Software updates used to mean booking time with a dealer, dropping off the bike, waiting, and collecting it. For a car or a motorcycle, that's accepted. For a bike you ride every day, it's an inconvenience that most people avoid until something forces the issue.
The Raleigh ONE has a different approach. On ICON membership, your bike updates itself.
What over-the-air updates are
Over-the-air updates, OTA, are firmware and software improvements delivered remotely, without requiring any physical connection or dealer involvement. The same technology that updates your phone at night while it charges or keeps your car's navigation maps current without a visit to the service center.
The Raleigh ONE has a built-in connectivity module that keeps the bike networked. When an update is available, it's delivered to the bike and installed automatically.
What gets updated
Firmware updates can improve motor performance, refine how the bike responds to pedal input, adjust assist levels, improve battery management, and fix issues that have been identified since the bike was built. As the Raleigh ONE platform develops, new features, refined behaviour, security improvements, those changes reach the bike without any action needed from you.
Your bike on day one is not the same bike as your bike eighteen months later. It's better.
The difference between ICON, Core and Base
Core and Base memberships also receive firmware updates, but they're delivered over Bluetooth. The process is straightforward, open the app when you're near the bike, and update firmware. You need to be physically nearby for it to work.
ICON membership removes that requirement. The bike connects via its own network module and updates regardless of whether you're nearby. Updates happen in the background, typically overnight.
You wake up, pick up the bike, and it's already running the latest version. You didn't have to do anything.
Why this matters
There's a practical argument: it saves time and removes friction. You never fall behind on updates because you forgot to open the app, or because the update needed you to be within Bluetooth range when you were somewhere else.
There's also a broader argument about what kind of product you're buying.
An e-bike that improves over time is a different category of product from one that reaches peak capability on the day it leaves the factory and gradually becomes less current. The Raleigh ONE is designed to be a long-term ride. OTA updates on ICON membership are part of how that's delivered.
What you need to do
Nothing, on ICON membership. The bike handles it.
If you're on Core or Base, open the Raleigh app when you're near the bike. If an update is available, you'll be prompted to install it. It takes a few minutes and can be done at any time, at home, at the office, anywhere you're near the bike with a few minutes to spare.
You can also open the app > bike information > update firmware (if an update is available)
ICON membership
ICON membership starts at €14.99 per month, or €149 for the full year. Your first 30 days are free.
OTA updates are one of several ICON-exclusive features. The full package includes over-the-air updates, bike sharing for up to four people, ICON theft insurance, Touch & Go remote unlock, and all Core features including GPS tracking, instant theft alerts, Stolen Mode, Smart Maintenance and Smart Lighting.