Ampler Bikes has changed its leadership and injected fresh technology into its lightweight e-bikes, marking a restart for the Estonian brand.
This effort is led by the launch of the Nova bike, which is chargeable with a USB-C cable. It takes about 3.5 hours to fully charge the bike, which can in turn be used to charge smaller devices. “By adopting a common charging standard, we aim to reduce waste and minimize the need for proprietary chargers,” said Eva Raigo, who became chief executive of Ampler Bikes [Hall F11/ E18] in April. “It’s about bringing smart and user-friendly innovation to the industry.”
This comes after several complicated years. Launched in 2016, Ampler quickly gained recognition for its slick urban e-bikes made in Estonia using components from established suppliers. With funding to grow its team and open stores, it sold more than 30,000 bikes.
But Ampler expanded too fast, leading to some hiccups that left the brand vulnerable to market instability. Two years ago, Ampler was integrated by Kou Mobility Group, the Estonian company behind Comodule, Tuul and Äike, an electric scooter company. But Raigo said that Ampler has separated from the group, and it’s searching for investment in the next six months to support faster growth, both in debt funding and equity.
Raigo, who previously worked at Comodule and Äike, said that Ampler has gone through substantial cutbacks in order to rebuild. The company more than halved its team, shuttered under-performing stores, slashed operating costs and moved to a smaller Estonian factory.
Raigo said that her own technological background has been most useful “to focus on product refinement and guide ideas through production.” While it moved to a smaller plant, Ampler improved processes to uphold quality standards. The Nova comes with a four-year warranty.
“What has had a major effect is that we brought more development in-house,” Raigo added. “We were not so dependent on suppliers or third-party developers. It was also just to make sure that all the bikes that leave our factory are the highest of standards, and we took ownership of all the mishaps that have happened and made sure that we improved.”
More efforts have gone into customer support in Germany and Switzerland, where Ampler has two stores, as it strengthens its service partner network. Ampler’s branding has also evolved to become warmer and more inclusive. The management team is predominantly female, which has led to an internal culture shift.
But the brand’s strengths are unchanged, based on an ultra-light and clean design. “What sets us apart is our commitment to using the highest quality components, which translates into lower maintenance by default,” Raigo said, a principle that will apply as it expands into products with extra carrying capacity.
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