Reevo Hubless e-Bike Gets Specs, More Impressive Claims: Coolest, Most Secure

Reevo doesn’t exist just yet, at least not in production form. But it will, once it’s done securing funds from backers on IndieGoGo and will ship worldwide starting March 2021. Hopefully.

First things first

We talked about Reevo in a previous coverstory, before the crowdfunding campaign went live and they were yet to release the full specs. At the time, what Beno, which we now learn stands for “Be Innovative,” did reveal was that this unique bike came with hubless wheels and triple anti-theft protection. Not even the price for early birds was officially confirmed.

With the campaign, Reevo gets full specs and even more impressive claims, of how it’s “the coolest, most secure ride ever built.” “Pure engineering excellence, secured with world-class triple-barrier security and built around a strong, lightweight core with a sleek stealth black finish,” Beno says. “Comes fully-equipped with a powerful electric drivetrain and superb safety features to make every ride safe and exceptional.”

The emphasis is, as before, on the hubless wheel design and the technology meant to help you recover it faster if it gets stolen. But we also get more info, like how there will be a 750W motor for the U.S., with torque-only mode, and a 250W one for the European Union, just with pedal assist. Reevo will be a class 2 bike in the U.S. and a class 1 in Europe, with five levels of pedal assist on either. The motor is made in-house, Beno says – a necessity, since the hubless design doesn’t allow incorporating it into the rear hub. Because there isn’t one.

The proprietary e-drive motor comes with torque sensor, a cadence sensor, a speed sensor and an accelerometer. Top speed will be of 25 mph for the U.S. and 25 kph for the EU. The removable 48V 10.15Ah lithium-ion battery needs 3 hours for a full charge and delivers a range of 37 miles (60 km).

Reevo is a one-speed bike and riders will be able to use it even if the battery dies mid-ride. However, at 55 pounds (25 kg) with battery and one speed, fingers crossed you don’t have to climb any hills to get back home. Also pray for smooth roads, because you get no suspension either. Maximum payload is of 265 pounds (120 kg), with Beno saying the prototype has already been impact and fatigue-tested intensively.

Beno is offering Reevo in two sizes, with a handlebar extender as an extra option for even taller riders. The hubless wheels come with hooks from which you can attach a bag to carry small stuff (like a phone or tablet, based on promotional materials), and you can get that one too as an extra.

The tires are custom: tubeless, with valve stems poking right through the rubber sidewall. Beno says that, in case of a flat, you let out all the air and then strip the tire off the hidden rim, so don’t worry about having to take apart the bike to fix a flat. There is huge “but” in there: because this is a unique design, you have to get your extra tires from them, for the time being. Beno is considering adding puncture-resistant airless tires as an option farther down the road.

Pricing is $1, 999 for early birds, with MRSP at $3,349. Beno estimates to bring Reevo into mass-production in the second half of next year.

Mind the red flags

Every crowdfunding campaign should be approached with a healthy dose of skepticism and some dedicated time for research. After all, you’re sending your hard-earned cash to people for the promise of a product. In too many cases, people sent their money for just that, and never got the actual product in return.

Without saying this is the case with Beno, do exercise caution. If we go by what people are saying online, there are too many red flags here to give in to the promise of the coolest, safest and smartest bike on the face of the planet.

The first one is the way in which it’s being sold. The video showcasing the Reevo prototype is carefully edited and, if you pay attention, you will see it includes only very careful, slow-speed riding on empty streets. The ample materials offered to detail the e-bike don’t make a single mention of how this thing actually works. The Kenda logo on the wheels mysteriously appears and disappears throughout photos.

This is a relatively new company (Beno was established in 2016, is based in Seattle but registered in Delaware, and will build the bike in Penang, Malaysia) that seemingly came out of nowhere to pretty much reinvent the wheel. The big players supposedly doing this, the “team of experienced engineers and manufacturing specialists,” are identified solely by their first name and their bios are vague enough to give the impression of offering info but no concrete thing to track it down online.

Reevo could be, at the very best, a cool-looking but likely impractical e-bike. CEO “Alec” himself admits in a post on reddit that the team had to rebuild the electric drivetrain and pretty much everything else around those hubless wheels, and all because they wanted “that ‘wow’ factor.” Which sounds like giving away functionality and durability for aesthetics.

Alec also says that innovators will always get this kind of polarizing reactions and vitriol from people who just won’t understand. “Hubless wheel is indeed an extremely polarizing feature, we expect some people to love it and some people to hate it. And that's totally normal. The same goes for Harley Davidson, Cybertruck…,” he says.

Seeing how Reevo has already secured ten times its funding goal, having raised over $560,000 and still has 29 days to go in the campaign, there are a lot of people out there who are betting on Alec – and Beno – proving skeptics wrong.