Roam, a Nairobi-based electric bike maker, has introduced a new electric motorcycle that adds more than one kilometer of range for every minute of charging, a technical leap aimed at tackling one of the biggest constraints facing Africa’s shift to electric transport.
- •The Roam Air Gen 3 has a redesigned battery system capable of moving from 20% to 80% charge in under 40 minutes.
- •The company says the performance, delivered at 2.2 kW charging capacity, is the fastest currently available in its segment, targeting high-utilization riders in the commercial motorcycle and boda boda market.
- •Electric motorcycles have struggled to scale across African cities due to a combination of slow charging, patchy infrastructure, and concerns about durability under punishing road conditions.
Roam’s latest model attempts to address all three challenges simultaneously, pairing faster charging with a reinforced chassis and a battery engineered for harsh environments.
“We designed the Roam Air Gen 3 around the real challenges riders face: long charging times, affordability, theft, and tough road conditions. Every feature, from fast charging to tracking and durability, is focused on keeping riders on the road, reducing operating costs, and increasing daily earnings,” said Habib Lukaya, Roam’s Country Manager.
The Gen 3 battery offers an 80-kilometer range on a full charge and is housed in an industrial-grade aluminum casing designed to improve heat dissipation and withstand physical shocks. It also carries an IP67 rating, meaning it can be submerged in water and remain operational, an important feature in regions where flooding and rough terrain are common.
The motorcycle’s frame has been tested across 200,000 vibration cycles under loads of up to 300 kilograms, approximating long-term use in commercial conditions. Roam says the chassis incorporates 98% robotic welding to improve structural consistency, a shift toward more standardized manufacturing processes in a sector often dominated by lower-cost imports.
The battery includes GPS tracking and can be monitored via a mobile application, allowing riders and fleet operators to track location, battery health, and performance metrics in real time. The system is designed to deter theft while enabling fleet-level oversight for logistics operators.
Roam is also backing the platform with a 100,000-kilometer guarantee covering key components, including the battery, an assurance intended to ease financing concerns in a market where upfront costs remain a barrier to adoption.
The motorcycle is compatible with a multi-tier charging ecosystem that includes home charging, dedicated Roam hubs, and fast-charging stations built to the IEC Type 6 standard, signaling an effort to align with emerging global charging protocols while adapting to local infrastructure gaps.
Motorcycles form the backbone of urban mobility across much of sub-Saharan Africa, ferrying millions of passengers and goods daily. As regulators and investors push for electrification to reduce fuel costs and emissions, companies like Roam are racing to build machines that can match the economics and resilience of internal combustion engines.
