It’s a couple of years since we first reported on Morelle, mountain bike legend Gary Fisher’s e-bike project. Back then he was talking about a battery that would fully recharge in half an hour, but the latest we’ve heard is that it’ll actually only take 15 minutes.

Fisher is widely considered one of the founding fathers of the mountain biking scene, but back when we first heard about Morelle, he was keen to shift the focus to the expertise of his two co-founders: battery scientist Dr Kevin Hays and Michael Sinkula, the founder of Ionblox, a company focused on aerospace battery tech.

Gary Fisher
Gary Fisher (Image Credit: YouTube)

At that point, Morelle suggested its “pre-lithiated Silicon anode technology” would enable up to 50 per cent higher energy density, five times more power, and significantly faster charging than conventional lithium-ion cells.

It can be hard to get worked up about these sorts of claims at such an early juncture, but last week Morelle’s first bike went on display at the Sea Otter Classic supposedly boasting a sub-15-minute charge time.

For context, it has a 350Wh battery, which is on a par with many e-bikes.

E-bikes typically charge at a rate of 100-300W but Morelle’s “Level 2M” chargers operate at 1-1.2kW to deliver a typical charge time of 15 minutes. The firm also says its bike is capable of charging at over 1.5kW.

Morelle e-bike.png
Morelle e-bike (Image Credit: Morelle)

The initial bike is an aluminium-framed flat bar hybrid with a low profile Bafang mid-motor. They reckon it only weighs about 13kg, which suggests the battery does indeed offer high energy density.

Despite long-term plans to operate on a subscription basis, the first model will sell for around $3,000. It will be produced in limited quantity with deliveries scheduled for the first quarter of 2026

Morelle.ai