Zoomo’s Head of Hardware takes us behind the scene of the reveal of the Zoomo One 

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Christopher Krainer 

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The Zoomo One fully functional prototype was unveiled at Micromobility Europe last week. We sat down with our Head of Hardware to give us the scoop.

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Tell us a bit more about the Zoomo One? Why is it so special? 

We’ve designed the Zoomo One to revolutionise micromobility. We wanted to make the best  fit-for-purpose vehicle for the delivery sector that could not only compete with gas-guzzling vehicles but ultimately remove them from our roads, and I truly believe we have done so. 

The Zoomo One is the world’s first 45hm/h assisted e-bike built for delivery. It is our safest and most durable bike to date, taking the best benefits of an e-bike and combining it with the best of a moped. Incorporate all of that with a visually amazing exterior, and you’re left with a pretty impressive bike!

What philosophy went into the design of the bike? 

Serviceability, durability, performance, large scale fleet integration, and safety were factored into every stage of the bike’s development, all of which are factors we know are so important to riders and our mechanics. We co-designed the Zoomo One with a variety of experts including mechanics and our Supply Chain & Procurement team to ensure premium serviceability, whilst riders tested the bike from start to finish to guarantee it would exceed their expectations. 

Although functionality is important, we insisted that the bike would also be pleasing to the eye and showcase what the Zoomo brand stands for. Throw all this together, and you’ve got yourself the best e-bike for delivery. 

What are some of the most exciting design elements of the bike? 

Where do I begin! 

Something to really shout about is that the Zoomo One combines advanced electronics and IoT technology. For example, we designed the entire rear light system from the ground up so it goes above and beyond the basic functions of a rear light, incorporating indicator lights, brake lights, and flashing warning lights, whilst also creating a side light profile to increase visibility of the vehicle to cars or other traffic. And that's not all, the rear light unit indicates bike failure modes to our mechanics and is connected to our fleet management system. This will display if the vehicle requires maintenance or is ready for operation, a tremendously useful feature if businesses are managing a large fleet of our e-bikes.

The advanced electronics and the fully integrated IoT platform comes with tons of other features to ensure the Zoomo One is the safest, smartest, and most secure e-bike to date, with crash detection, real-time battery safety analytics, and real time GPS tracking ensuring that riders remain safe on and off the road. 

No other bike on the market has been designed so specifically for delivery, which is something I am incredibly proud of.

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Talk us through the bike’s development journey from concept to prototype. 

We broke many of the traditional bike development rules with the Zoomo One, throughout my professional career I have never heard so often that ‘you can’t do this’ or ‘that’s not how it works’. 

The playbook was ripped apart to ensure we made a vehicle for couriers by couriers. This meant putting a human centered design philosophy first and co-designing the vehicle with mechanics and riders to ensure premium durability and serviceability. We did this by going deep with our customers to gather live data and feedback to ensure we created a vehicle that would exceed their expectations, whilst working in parallel with our mechanics to ensure designs were adjusted for ease of maintenance.

We conducted frequent physical and digital testing which allowed us to continuously refine our design across the entire vehicle, as well as collaborating closely with our key suppliers and development partners. Instead of picking what was purely off-the-shelf available, we were able to explain to our suppliers what we were trying to achieve, therefore co-creating the ideal components for the Zoomo One.

And what can it offer businesses? 

The Zoomo One is an essential tool for businesses wanting to make their delivery fleets as cost-effective as possible. Like all our bikes, the Zoomo One integrates our one-stop solution on top of the bike itself, with financing, software, and maintenance all part of the package.  Fleet managers that utilize the Zoomo One can reap the rewards of the most efficient last-mile delivery vehicle whilst removing costs including increased warehouse space, petrol costs, and parking.  

The Zoomo One will also assist businesses in meeting their sustainability pledges, with the considerably lower carbon footprint that e-bikes possess providing a simple solution for businesses looking to make a difference. 

To summarise, the Zoomo One is the best vehicle for businesses wanting to make more cost-efficient deliveries, whilst also bringing social, environmental, and economic benefits. 

Why should individual riders consider the Zoomo One? 

We have persevered in making the Zoomo One desirable to riders, we want them to have a strong connection to the bike and feel proud of themselves when riding it. We understand that riders who want to maximise their income require the best possible tool to do so, and we are confident that the speed, safety, and durability of the Zoomo One, alongside the empowerment it gives riders, will enable them to perform better at their job.

The Zoomo One will also save its riders a considerable amount of money if they switch from alternative vehicles. I can confidently say that using the Zoomo One will allow riders to make as many deliveries as if they were on a petrol vehicle, while allowing them to save money on petrol, registration, and licensing amongst other things. 

Why are you so proud of the Zoomo One?

As I’ve alluded to, the dignity of the rider is so important to us, it was why Zoomo was founded! During the development journey I was visiting some of our rider hubs in the UK and riders started to ask me when this ‘cool new bike’ is coming out and if they can test ride it already. This was just a few weeks after the official launch of our Zoomo One website, with such situations making myself and the rest of the team incredibly proud of what we were working on. We have toiled throughout the years to create the best vehicles for delivery, and we are confident that with the Zoomo One, we have created the premium bike for the delivery sector  that will be an enabler in transitioning society away from mopeds.

So when can riders get their hands on one?

Lucky riders in the United States can get their hands on a Zoomo One in H2, 2022. It will be available in the United Kingdom and Europe in H2, 2023. A limited run of vehicles will be available from 1 October this year. 

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What are you waiting for? https://www.ridezoomo.com/zoomo-one 

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