Why an App for your electric bike is not a good idea?

Some customers (but not many, actually) ask us why we have decided not to include an App on our Capri e-bikes.

The main reason is that we want to keep the essence of what it means to ride a bike intact. Those little big moments of freedom and disconnection, which are especially valuable and relevant in a society that is increasingly connected and dependent on technology.

The bicycle is a simple tool, and in its simplicity lies its greatness. At Capri Bikes we work to maintain that minimalist essence that characterises bicycles, electric or otherwise, as we understand them.

This is undoubtedly our main reason for not using an App to use our electric bicycles, you simply don't need it.

Time, we believe, has proven us right. If we review the problems experienced by users of electric bicycles, one of the most recurrent are those derived from the dependence generated by the integration of the App. A technology that is as costly as it is complex and complicated, which ends up generating unexpected errors.

Making an electric bike need an App to work is, at best, a risky idea. What happens if, for example, your smartphone runs out of battery? What happens if you lose it or forget it at home? What happens if the App stops working?

In all these cases the answer is the same: you will be unable to use your bicycle.

Our bikes are extremely easy to use. You connect the battery, which is lightweight and easily removable, so that you can carry and charge it anywhere, if you wish, press ON on the display and... that's it. You don't need to do anything else. Also, if for some reason you run out of battery, our bikes work just like a normal bike, i.e. you can continue to use it and, as they are very light, you won't have any problems either.

We think it is important to highlight the wisdom of going for "less is more" and doing things the way we think they should be done.

Fashions impose the App for electric bicycles but at Capri Bikes we believe that fashions only exist if we don't pay attention to them. We work with a clear idea of what we want to be and that idea is far removed from the Apps that only serve to generate even more dependence on our smartphones.

The dependence that an App generates is not only towards the mobile phone, but also towards the brand. If the bike brand decides to stop updating its App, for whatever reason (i.e. a change in business strategy, new owners or even a closure), or the App is discontinued in the Stores, the electric bike may become unusable.

We believe that every object, from a vase to a bicycle, should have its own "soul", and be at the service of human. Apps and smartphones question this principle. Smartphones are soulless objects, designed to capture our attention and make us slaves to their use and from Capri Bikes we take a small step to fight it, within our possibilities.