Last month we covered the unveiling of a new Ukrainian light electric motorbike known as the Delfast California. Now the bike has officially launched for pre-order.
Calling an e-bike “California” might seem like a strange move for a Ukrainian-based company like Delfast, but it comes with an interesting origin story.
One of Delfast’s designers was touring the company’s new California headquarters earlier this year when Russia began its brutal invasion of Ukraine’s territory.
Unable to immediately return home, the designer was stuck on the US West Coast with nothing to do but observe the local micromobility culture.
He immediately began drawing up a new electric moped that relied on influence from the local two-wheeler scene. He then worked with dozens of his colleagues back in Ukraine to quickly develop the company’s newest model, the Delfast California.
The full-suspension electric bike comes in two versions. There’s a higher-power model for US customers that features Bafang’s heavy-duty M620 Ultra mid-drive motor. That drivetrain puts out a claimed 750W, though the motor is widely known to peak at much higher power levels than the 750W figure seen on the spec sheet.
For European customers, there’s a detuned model with a Bafang M410 motor that comes with a paltry 250W rating, though similarly to the powerful M620 motor, the true output is likely a bit higher.
The US version can reach speeds as high as 28 mph (45 km/h), while the European version is limited to EU-regulated speeds of 25 km/h (15.5 mph). The two motors are quite torquey, with the US version outputting 160Nm of torque and the EU version still posting a respectable 80Nm of torque.
Both bikes come with tri-spoke mag wheels and a 48V 20Ah removable li-ion battery that offers 960Wh of capacity.
Checking the spec sheet shows a claimed 100-mile (160 km) range on the US version and a 200 km (121 mile) range on the EU version, though those figures are perhaps a bit optimistic. Delfast says that the 100-mile range comes at a pedal assist speed of 20 mph (32 km/h), but that still sounds like the rider is putting in some serious effort on their own to reach such dramatic ranges. Most e-bikes with batteries of this size claim ranges of just over half this much on pedal assist.
When it comes to pedaling, the 66 pound (30 kg) e-bike isn’t exactly the lightest two-wheeler on the road, though it’s a good bit slimmer than Delfast’s larger and more powerful e-bikes.
Delfast has launched the new e-bike on Indiegogo, offering an early-bird promotional price of just $1,999 despite a higher MSRP of $3,999. Deliveries are estimated to begin in July of next year.
We always advise caution on crowdfunding campaigns since buyers are actually “backers,” and aren’t exactly buying a product as much as they are contributing funding for a product to be produced. The end result is usually that the backers receive the product they “backed,” but some crowdfunding campaigns have left backers high and dry in the past.
In this case, Delfast has been in operation for years and has delivered thousands of e-bikes to everyone from private customers to police departments and even the Ukrainian military.
What do you think of the Delfast California electric moped? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments section below!
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