Electric bikes: the moped is making a comeback

AItino Lourenco seems exhilarated. “We did something that we’re not allowed to do,” the wiry e-bike manager from Yamaha Motor Europe tells us. “The evening before the first press day, we all got on the boosters and drove across town – the whole team, before everyone else. That was fun.”

Thick balloon tires on sturdy 20-inch wheels, trendy, wide frame with an open honeycomb structure, half-height handlebars, narrow bicycle seat, plus a shrill paint finish in Stabilo Marker turquoise (“Cyan Solid Aqua”) or pithy dark gray – the Booster, the youngest offspring in Yamaha’s electric family, really looks like a fun bike. A cross between a moped 2.0 and a folding bike. Futuristic yet familiar.