How the French Army has been testing electric bikes

Electric bikes are no stranger to armed forces around the world, and now the French military has joined the ranks of e bike riders as it wraps up the first phase of testing on electric two wheelers. The Battle Lab Terre innovation group in the technical section of the French ground forces, which is supported by the mobility and land space planning group (MOB AGESTER), recently announced the completion of the first phase of e bike testing.

As part of the evaluation, the French military used two models produced by the French high performance e bike company The first model, an LMX 56, is a type of e bike commonly referred to as a speed pedelec in France, similar to class 3 e bikes in the US that can reach 28 mph (45 km/h). The second model tested by the military was a light electric motorcycle known as the LMX 161.

That bike can reach speeds of up to 50 mph (80 km/h) despite weighing just 99 lbs (45 kg). As the Section technique de l’armée de Terre (STAT) explained: “This experiment, which will be further developed in 2024, should confirm the prospects for the use of these vehicles within the units, with regard to the evaluation of their performance (speed, autonomy, discretion, etc.) for defined missions (transmission of information, delivery of equipment, infiltration/exfiltration, etc.).” , watching as they rollout new e bike models that seem to harness some of the light electric motorcycle spirit as well as new light e moto models that appear to be as easy to ride as an e bike.

The company recently expanded operations in the US and Canada with a new importer, , bringing their powerful e bikes and lightweight e motos to North America. Such hybrid style e bikes can be ideal for military applications that require fast, agile machines that are lightweight and flexible for a variety of roles.

Motorcycles have long been used in military applications, but their traditionally loud combustion engines often limit them to support roles. With electric bikes and motorcycles, we’ve seen many more instances of militaries around the world evaluating the silent machines for more tactical use cases.

Last summer we learned about in its war with Russia, where e bikes have proven useful for Back in 2018 we learned that Norway’s armed forces were Patrol duties on e bikes were also evaluated by the when they began trialing UBCO’s electric utility bikes. Australian soldiers since 2021, and we also saw the first application of during that same year in an application designed for quick insertion of special operators on low signature electric dirt bikes.

have also tested high power electric mountain bikes for field use, Closer to home, the US military built in North Carolina by Huck Cycles for tactical use. I even used an e bike during my own military service, discovering first hand how important it is to keep that AR barrel out of the spokes! and subscribe to the .

Micah Toll is a personal electric vehicle enthusiast, battery nerd, and author of the Amazon #1 bestselling books , and . The e bikes that make up Micah’s current daily drivers are the , the , the , and the . But it’s a pretty evolving list these days. You can send Micah tips at Micah@electrek.co, or find him on , , or .

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