Two entrepreneurs started ZuGo Bikes in 2019 to create fun and practical personal transportation options on two wheels. They came up with their flagship model, the ZuGo Rhino, and it’s now out on the streets, from their headquarters in Austin, Texas to roads and trails all over.

With a look inspired by gas-powered mini cycles of past decades (and popularized recently by Super73), the ZuGo Rhino gets the “E” in its e-bike title from a powerful 750W electric motor, and it qualifies for the “bike” part of the name because it has handlebars to steer with and a pedal-powered crank to make the back wheel rotate. Any resemblance to what you may have thought of as a bicycle ends right about there. The saddle is long and wide and the tires are low and fat, and really, without the electric boost, few people would ever think to take this beast out for a nice bike ride if they had to pedal all the way.

Really, though, ZuGo isn’t trying to improve on the design of the bicycle. What they are doing, is offering new options to those who don’t see themselves as ‘bikers’, really. And that is a big part of the victory for ecologically minded companies like ZuGo as they help shift transportation modes from gas to electric, from big and energy-hungry to small and energy-efficient — the fun designs and zippy electric motors are all about getting more people out of cars and onto zero emission rides like the Rhino.