Photography by Field Mag, unless otherwise noted
Over the past dozen years spent living in New York, I learned that for me, the best way to survive and thrive in the city is to escape it every opportunity I get. What defines escape varies by day and season. An afternoon in the park can provide a mental reprieve. A day at the beach makes for a more physical mini vacation. Weekends Upstate (or farther) can provide a proper reset. Regardless of duration or destination, mechanisms for escape are essential. Late this past summer, without a vehicle for the first time in nearly a decade, I had the opportunity to test ride a new freedom machine—a Cake Ösa electric motorcycle. Could this funky little rig provide the escape so many of us city dwellers seek?
Since the Swedish electric motorcycle maker launched in 2016 with the Cake Kalk, a futuristic off-road e-bike seemingly straight out of a William Gibson novel, I’ve been both attracted to and slightly skeptical of Cake. With Stefan Ytterborn at the helm (Ytterborn also previously founded the eyewear and helmet brand POC, which stands for Piece of Cake), the performance and aesthetics are undeniable. But the five-digit price tags across the catalog are prohibitive for many, this writer very much included.
Momentarily avoiding the question of affordability, I was eager to put the 125cc equivalent Ösa+ motorbike through the paces inherent in daily life as a New Yorker. This meant daily rides throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan, plus a couple of rides out to Rockaway Beach in Queens, pushing the Ösa's ~45-mile battery range to the absolute limit. (Note: all Ösa+ bikes now ship with an upgraded battery capable of 111 kilometers/69 miles—I was on an older model, which, spoiler, almost stranded me on the Brooklyn Bridge at rush hour.)