INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Meet Angell, a new smart bike from a French startup led by Marc Simoncini who is mostly known for founding Meetic
The company is announcing its first electric-bike today
And the goal is to make an e-bike that is smarter than everything out there.“We dedicate half of public space to cars even though cars
only represent 12% of trips,” Angell co-founder and CEO Marc Simoncini told me
And according to the company’s data, only 2% of people use bikes to move around a city in France, compared to 31% in the Netherlands and
13% in Germany.So there’s a market opportunity for a newcomer in the e-bike space in France, and eventually in other major cities around
“Our goal is to become the global leader in the smart bike space,” Simoncini said.When it comes to hardware, the Angell e-bike is a 14kg
bike with an aluminum frame, integrated lights and a removable battery
It has a 2.4-inch touch screen to control the bike
The battery should last 70km on a single charge
There are also turn signals that you can activate with a button.The Angell e-bike comes with everything you’d expect from a connected bike
and that you can already find on Cowboy and Vanmoof e-bikes
It connects with your phone using Bluetooth and has an integrated lock and alarm system
If somebody tries to steal your bike, the bike will play a loud sound
If somebody manages to steal your bike, you can track it using an integrated GPS chip and cellular modem.But Angell wants to go one step
further with its integrated display
First, you can select different levels of assistance directly on the bike itself
You can display information on the screen when you’re riding your bike, such as speed, calories, battery level and distance on the screen
You can also set an emergency contact so that they automatically receive a notification if your bike detects a fall.More interestingly, you
can set a destination on your phone and get turn-by-turn directions on your bike
In addition to arrows that tell you when you’re supposed to turn, your handlebar vibrates as well.“70% of the Angell project is
software,” Simoncini said.[gallery
ids="1913897,1913898,1913899,1913900,1913901,1913902,1913903,1913904,1913905,1913906,1913907,1913908,1913909,1913910"]The Angell e-bike will
be available at some point during the summer of 2020
It’ll cost €2,690 ($2,966) with pre-orders starting today
Customers can also choose to pay €74.90 per month for 36 months
Angell will also partner with an insurance company to offer a theft and damage insurance product for €9.90 per month.The Angell e-bike is
just the first step of the company
Eventually, Angell wants to dedicate 5% of its revenue to a smart city fund and incubator, the Angell Lab
The company wants to create an ecosystem of startups that want to reinvent city mobility
Angell is fully funded by Marc Simoncini for now.
