Belgian brand Ahooga have raised €4 million to aid in the development of their next range of compact e-bikes. With this money they also hoping to invest in production close to their Brussels headquarters, with the aim of manufacturing the new bikes on their own assembly line.

The new product line will be launched at Eurobike, with consumer availability later this year. Ahooga have been around for a fair few years, but have primarily focused on the continental market until now. While there has been no big change in this emphasis at the time of writing, their range of e-bikes has become available to buy online.

First of all, why the name Ahooga? According to their website, the word ‘ahooga’ is onomatopoeic. “It’s the sound of a car horn of the 1920s. It was adopted by the movie industry as a sound effect symbolising astonishment and excitement.”

An interesting name, but what about the bikes? Currently they offer three ranges of e-bike: folding, modular and urban. Within the folding e-bikes category, they offer three models – the Analog, Active, and Power.

The Analog is, as the name suggests, an ‘analogue’ bike and does not come with a motor. The Active is equipped with a 250W hub motor offering up to 35Nm of torque with a 168Wh battery. The Power is, unsurprisingly, their most powerful e-folder with a 252Wh battery and 250W hub motor delivering up to 40Nm of torque.

The Folding e-bikes use Ahooga’s “Double Triangle Twin Tube” (aka the rear triangle behind the seatpost) as the main hinge point, alongside the headtube, which folds down with the handlebars. If you want it to be even more compact, you can also remove the front wheel, which hangs onto a specially designed hook in the frame and is secured by the quick-release lever.

The Analog model weighs 12kg, the Active 15kg, and the Power 16.5kg. Each use 20” wheels, and a Shimano Acera 7-speed drivetrain. Price wise, you’re looking at €1,499 for the Analog, €2,399 for the Active, and €2,799 for the Power.

The Modular range is claimed to be “three bikes in one”. Those three bikes being a commuter, a shopping bike and a cargo bike. Essentially, it’s one frame but with various accessories you can add onto it. These include a rear rack rated to carry 50kg of cargo or 36kg of kids, and a front rack. For the full rack kit, it’s €300.

There are two frame options: step-through and step-over, each in one-size only which claims to fit riders between 150-190cm for the step-through, and 160-200cm for the step-over. Each bike costs €2,399 (without accessories) and comes with a rear hub Aikema 250W motor offering up to 60Nm of torque with a 400Wh battery

Finally, there's the Urban. A sleek looking e-bike with a fat downtube, the Urban is budget friendly at €1,799 and comes with an Aikema 250W rear hub motor and 400Wh battery. It’s also single-speed so ideal for flatter terrain or for those who want the simplicity of a single gear. For your money you also get 26” wheels, hydraulic disc brakes, and LED lighting. If you're more of a belt-drive fan than a chain-drive, for an extra €200 you can add just that to the bike.