The year is 2020, we are in the midst of an pandemic and VanMoof is launching two new e-bikes. Not only am i delighted that this launch is not postponed (like almost everything else this year), an e-bike could be one of the best modes of transport these coming months.
VanMoof is now exclusively making electric bikes. More than ten years after the start of the company, all other bikes are gone from their portfolio. It's the e-bike that's going to make VanMoof reach their goal to change how we move around cities.
Think of it, with an e-bike you can reach great distances fast without much effort, the workout is healthy and you can enjoy all this in the outside air. Now VanMoof has to really bring down the price to accelerate this movement.
The current lineup of VanMoof consists of the S2 and the X2, where the X2 is a smaller, more compact bike. These will be replaced by the S3 and X3 in May.
If this is your first time reading about the VanMoof Electrified, you should check out my review of the Electrified S (2017). There i go into more detail about the design and connected features.
I am testing the Electrified S3 in a new pastel blue colour. The S1 came in black and grey, the S2 came in grey and white and the S3 comes in light blue and black. The light blue is a striking colour, but it is kind of an odd colour for such a premium bike. It grows on you though, it is really is something different. I haven't seen the S3 in black yet, but i think i rather prefer that colour.
The finish is back to matte, which makes the bike look more friendly than the S2. The glossy paint of the S2 also damaged very easily. They have taken it into account on this model and gave the S3 a scratch resistant finish.
Apart from the matte look, the bike looks largely the same as the S2, which introduced a new frame and lighting design. It also still has the Kick lock for the rear wheel which was also introduced with the S2.
The S3 offers quite a few upgrades, some small, some big! Let's walk through them...
VanMoof has further reduced the welds on the frame, so the bike looks more minimal than ever.
The matrix display has had some interface changes, everything looks more round now and comes with more feedback animations anytime you change a setting in the app.
The handles seem to be of a new material, they feel more rubbery. According to VanMoof they are waterproof now and damage not as easily. The foam handles of the S1 and S2 feel great but are prone to damages, especially if your bike makes a fall.
There is a new 'one piece saddle' which means that it has the air suspension built-in. There is also a groove at the bottom that is shaped to match the frame of the bike.
I'm very curious to the fit of the new saddle, unfortunately the preview bike i'm riding still has the old saddle. But you can mount the new saddle on the S2 as well, so that's very good news!
The brakes are now hydraulic. VanMoof managed to install all the hydraulic parts in the frame. This will hopefully make squeaky brakes a thing of the past. The tiny box on the handlebar is an oil reservoir.
One thing you will immediately notice when you get on the Electrified S3 is the improved engine. It is smaller, more energy efficient, a lot more quiet and it has more power! Like WAY more power! It's crazy!
The improved Turbo Boost will also knock your socks off. The boost was always one off the best features of the Electrified, but now you really have a nitro button on your handlebar!
What also enhances the riding experience is the new electronic gear shifting. After years of testing VanMoof has now added two extra gears on the S3. Normally the bike would switch gears automatically at around 20km/h and that's it. Now you have four gears with levels that are fully customizable via the VanMoof App.
So depending on which mode you ride (EU or US) you can start off on a low gear, switch at 10km/h to the second, then at 20km/h to the third and at 28km/h to the fourth. You can also choose to ride with a different setup.
I'm not super fan of the new system but it is nice to have extra gears at higher speeds. Also the pedal assistance is improved at lower speeds and now immediately kicks in when you turn one of the pedals. There used to be a really small lag in it.
I like to accelerate when the traffic light turns green and pedal to the medal. The gear switching is always a bit annoying because it slows you down. Now you have that three times before you reach the top speed ;)
I am happy to announce that the Bell sound of the S3 has changed to an actual bell :D Riders of the S2 always wondered why the electronic bell made the sound of a submarine. It is an intriguing sound but the sound isn't recognised by other riders on the road as a bell. So they won’t move when you want to pass in the bike lane.
This all changes with the new bell sound.
Easy fix you would say? Well bad news unfortunately, because the new sound isn't coming to the S2.
Apparently it is hard programmed into the smart cartridge / on-board computer of the S2 and can't be changed. Maybe when they take out the smart cartridge and do a firmware upgrade, but VanMoof will not say if this will be the case. On the S3 they programmed it in a way that they can change the sounds.
You can also change the sound in the VanMoof app. There are three sounds to choose from, the S2 submarine, the new bell sound and a really loud honking sound. VanMoof says that they can now do software updates over the air with the S3 and send you a new sound. Could come in handy for Kingsday.
The speaker on the S3 is a lot louder and this is noticeable with the bell, the startup sound and the alarm. The sound effects are also a bit tweaked and are more friendly now. For instance the lock sound. There is also a fun new sound when you plug in the charger.
So you’ve come all this way to hear the good news about the price. I didn’t believe it myself when i first saw it but the Electrified S3 will launch for €1,998.
So well done VanMoof for taking the price under €2,000!
They have optimised the production process and scaled the amount of S3s their going to be producing. All this results in a lower price for their riders.
VanMoof said the plan is to not raise the price after the launch. But this depends on a lot of factors. I presume if they can’t make enough bikes (because of delays by COVID-19) they will be forced to raise the price in the future. We will see, for now this a great deal for an amazing bike.
The S3 is an evolution of the Electrified. It offers a lot of upgrades without changing the original appeal, a very stylish connected e-bike with turbo boost and anti-theft tracking. The S1 is still an amazing bike. The S2 really changed the look of the Electrified and made important changes to battery and range. Now the S3 is all about power and acceleration. And boy is it a joy to ride!
The pedal assistant is smoother than ever. The brakes feel very solid, and the matte paintjob on the S2 like frame looks amazing. My favourite thing is still the turbo boost. It throws you in the back of the saddle and never grows old.
The one thing that dissappointed me is the visibility of the display during the day. You just can’t see what is on it. I’ve never experienced this with the S1 or the S2. With the S3 I just stopped looking after a while. I asked VanMoof to see what was wrong and they said "we have seen that on the first bikes, the paint layer on the light bikes was too thick, which affected the brightness of the display. This has been resolved in mass production". So good to know that this is a prototype bike and the brightness on the display will be sufficient when it ships.
If you own an S1 this is a must have upgrade. Everything is better. If you own an S2, it’s still definitely worth it, but it does depend on how often you use it and if you want to spend the money on it. It's hard to go back though once you've ridden the S3...
Are you buying the S3? Let me know why or why not in the comments 😃👍🏼
I'm updating this review in the coming days with new details so check back here if you want the latest updates.
Here are some comparison shots with the S2 & S1.
You can see the difference between the matte and the glossy coatings, the brakes, the evolution of the handlebars, engine size, and the slight difference in height.
So i just came back from VanMoof returning the preview S3 bike i used for the review.
I had the opportunity to quickly check out the new saddle while i was there. And also the bike in the 'Dark' colour.
The new saddle looks really sleek! It complements the design of the S3 nicely. It does look rather flat. I couldn't really try it out because it was not attached properly, but i did sit on it lightly. Hard to judge if the comfort is better or worse than the previous saddle of the S2.
Since my review model was in the 'Light' / blue colour, i now saw the dark version of the bike for the first time. It looks very nice! But i find it hard to say which one of the colours is my favourite.
I found the blue colour a bit odd at first, but it really grows on you and is kind of special. It makes the S3 really fun! The dark version of the bike is not black but more greyish with a dark blue hue.
© 2026 Sjoerd Reitsma
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/resize(700,400,crop)/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)