You may be familiar with Rivian as the innovative California-based manufacturer of electric trucks. The brand is often associated with a rugged, outdoorsy, but sustainable character, so the notion of Rivian coming up with an electric motorcycle certainly isn’t far-fetched. This especially rings true now that its top brass has been reinforced by the former CTO of one of the world’s most prominent bicycle manufacturers.
As Electrek reported in January, 2022, Rivian filed patents with the intention to expand the use of its branding to include electric bicycles. That being said, the fact that Rivian is best known for its rugged electric trucks, throwing in a few electric mountain bike models will certainly be in tune with the brand’s character. The latest news from Rivian comes to us in the form of changes to its development team. More specifically, Chris Yu, former CTO and Chief Innovation Officer of Specialized Bicycle Components, has just hopped aboard as the VP of Future Programs at Rivian.
Having spent more than a decade at Specialized, it’s safe to say that Chris Yu has some specialized (pun intended) skills when it comes to electric bicycles. Earlier in May, Specialized relaunched its Globe brand to cater to more affordable, utility-focused electric bicycles, while at the same time maintaining its fleet of premium high-performance electric mountain bikes.
Given how, well, specialized the bikes are at Specialized, it’s certainly an exciting time for the e-bike world, as an e-bike from Rivian is sure to turn a lot of heads. So, what exactly does Rivian have in store for us? Well, at the moment we don’t know just yet, but what we do know is that Rivian had previously been exploring the idea of developing e-bikes as part of its goal to create a whole lineup of vehicles suited for the adventurous lifestyle.
