• 2015 Espy Awards, ABC, 8PM
• Operation Wild (season finale), PBS, 8PM
• Melissa & Joey ABC Family, 8PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
• Unsung: Kid ‘n Play (season finale), TV One, 8PM
• Baby Daddy, ABC Family, 8:30PM
• Suits, USA, 9PM
• Jim Rome, Showtime, 9PM
• Bullseye (season finale), Fox, 9PM
• Rogue, DirecTV 101, 9PM
• The Jim Gaffigan Show (series premiere), TV Land, 10PM
• I Am Jazz (series premiere), TLC, 10PM
• Key & Peele, Comedy Central, 10PM
• Catfish, MTV, 10PM
• Extant, CBS, 10PM
• Mr. Robot, USA, 10PM
• The Game, BET, 10PM
• Impastor (series premiere), TV Land, 10:30PM
• Why? With Hannibal Burress, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
• The Exes (summer premiere), TV Land, 11PM

Thursday

• Food Fighters, NBC, 8PM
• Kids’ Choice Sports 2015, Nick, 8PM
• Boom!, Fox, 8PM
• Beauty and the Beast, CW, 8PM
• The Astronaut Wives Club, ABC, 8PM
• WWE Smackdown, Syfy, 8PM
• Dates, CW, 9PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 9PM
• Aquarius, NBC, 9PM
• Wayward Pines, Fox, 9PM
• Dates, CW, 9 & 9:30PM
• Mistresses, ABC, 9PM
• Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (series premiere), FX, 10PM
• Dominion, Syfy, 10PM
• Lip Sync Battle, Spike TV, 10PM
• Rectify, Sundance, 10PM
• Under the Dome, CBS, 10PM
• Graceland, USA, 10PM
• Rookie Blue, ABC, 10PM
• Hannibal, NBC, 10PM
• Maron, IFC, 10PM
• Married (season premiere), FX, 10:30PM
• Geeks Who Drink (series premiere), Syfy, 11PM
• One Bad Choice MTV, 11PM
• Reactor (series premiere), Syfy, 11:30PM

Friday

• Bojack Horseman (S2), Netflix, 3AM
• Tig, Netflix, 3AM
• Masters of Illusion, CW, 8PM
• The Messengers, CW, 9PM
• Defiance, Syfy, 8PM
• Killjoys, Syfy, 9PM
• American Greed, CNBC, 10PM
• Dark Matter, Syfy, 10PM

Saturday

• The Bride He Bought Online, Lifetime, 8PM
• Cedar Cove (season premiere), Hallmark, 8PM
• The Millers (series finale), CBS, 8 & 8:30PM
• 3 Days to Kill, USA, 8:30PM
• Hell on Wheels (season premiere), AMC, 9PM
• Mythbusters (season premiere), Discovery, 9PM
• Power, Starz, 9PM
• Atlantis, BBC America, 9PM
• Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, BBC America, 10PM

Sunday

• F1 Germany GP, CNBC, 7:30AM
• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series @ New Hampshire, NBC Sports Network, 1:30PM
• IndyCar Series @ Iowa, NBC sports Network, 8PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
• Welcome to Sweden (season premiere), NBC, 8PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
• Red Sox vs. Angels, ESPN, 8PM
• Last Tango in Halifax, PBS, 8PM
• Ray Donovan, Showtime 9PM
• Battlebots, ABC, 9PM
• True Detective, HBO, 9PM
• Humans, AMC, 9PM
• The Last Ship, TNT, 9PM
• Love You to Death, Lifetime, 9PM
• Golan the Insatiable (season finale), Fox, 9:30PM
• Masters of Sex, Showtime, 10PM
• The Strain, FX, 10PM
• Ballers, HBO, 10PM
• Falling Skies, TNT, 10PM
• Halt and Catch Fire, AMC, 10PM
• Naked & Afraid, Discovery, 10PM
• Save My Life: Boston Trauma, ABC, 10PM
• Brink, HBO, 10:30PM
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO, 11PM

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Hillary Clinton isn’t a fan of Uber-style contracted workers

Like it or not, the hiring practices of on-demand internet companies just became an election issue. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has outlined her economic policies, and it’s clear that she’s not fond of Uber and other firms relying on contracted workers instead of regular employees. While she believes that these demand-based outfits are “unleashing innovation,” their labor practices allegedly amount to “wage theft.” They’re depriving people of vital benefits like paid maternity leave and sick days, Clinton says. She’s not specific about how she’d solve this dilemma, but she believes that policies could “fix” the situation and give some workers a stronger safety net.

The stance isn’t entirely surprising for Clinton, who’s also calling for higher wages, pay equality and other labor measures that she thinks will help the middle class. However, this is also the first instance of a 2016 presidential candidate directly addressing how the government should handle the internet-based “gig economy.” While party lines will tell you how each side is likely to respond (Democrats tend to favor labor regulation, while Republicans tend to reject it), this hasn’t been a hot-button subject until now. Don’t be surprised if your favorite ridesharing or property rental service comes up in stump speeches and debates during the next year and a half.

[Image credit: AP Photo/Seth Wenig]

Filed under: Transportation, Internet

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Via: Business Insider, Wired

Source: TechCrunch