Tired of proprietary chargers? If, like me, you yearn for a simpler life without hunting for specific chargers for specific devices, through a tangled mess of cables, sit up and take note. Ampler has introduced the world’s first commercially available electric bike charged via USB-C.
The Estonian brand, known for its city-chic electric bikes, has introduced the Nova, with the integrated battery charged via a USB-C port.
Until now, electric bikes have been given their power by proprietary chargers specific to the motor and battery system.
The Nova, Ampler says, can be charged with a regular USB-C laptop charger – and the same USB-C port can also be used to charge your smartphone (or any other USB-C device) by using the bike as a power bank, if you’re short of juice in a pinch.
Ampler's chief technology officer, Kristjan Maruste, says the brand first started thinking about USB-C ebike charging in 2020, but it's taken a few years for charging technology to catch up.
Ampler’s direct-to-consumer bikes are made in Europe. With USB-C standardised as the mandatory charging port by the European Parliament in October 2022, in a bid to reduce waste and improve consumer convenience, it’s little surprise to see a smart-thinking ebike brand – Ampler in this case – move to USB-C.
The EU’s regulations required a range of new devices – including smartphones, headphones and cameras – to use USB-C by the end of 2024, with laptops required to follow by 2026. Electric bikes are not specifically covered by the regulations.
The Nova uses a 48V 336Wh battery – relatively small by ebike standards. It requires a charger operating at 140 watts to charge the battery from empty to full in three hours and offers 50-100km of range, Ampler claims. Ampler sells its own charger separately, if you need one. The battery isn't removable, apart from for servicing.
Two models are available: the Nova and the Nova Pro.
The €2,990 / £2,990 Ampler Nova has a nine-speed Microshift drivetrain, while the €3,490 / £3,490 Ampler Nova Pro comes with either a 10-speed Shimano Deore or a singlespeed Gates Carbon CDX belt-driven drivetrain.
Both bikes have a kickstand and the Nova Pro also gains a rear rack (optional on the Nova).
Ampler is now taking pre-orders for riders in the UK, EU and Switzerland, with shipping from June.
