If you’ve owned any kind of adult-sized motorbike before, chances are good that you picked it up in person. Buying it new usually means a dealership experience, while buying used usually means you’re meeting a private seller at an agreed-upon location, looking everything over, exchanging money and the title, and likely being on your way with your new machine.
That’s not the case along with Swedish electric motorbike maker CAKE, which ships directly to customers. A freight company will show up with a palleted crate containing your bike inside, and they’ll deposit this where you ask them to. After you inspect the box in order to make sure there’s no damage, you’ll sign to indicate that you’ve received it, and then you can open the particular box and start getting ready to ride.
Here’s what to expect when the CAKE ösa +: work shows up in your door. Other WEDDING CAKE models likely have a similar process, although details will probably vary.
The Crate
The DESSERT ösa +: work comes inside a sturdy crate made of thick cardboard on the outside, which is screwed in order to a wooden pallet base. Additional nylon straps with metal clamps are used to keep the cardboard flaps on the upper box portion of the particular crate closed during transit. Slice those nylon straps, and you can easily open the flaps of the package.
Before you do that will, though, there’s a QR code on the outside that will take your smart device to a range associated with Unboxing instructions. While the ösa series is listed, it appears that the process may have changed over time, since ösa bikes have been available for a couple of years now. (Please note that a CAKE representative has since told me that will the online documentation hasn’t caught up with how the shipping process has changed—and an almost fully-assembled bike like I describe here is what customers currently receive as of late August, 2022. )
Inside the particular crate, the ösa +: work came with the rear basket already clamped into place behind the saddle. Both wheels were installed, and the particular only things that weren’t were the two mirrors and the optional front basket. The cardboard container with the front basket and bracket was nestled inside the rear cargo container, along with two bungee nets to secure my cargo when I take the ösa +: work out to run errands or do work.
Another box secured to the bottom of the pallet contained a set of tools, keys for the bike, and of course the electric charger needed to power up the bike’s battery, which was currently mounted in the appropriate place on the bicycle.
Freeing The Bike
Removing the bike from the particular pallet takes a little wiggling, plus would certainly be easier with 2 people, but can be done by one individual in a pinch. Once it’s free, you can then take out the box with the tools, charger, and keys inside, as well as free the particular mirrors from the pallet and screw them into place.
The particular mirrors are simple and straightforward to install, as long as you have two wrenches. There are two nuts under the rubber boot at the base from the mirror, plus you’ll need to hold the bottom one in place while you screw the top one tightly once you’ve positioned the particular mirrors roughly how you want them.
These mirrors don’t offer terrible visibility, yet they’re not as very easily adjustable as I’d prefer. It’s very easy to make them either point way too high or way too low, so be certain to sit in the saddle and adjust the particular mirrors to a position that works for you before you fully tighten the screws in to place. It will be difficult in order to make anything other than very fine adjustments after they’re tightened, unless you want to loosen all of them again.
The Battery, And Other Things to Know
The battery sits on a small tray down low, and is held in position with the big Velcro strap. There’s also a locking mechanism so you can lock the particular battery towards the frame along with one of the secrets that arrives with your own bike. Those keys, incidentally, can also be utilized to lock the bicycle frame—there is neither a key nor an electric powered key fob with this bike.
Instead, PASTRY has riders select plus use a PIN code to unlock the ability in order to operate its bikes. You can turn the bicycle on without it, but the first thing it will inquire you after the display activates is for that PIN code—and a person won’t be able to go without having it. For added security, you may, of course , use a disc or other bike lock of your choice whenever you get to your destination. CAKE even sells an Abus disc lock (similar to but not the same as this one we previously reviewed )
CAKE includes a battery phone chrgr using the ösa +: work, which comes with electrical plugs made to fit both American and European outlets. After choosing the correct plug for your region, be sure to read the charger package itself to see the order in which to connect it between your bike and the particular outlet. LEDs indicate when the battery is charging, when it is full, or when there is an error.
Like many similar units, there’s the fan inside of that you may hear from time to time during the getting process. It’s not super loud, thankfully—although it is definitely audible. If you’re charging this bike in a situation to share the space with other people, the noise shouldn’t become too disruptive.
Once you have checked that the tires are properly inflated, you should nearly end up being ready to ride after the battery will be charged. The ösa +: work comes with a set associated with 14-inch spoked wheels, as well because disc brakes with adjustable levels of regenerative braking in order to help conserve energy.
The particular CAKE accessories store offers a wide range of parts and add-ons, including additional baskets, batteries, skid plates, and actually a full-fledged cargo trailer that you can mount to haul serious amounts of items behind your own CAKE as you ride. There are also winter plus studded tires—which probably shouldn’t come as a surprise, since the company is based in Sweden. From a surfboard to a mobile workshop, there are a lot of options with regard to ways you can outfit your ösa +: function.
One last thing in order to note from setup: Yes, there’s the CAKE smartphone app that’s meant to help you interact with your bike. When I first rode a CAKE ösa + (not the: work version that just moved within temporarily) earlier in 2022, we learned about this app. At the particular time, it was only available for iOS devices, and had not really yet been released regarding Android devices. As of late Aug, 2022, it really is still not available for Android—but CAKE tells me that will hopefully happen by the end associated with 2022, or even Q1 of 2023 with the latest.
The Stand
If you read the previous CAKE ösa + First Ride Review from May, 2022 , then you may be aware of our biggest complaint about that bike: It has no side stand. Unfortunately, just like that bicycle, the ösa +: work also only comes along with a center stand, and no side remain in sight. Once i asked a CAKE representative why there was simply no side stand back in May, they told me that will it’s because CAKE wanted to make this easier intended for people to load things directly into its baskets while they are held level.
The center stand will be admittedly pretty sturdy. Although mounting the bike whilst it’s upon its middle stand takes a little getting used to, it’s the dismount that’s tricky. This is due in large part in order to the straight rail that goes through stem to stern (where the seat, basket, plus any and all components you want to add are probably mounted).
There is no easy cutout where you can maneuver your own second leg as you are coming off the bike, no matter which side you choose to dismount—and that will goes double with a basket on the back. (It’s most likely trickier once you have items piled up in the particular basket, while well—but I’ll find that out for certain when We take it to get its first ride. )
To land, you need to put a foot on the ground, then swing your second leg over to meet your first on the particular ground—all while simultaneously holding up the bike plus any cargo you’ve loaded in the particular back, all because there’s no center stand. WEDDING CAKE seems to have added a grab strap in order to the ösa +: function that’s at the rear of the saddle, which isn’t present on the regular ösa + that I previously rode. That could be useful to help hoist it upward onto the center stand—or just to grab onto throughout the dismount. As with the items in the basket, I’ll possibly know more about that right after my first ride, like well.
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With the vast array of accessories that DESSERT has made obtainable for this particular bike, I’m honestly not sure why there is no optional side stand for sale. My partner and I have three motorbikes among us, which usually each came from their respective factories along with center stands installed. (None of them, incidentally, are usually very heavy bikes. ) Every single one has a side endure in addition to the center stand. Why? Because it’s the lot simpler to land any bike with a side stand, after that pop it up onto the center stand for loading/unloading, easier service, or just due to the fact you feel like it.
Small-displacement scooters sometimes only come with a center stand—but they’re furthermore usually step-through machines, so a dismount from a 50cc (or electric equivalent) scooter with a middle stand is not anywhere near as difficult. Curiously, CAKE’s own step-through electric moped equivalent, the particular Makka , comes along with a side stand with no center remain. I’ll be living with this bicycle for a little while, though, so do not worry—you’ll listen to plenty about my experiences with this within the coming weeks.
