Q&A with ReBake CEO & Founder Karl Ytterborn

What made you want to start ReBake?

I’ve spent most of my career working with electric motorcycles, including at CAKE, where I started in 2016. It’s a hard industry. With the current situation in the world, electrification has slowed down - but it’s the future. It’s a tough industry and business climate, but with the right product and business setup there’s huge potential to make an impact and change the way we see transportation in urban areas.

I feel the experience I’ve gained over the past 10 years is too valuable to leave behind. I want ReBake to result in something positive and impactful, while remaining humble about the challenge.

What brought you into the industry?

Scooters are the best way to get around! I remember the freedom of riding my first highly tuned Yamaha Neos. It’s not a cool bike per se, but I made it the fastest one in the neighborhood, and I have somehow never stopped riding since then.

Then my father, Stefan, started CAKE, and I got the chance to join from day one. So I’ve been working with electric motorcycles since then.

Why the name ReBake & Abler?

ReBake was a working name, actually. People liked it, and it stuck. So we kept it.

Abler is a play on “able” and “enable.” It’s about everything the bike can do, and what it enables you to do with it.

Who’s with you?

We’re a great little team. Nils, Stefan and I drew the initial conclusions from our experience. Part of that was identifying the core competencies we were missing. Harry and Svante are talented professionals we knew from the past, and together we form the founding team.

We have investors who help with expertise we’re missing, open doors and guide us in areas where we fall short, as well as a board I’m very pleased with. They’re supporting us and giving the business a boost in these early days.

Your first model is the Abler. What’s the thinking behind it?

It’s an electric motorcycle built around a concept we designed from a blank piece of paper. We developed it from scratch to do more: offer comfortable riding, room for a passenger, proper cargo capability and easy charging. Engineering led the design, giving it a distinct character and an exposed frame you can attach things to.

The batteries are removable, and it comes in both moped and motorcycle versions. Many micro-innovations and new solutions have led to the Abler, which ticks all the boxes for the modern commuter.

Who do you see riding it?

The current micromobility market doesn’t provide enough useful utility solutions. You still have your needs: bringing groceries home, giving your kid a ride to football training or carrying your load with you. That makes the Abler relevant to commuters, families and businesses alike.

The capability matters, but so does the desire to own it. We want people to connect with the design and then discover how much they can use it for.

How will you use the Abler?

At home in Stockholm, I don’t think I’ll ever own a car. With the Abler, my girlfriend and I will be able to go wherever we want in Stockholm and the suburbs, do grocery shopping and run errands for work when we need to buy something.

When I’m at our country house on the island of Gotland, it will be a surf and fishing transporter. We surf when there are waves and fish for sea trout when the water is flat. So, with front and rear boxes for all our stuff and a surf rack for the board, we’re ready to head to our spot for the day.

There are already plenty of electric bikes out there. Where does ReBake fit in?

The frame provides structure and carrying capability, while its construction supports straightforward production and service.

Proven components, less dependence on special tooling and experienced manufacturing partners help us work towards quality at an accessible price. There are hundreds of smaller decisions behind that combination.

I see us as part of the future of transportation. Bicycles, three-wheeled cargo e-bikes, regular mopeds and utility bikes all have a place in city centers, depending on the needs they serve. We’re promoting everything that helps phase heavy traffic out of city centers.

What’s been the biggest challenge so far?

Connecting the dots. “Building the bike while riding it” is a challenge for any small business, I guess. It’s about getting everything to line up: the right product, at the right price, in the right place, at the right time.

The whole business model needs to work, from production through delivery to the end customer, and everything in between. It’s more complex than you might think.

How have people reacted to ReBake?

There’s been a lot of warmth. We’ve got the battle scars and unique learnings, and people seem to connect with us putting that experience back to work. “It seems like you have learned a lot. This makes sense” is something many have said after hearing the pitch.

The bike fits right into that. We’ve sold bikes to families and the Swedish Armed Forces, who share more of the same needs than you might think: something robust, easy to use and capable of carrying what they need. That says quite a lot about what we’ve developed.

What’s your favorite bike if not a ReBake?

I must say the Suzuki RV. I like many of the scooters the big Japanese manufacturers made in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. I’ve also ridden some new full-size electric dirt bikes lately. They’re insanely fun, and it’s a very fast-growing segment. But besides the RV, I have a CAKE Ösa that I still love and use frequently.

What are your plans for ReBake?

First things first: we’re getting the Abler onto the streets, growing our sales network and pushing to make it the best scooter on the market.

But there’s much more planned for the Abler platform itself, from hardware modifications, SaaS and possibilities beyond two wheels. We also have new mobile cargo tool concepts and initiatives to reveal when the time is right.