Rivian spinoff Also reveals a high-end modular e-bike for $4,500

Several years ago, a skunkworks team of engineers inside Rivian set out to build an electric micromobility vehicle, prompting a question: “What do we build at home?” Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scarring said in an interview describing the early days Alsowhich came out from Rivian earlier this year.

“We realized that the only way to do it well is to build everything,” said Scaringe, who sits on Also’s board.

The result, which was unveiled Wednesday at an event in Oakland, is a pedal-assist electric bike called the TM-B that’s more than just a bike, according to Scaringe and also president Chris Yu. “It’s a whole platform of products that we’re going to build in the microspace,” Scaringe said. And Scaringe wasn’t kidding. During the event on Wednesday, two quad vehicles were also revealed, one of which will be Delivered on Amazon.

At a glance, this “more than a bike” looks like a bike, albeit a sleekly designed one with a few hidden-in-plain-sight features. But Yu claims it’s what’s beneath the surface that makes the TM-B special and compelling enough to break into a crowded e-bike market.

The TM-B will come in several trims including the launch version and performance and base versions.

The launch version has identical features to the Performance trim, including a battery with an estimated 100-mile range, 10 assist levels, air forks for air shocks and suspension, and two ride modes, including “Sport” that zips the rider down the road. The Launch Edition, priced at $4,500, is splashed with a purple Ube and blue special “Launch” colors and will hit the market this spring.

The Performance trim, which will also retail for $4,500, is expected to hit the market in the first half of 2026. The base version, which has a battery range of up to 60 miles, five assist levels, an air shock and coil fork for suspension, and a standard ride mode, is expected to cost less than $4,000 when it hits the market halfway through next year.

All bikes have integrated turn signals with front and rear LED lights and have a top speed of 20 mph. The Biomotion design illuminates the rider’s feet as they pedal on the TM-B, which has 24-inch wheels. The TM-B can be outfitted with all-terrain tires, pedals, and a trail ride mode that gives riders more manual control over the ride.

The battery is removable and comes with up to 240W USB-C fast charging that allows users to power up devices.

There is an integrated safety feature to keep the battery and the bike safe. The safety system engages when the rider steps away from the bike and automatically locks the battery, wheels and frame. If it is tampered with, the rider will also get an alert through the app and the bike will emit a loud honking sound.

As a side note: that honking sound can be set off by the rider while navigating city streets.

“In the unfortunate event you get a push notification when it starts to move because we have LTE and GPS, and we have a real-time, location,” Yu said on stage Wednesday. In a worst case scenario, if the bike is physically picked up and placed in a vehicle, the e-bike owner can disable it remotely.

“You can brick it,” Yu said. “And that’s important, because because we own every board, every piece of software, every part of the bike, that means no part of it is unusable.”

The technology inside TM-B

Everything was developed by the Also and Rivian team, including the removable battery pack, power electronics, software, firmware and a pedal-by-wire propulsion system with no mechanical connection between a rider’s pedaling and the bike’s movement. Notably, the system allows for regenerative braking, meaning energy is sent back to the battery.

Even the tools to build these components were designed here, according to CTO Jonathan Hall, who spoke to TechCrunch ahead of the event.

All trims have a number of standout design and functional features, including a central touchscreen display integrated into the handlebars. Perhaps most interesting is the modular top frame that allows the user to change from single, bench or utility cargo setups in seconds.

The standard single seat comes with two water bottle cages. The utility setup includes an integrated rear rack and a water bottle cage mount and can carry about 77 pounds of additional cargo. Also offering a third bench option. And all this can be swapped in a few seconds and without tools.

Notably, each setup’s software aligns with that user and syncs with the central touchscreen.

Like Rivian, Also’s software is a central figure in its electric bikes and will continue to be used to roll out new features, Yu told TechCrunch. For example, the software is used to provide the rider with accurate navigation and ETA, tightly integrated with the speed and speed of the eBike.

“Because we know a lot about your experience, we know what support level you’re at, we know what ride load you’re in, we know the average speed you’re going at — we can give you a really, really precise ETA,” Yu said while showing off the TM-B on stage. “It sounds simple, but you’re using it as a vehicle to get somewhere. It’s important to know when you’re going to get there.”

helmet

The company also developed an in-house helmet called the Alpha Wave Helmet that uses a newly developed technology to improve rotational impact protection and a redesigned strap so the user can tighten it with one hand — no snapping.

The helmet has numerous technical features beyond just protecting your brain, including integrated lights and an audio system with four wind-shield speakers and two noise-canceling microphones. The helmet syncs with the bike’s central “portal” touchscreen or the rider’s phone so they can listen to music, make calls and get turn-by-turn navigation.