Also TM-B Bikes Start Shipping to a US Warehouse: The Buyer Check (2026)

Boxes moving from a factory to a warehouse is not the same thing as a bike arriving at your door, and that distinction is the entire story right now for anyone holding an Also reservation.

On July 31, 2026, TechCrunch reported that Also told it the Launch Edition of the TM-B e-bike, which retails for $4,500, has started shipping from its manufacturer to the company’s warehouse in the US. Per that same report, Also said it expects to deliver all Launch Edition bikes between the following week and September. TechCrunch’s reporting does not establish that any customer has taken delivery yet, and neither does anything else we have seen.

So the honest framing is this: after months of delay, freight is finally moving, and a delivery window now exists that did not exist before. That is real progress. It is also the exact moment when a reservation turns into a transaction, which is when the questions that actually cost money need answers.

What TechCrunch reported, and what it did not

TechCrunch’s account of the delay is specific. Also spun out of Rivian in March 2025 with $105 million in backing from Eclipse, revealed the TM-B in October of last year, and originally targeted a “spring” 2026 ship date. Supply chain problems pushed that to July, and the company declined to say which components specifically caused the holdup.

The reason Also gave publicly, quoted by TechCrunch from a June support page post, was broad: “The primary factor driving our updated summer timeline is current stress on global supply chains. A rapid, industry-wide spike in demand for raw materials and electronic components has impacted key parts required for the TM-B.”

TechCrunch also reported customer frustration, describing a thread in the r/ALSOmicromobility subreddit on July 31 where reservation holders vented about repeated delays and poor communication. One poster quoted in the piece wrote, “Couldn’t wait any longer and canceled my reservation.”

We are relaying all of that as TechCrunch’s reporting, not as our own verification. RoostMode has not contacted Also, has not seen a shipping manifest, and has not confirmed any individual delivery.

The price and trim question that is not resolved

Two credible outlets published on the same day and describe the $4,500 bike differently. This matters because trim is the thing your invoice is written against.

TechCrunch says the Launch Edition of the TM-B retails for $4,500. Jalopnik, in a first ride piece by Michael Frank published July 31, says the TM-B carries “a sticker price starting at $3,500” and describes the bike Frank rode as “the pricier $4,500 TM-B Performance,” which he writes offers up to 10 levels of assist while “the Launch Edition merely goes up to 5 levels of assist.”

We are not going to guess which reading is correct. There are several ways both can be accurate at once, including a line that starts at $3,500 with more than one variant sitting at or near $4,500, or naming that shifted between announcement and shipment. There is also a way one of them could be imprecise. We have no basis to pick, so we are not picking.

Even the timing language differs. TechCrunch’s window runs from early August through September. Jalopnik describes delivery starting this fall. Those overlap, but they are not identical, and only one of them is tied to a specific company statement about Launch Edition units already in transit.

What the first ride establishes, and who did the riding

RoostMode has not ridden the TM-B. Every ride impression below belongs to Michael Frank at Jalopnik, who rode a TM-B from Rivian’s Brooklyn outpost across the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan alongside Matt Liddle, Also’s director of physical experience.

Frank describes the TM-B as pedal by wire, meaning pedaling acts as an input rather than a mechanical connection to the rear wheel, with simulated gears that Also can change over the air. He reports it as a Class 3 bike with a throttle to 20 mph and assist cutting at 28 mph, weighing about 80 pounds, on 24 inch wheels, with up to 133 pound feet of torque and an ABS braking system he tried and largely failed to overwhelm. His overall verdict is strongly positive.

Frank also names the concerns, and they are the ones that matter to a buyer rather than a reviewer. He writes that much of what Also is bringing is proprietary, “making repairs a greater challenge,” and that for startups “the hum-drum of service and supplying parts can be a massive headache.” He points at Rad Power Bikes as a cautionary example of a segment darling that came apart. He notes the motor is not the quietest on the market. He raises the regulatory angle too, pointing to New Jersey moving toward licensing and registration requirements for e-bikes.

That is a reviewer who liked the bike a lot flagging ownership risk anyway. Take the enthusiasm and the caveats as a package, because they came from the same ride.

The questions to settle before your balance is charged

None of this implies anything is wrong with Also or the TM-B. These are the checks that separate a good purchase from a frustrating one on any direct to consumer bike from a young company, and they belong with Also in writing, not with a news article.

• Exact trim and configuration on your order, spelled out by name, with the assist level count and any feature differences listed.
• Invoice detail: the total, what deposit has already been applied, what remains, and when the remaining balance gets charged.
• Your specific delivery date or window, not the company-wide window TechCrunch reported. Ask what happens to that date if it slips again.
• Service path: who physically works on this bike near you, whether that is a mobile tech, a partner shop, or a return to depot arrangement.
• Parts availability: lead times for the proprietary components Jalopnik flagged, including the suspension Also engineered in house.
• Warranty terms: length, coverage on the frame, battery, motor, and electronics separately, and what voids it.
• Repair logistics: who pays freight if an 80 pound bike has to travel for service, and what the loaner or downtime situation is.
• Battery documentation: the certification standard the pack carries, and paperwork you can hand to a landlord, insurer, or building manager who asks.
• Refund and cancellation terms: whether your deposit is refundable, what the window is once the bike ships, and who pays return shipping if you change your mind after delivery.

That last one deserves emphasis given the reported cancellations. Cancellation terms while a bike sits in a factory queue and cancellation terms once it is in a warehouse with your name on it are frequently different documents.

Buyer questions worth answering

The bottom line

A shipment reaching a warehouse after months of missed targets is genuine movement, and Jalopnik’s first ride suggests there is a genuinely unusual bike at the end of the wait. Neither of those facts is a delivery, and neither settles what trim you are buying at what price.

If you are holding a reservation, treat this week as the moment to convert vague optimism into written specifics: trim, invoice, date, service, parts, warranty, repair freight, battery paperwork, and refund terms. If you are shopping rather than waiting, our earlier coverage of the Rivian e-bike spinoff and its billion-dollar valuation explains why service and parts questions follow car-world money into cycling so reliably, and it is the same set of questions worth asking of any new brand at this price.

Sources

• TechCrunch, Sean O’Kane, “Rivian spinoff Also to start delivering e-bikes after months of delays,” July 31, 2026
• Jalopnik, Michael Frank, first ride review of the Also TM-B, July 31, 2026
• Wikimedia Commons file page for the hero image, BESV PSA1 electric bicycle by Syced, CC0

The hero image is an illustrative electric bicycle and is not the Also TM-B. RoostMode has not ridden or tested the Also TM-B.