This isn’t really a first look at the Verge TS; it’s more like a third peek. We first reported on Verge’s preproduction, hub-motor electric bike at its unveiling at the 2019 EICMA show, when details were vague and specs not yet finalized. As with many preproduction models, especially electrics, the bike underwent a series of changes and delays over the years, and another update came earlier this year at the CES show with a serial production schedule and new TS Ultra model announced. Now we’re back at EICMA, where Verge is showing the original TS as well as the two more powerful and up-spec companion models, the TS Pro and aforementioned Ultra. The brand is currently accepting preorders, saying its bikes are expected to be delivered to customers by mid-to-late 2024.
All three models utilize Verge’s unique hubless rim motor, which is at the core of the whole design. With the motor integrated right into the rear-wheel rim (hence no hub) versus a conventional mid-mounted electric motor driving the wheel via a chain, shaft, or belt, all the power is transferred straight to the road. Integrating the motor also creates more space in the middle of the bike for the battery pack, allowing for low weight distribution and lighter handling. With residual drivetrain components removed Verge is able to go for a more spare design, which around the headlight up front, has evolved to become slightly more aggressive over the previous bikes. Call it Scandinavian light.
The base-model Verge TS claims 107 hp from that unusual electric motor—a claim that hasn’t changed since the initial reveal. For more power, move up to the TS Pro model which gets a claimed 137 hp, and if you leap to the newer TS Ultra, the numbers get heady, with Verge claiming 201 hp—despite all the bikes looking virtually identical. In fact, the only thing we can see distinguishing the three models is a new nose fairing with built-in winglets and the solo seat and tail cover on the Ultra, but there’s also the matter of price. As is usual for electric bikes, the claimed torque figures are fairly astounding as well: 737 lb.-ft. for the TS and TS Pro, and a whopping 885 lb.-ft. for the TS Ultra.
Not surprisingly, the TS incorporates lots of up-to-date tech, with traction control, regenerative braking, and four rider modes for the user to manipulate: Range, Zen Beast, and Custom. Relevant information flickers across an iPad-like color panel integrated into the top of the dummy “fuel” tank, with what the company says is “intuitive software containing all important data and metrics.”
Further in-depth details are still sketchy, with no mention of suspension component dimensions, battery configuration, wheel material, and precise motor specs. Once the order is placed, the bikes are somewhat configurable, with owners able to choose from standard Wilbers or up-spec Öhlins suspension, a choice of seat materials and colors as well as bike color, but all versions of the bike spec Brembo front brakes and a Verge-made four-piston caliper out back.
The Verge is available in three trims: the Verge TS, the Verge Pro, and the truly insane Verge Ultra. The base-model Verge TS starts at $26,900 and claims a 4.5-second zero-to-60 mph time and a 155-mile range; the middle-child TS Pro retails for $29,900, gets to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, and goes a claimed 217 miles on a charge. The beastliest of them all, the TS Ultra asks a whopping MSRP of $44,900, but it puts out over 200 hp and goes 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds. The Ultra also promises a faster charge; with a DC fast charger, it’s said to reach 80 percent capacity of the 21.8kWh battery in just 25 minutes. (The base TS takes 55 minutes with the same charger.)
Verge looks serious about making a push into the US market, with the company opening a North American headquarters and innovation office in San Francisco
and announcing its intent to adopt Tesla’s NACS charging connector, opening up its products to the most extensive fast-charging system in North America.
The company says the Pro is expected to reach customers by middle of 2024, with the base TS expected around the same time, and the Ultra simply scheduled for “end of 2024.”