The Infinite Machine Olto is part motorcycle, part bike, and part Cybertruck

I decided it was about 36 mph Ulto infinite machine Not a bike. Sure, it has pedals, you don’t need a license to ride it in most (but not all!) places in the US, and the folks at Infinite Machine assured me that it’s allowed in the bike lane. But I never used pedals. Why would I? This thing weighs 175 pounds, and even with some robotic assistance, it’s like moving a boulder uphill. Also everyone gives me dirty looks when I pass them in the bike lane. But the real gift was the first time I twisted the gas pedal and passed a car on a city street. They were going to go maybe 30 on 25. I probably should have gotten a ticket.

I don’t know exactly what to call the Olto, a new $3,495 car from a New York-based startup. It has some moped DNA, some e-bikes, and even some scooters. For our purposes here, let’s call it a bike, but only because I don’t have a better word to describe it. Whatever it is, it belongs to a fascinating and challenging class of vehicles designed to replace much of the everyday use of your car – in spirit, it’s probably more like a cargo bike. Whatever the case, it’s the most fun new car I’ve experienced in a long time.

My life is full of journeys that are too long to take but too short truly Need a car. It’s a mile from the grocery store. A mile and a quarter to my child’s daycare; 1 1/2 miles to CVS; Three quarters of a mile to my favorite coffee shop. Each is far enough away that walking becomes more than just a quick trip, but close enough that I often spend as much time looking for parking as I do driving. I was once an avid user of scooters, also designed to solve this exact problem. Over the years, I’ve ridden hoverboards to the grocery store, gamely tried to master the Onewheel, and wondered many times whether an adult could get away with wearing Heelys.

The Olto, with its roomy seat and turbulent throttle, is more elegant in dealing with this problem. A 20-minute walk is equivalent to three or four minutes on the Ulto. You can park it anywhere, and you don’t even need to lock it, thanks to the automatic anti-theft locking systems and its large size and weight. You can start it using an NFC-enabled card or through the Infinite Machine app, and the app can be set to start the bike as soon as you approach it. Together, it seems easy.

You can operate the Olto in several modes, which meet some legal definitions of e-bikes and e-motorcycles and can vary by state. (One of the first things you do during setup is tell the app where you live so it can adapt to local regulations.) My options are limited, which only go up to 15 mph; Class 2, up to 20; Class 2+, which stays at 20 but offers faster acceleration; Class 3, which has speeds of up to 28 mph and Where I live in Virginia It will officially classify you as a ‘high-speed electric bike’ and subject you to more road rules; and Unlocked, which gives you full power and says it’s intended exclusively for private ownership and off-road use.

It didn’t take long before I started riding the Olto even outside of regular errands. I made a six-mile trip to meet a co-worker for lunch, all through hellish traffic in the Washington, D.C., area. Google Maps told me it was a 40 minute bike ride, the Olto did it in 26 minutes, and I didn’t break a sweat. (My coworker laughed at me when he saw me turning the corner. You really need a motorcycle helmet when riding the Olto, and I don’t look great on this metal pig wearing a giant helmet.)

The Olto promises a range of up to 40 miles on a charge, and you can fill it up either by plugging the bike in or by taking out the massive 1,200Wh battery and charging it on a separate dock. The range mentioned seems to be in line with my experience, although it depends largely on the mode you’re using; When I removed the built-in governor and pushed the thing to its limits, it burned through about a third of the battery in just five miles or so. It also takes several hours to charge, making the Olto more of a “charge it overnight” car than a “top up while you wait for coffee” car. And trust me: you won’t want to pedal with a dead battery.

In many ways, Olto is just a scaled-down version of Infinite Machine’s first product, P1It is an electric bike with a wonderful design. The company itself was founded by two brothers, Joe and Eddie Cohen, both of whom were previously software professionals (which explains why the Infinite Machine app is so nice to use and why so many features are controlled there). Eventually, they have plans to build all kinds of electric vehicles — much of the technology at Olto seems relatively easy to scale down to fit smaller devices, or scale up to larger devices — but the Cohens decided to start with vehicles people already know.

The P1 was launched in 2023 and immediately inspired the same reactions I heard over and over again in my time with Olto: “Oh my God, what? He is That,” and “This thing looks just like a Cybertruck.” They both really do, especially the silver Olto model. It’s all those big hunks of shiny chrome metal, and the whole industrial exterior. However, the Cybertruck comparison does Olto a disservice; instead, imagine a Cybertruck, but it performs well, and is about a tenth the size. It won’t be for everyone, but it works for me.

There are a lot of thoughtful design touches around the Olto, some of which look very clever. The pedals are designed mostly as footrests, which is smart, but it does take a few very awkward steps to open them and press the pedals. There are small foot pegs near the back, in case you want to take a second passenger, but once I took them out, I had trouble getting them to go back into place, and when they were out, the pedals hit them every turn. I would say this is a bad design, but it is very clear that these are antique pedals. Legal pedals. Pedals so you can say “But look officer, it has pedals, it’s a bike!” They’re not even remotely threatening. Because this isn’t really a bike.

The handlebars include a number of useful controls, including a turn signal, but it took a long time to stop pressing the overly sensitive horn by accident every time I got on the bike. There are two hooks at the back of the bike for hanging bags etc – I didn’t notice them until the last day of testing. Fortunately, there’s room in the foot to hold two shopping bags, so I didn’t need the extra transportation options. (But I wish it had a cup holder).

If you think of the Olto as a small motorcycle, it’s wonderfully fast and agile. It can take tight corners even at very high speeds, the throttle is incredibly responsive, and the thing seems to reach top speed in no time. But compared to a bike? This thing is Clunky. It’s too heavy to easily pick it up off the curb, or quickly redirect the way you pick up your bike’s front tire and move it to the side. You can’t pick it up and walk it up the stairs or load it into your car. Even a large, heavy cargo bike is considerably more agile than an Olto bike. I bet the Olto is more comfortable, more luxurious and faster than any e-bike you can find. But the trade-off is real.

If the Olto is successful, it will cause a lot of consternation in a cycling world already concerned about the increase in motors. Well deserved. But I find it fascinating: I’ve ridden a lot of so-called “micro-mobility” vehicles before, and this is the most comfortable, relaxing, dare I say vehicle I’ve tried. It’s not trying to be a bike at all, really. She is trying to replace your car. It did it for me, more quickly and for more things than I expected. And when I’m on the road, there’s no question who controls the bike lane – just please know that I feel bad about it.