This isn’t the first time SONDORS has reported that its Metacycle electric bikes are ready to ship to pre-order customers.
But to be fair, this isn’t the first time the Southern California-based company has said it’s ready for delivery. Now that the is out, the first bikes could be delivered to riders.
The SONDORS Metacycle electric bike is he one of the nation’s first affordable, highway-ready electric bikes.
That made the bike so important that it helped him create long pre-orders 18 months ago when it was unveiled at an attractive price of $5,000.
Compared to Zero’s models, which start at more than double that price, and LiveWire’s entry-level models, which cost more than three times that, this bike was a fresh proposition in an expensive industry.
However, the Metacycle was on a roller coaster ride during the production process, with subsequent production resulting in design changes and higher prices.
But the first bike looks ready to roll based on the photo below emailed to pre-order customers on Friday.
As with most SONDORS Metacycle updates, this one omits the details. The first batch of Metacycles was originally expected to be at least 1,000, but we don’t know the exact number of bikes ready to ship now.
The stock photos actually show only 9 bikes, all of which appear to be Naked Silver. In the background of some images, several shipping boxes can be seen sliding over steel cages.
However, we don’t know if these are empty boxes printed and waiting for bikes, or dozens of Metacycles lined up and ready to ship.
That leaves many questions related to the winding and sometimes frustrating road to production of metacycles.
We’ve all seen how supply chains and delivery times for nearly every major industry have changed in the last 18 months. It should come as no surprise to anyone to find out that the original delivery date for SONDORS has passed.
But even last month, the company was very positive about shipments starting in June.As far as we know, no customers have delivered in June.
With only a few hours left in July, we can expect to see the first of his Metacycle deliveries in August 2022.
When the Metacycle launched 18 months before him, it appeared to be the only affordable electric bike market. Since then, however, several new entries have been launched, or at least debuted ahead of production.
We tested his $6,000 Kolter ES1 last summer. It offers almost the same specs that Metacycle claims. You can watch my test drive video below.
A new startup called Ryvid recently announced Anthem, an electric motorcycle. This could result in stiff competition from Metacycle coming next summer.
Another e-bike company, SUPER73, also unveiled a lightweight electric motorcycle this year, but it’s only a concept and doesn’t have an exact production date estimate yet.
