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Patrick Brady

Rad Power Bikes RadExpand 5 Plus Review | Nice Tech & Ride

A compact folding e-bike that has range for days and the upgrades fans had been asking for.

There’s a lot of fun to be had on the back of Rad’s latest folder. The RadExpand 5 Plus we’ve been reviewing for several weeks now is a whole lot of what people want in a folder: its handles well, has a peppy motor, and – you guessed it – it saves on space!

Folding up to just 29″H x 25″W x 41″L, this bike packs up small in just a few steps. With its folding design, the RadExpand 5 Plus is a go-to consideration for the on-the-go crowd like RVers, or just those with limited storage space.

Not only is the RadExpand 5 Plus here UL 2271 and UL 2849 Certified, but they now have Smart Shield Battery Technology. This new technology is another step forward in fire safety tech in e-bikes borrowed from existing setups electric vehicles. Each individual battery cell is “shielded” in a fire-resistant barrier, helping to prevent run-offs should one cell get too hot.

New for the RadExpand this time around is going from a cadence sensor to a torque sensor motor activation of the 750W motor. This new torque sensor has a more natural feel when pedaling and as you will see in the Range Test, gave us much better mileage than we expected.

In this Rad Power Bikes RadExpand 5 Plus review, well talk speeds, real-world range results, brake performance testing and the overall ride quality. So, helmets on, water bottles full and let’s take a ride and chat about the RadExapand 5 Plus!

Best Electric Bikes For Kids | Be Safe AND Have Fun!

Riding bikes with your kids can be amazing fun. It’s a great way to connect with family and be active outside. Fun as it can be, keeping everyone together can be a challenge. Kids have shorter legs and ride on bikes with both smaller wheels and smaller gears. The bike world now has a solution for that: E-bikes for kids.

An e-bike for kids offers some great opportunities for parents, as well as a few areas for reasonable concern. The big opportunity is that if your child is riding an e-bike, it will be easier to keep everyone together. Kids can hit their endurance limit both hard and unexpectedly. A throttle can keep a fun spin from becoming a death march home.

One of the other terrific benefits of an e-bike made for kids is that it is much easier for them to reach a speed sufficient to balance. Of course, there’s also reason to be concerned: A tiny person moving faster than you can run can be pretty scary.

We took a hard look at the e-bikes out there—there are more than you might guess—and have rounded up the best options in a number of different categories. Rather than divide the bikes according to use, we’ve organized them according to the age group they are most likely to fit. We’ve done our best to include objective sizing based on rider height because what parent hasn’t had the experience of buying a shirt for a six-year-old that fell to their knees?

Knowing the ways our kids have sometimes displayed more enthusiasm than judgment, we’ve weighted our collection toward those e-bikes that enable a parent to restrict the e-bike’s top speed. More control provides greater safety until you see how much control and skill the child can exercise over the e-bike while riding.

Our list begins with e-bikes for kids young enough to learn how to ride, and we follow them all the way up until they are big enough to begin riding adult-sized e-bikes. While we’ve assigned age ranges for each of these e-bikes, the fact is that most of them can accommodate riders well outside those narrow ranges.

You’ll find a broader sense of who they fit in each of our reviews. To get these age ranges, we took the manufacturer’s sizing recommendations and then correlated them with Centers for Disease Control data on height.

The youngest age in our range corresponds to children in the 75th percentile of height for their age, and the oldest age in our range corresponds to children in the 25th percentile—from the youngest kids who might reasonably fit an e-bike to the oldest kids who might fit it.

Electric Bike Report aims to help consumers find the right electric bike for their needs. When you buy a product we recommend, we may earn a commission.

Our Best Electric Bikes for Kids for 2025

Best Electric Bike for 8-9 Year Olds: JackRabbit OG
Best Electric Bike for 10-12 Year Olds:Lectric XP Lite 2.0
Best Electric Bike for 13-15 Year Olds:Aventon Soltera
Best Electric Bike for 16+ Year Olds: Ride1UP Portola
Best Electric Mountain Bike for Kids: Specialized Turbo Levo SL Kids
Best Electric Mountain Bike for Teens: Trek Marlin+

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Best Cheap (Budget) Electric Bikes, 2025

Calling an e-bike “cheap” is a risky proposition. That you’re looking at this right now means you’re probably looking for an e-bike, but have a budget that is at least snug, if not tight. But as members of the media, we have to be careful when we call something cheap because readers might think we are saying the product suffers from poor quality. Hopefully, using the words “best” and “cheap” together in the title clued you in to our purpose, which is to round up a number of e-bikes that won’t break the bank, or out on the road.

When we look at the great many e-bikes that go for less than $1500, or even less than $1000, we see some terrific e-bikes that do a terrific job of balancing quality while not forcing someone to empty their wallet.

Shoppers of Alibaba, Amazon and Ebay can find e-bikes that go for less than even the least expensive that we’ve included here. And they aren’t included here for a several reasons. We’ve reviewed every one of the e-bikes on this page and found them to meet our standards for performance and safety while keeping their price as low as it can responsibly be. Some of them have even been awards a top overall pick for 2025!

As with most things in life, the e-bikes that look to be too good to be true invariably are. If a company is advertising an e-bike with a 1000W motor for $600, run, don’t walk. We’ve vetted these e-bikes with rides to test their range, their power and their braking.

Put another way, these are the e-bikes we would refer our friends and family to if they said they needed to squeeze all the pennies.

*Electric Bike Report aims to help consumers find the right electric bike for their needs. When you buy a product we recommend, we may earn a commission.

Here are our picks for the best cheap electric bikes:

Best Cheap Multi-Purpose Electric Bike: Lectric XP 3.0
Best Cheap Folding Electric Bike: Ride1UP Portola
Best Cheap Step-Through Electric Bike: Aventon Pace 500.3 ST
Best Cheap Touring Electric Bike: Ride1UP Turris
Best Cheap Electric Bike for Off-Road Riding: Rad Power Bikes RadRover 6 Plus
Best Cheap Lightweight Electric Bike: Aventon Soltera.2
Most Stylish Cheap Electric Bike: Electric Bike Co. Model A
Best Cheap Micro Electric Bike: JackRabbit
Best Cheap Cargo Electric Bike: Lectric XPedition

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Bosch Updates Performance Line CX Motor – More Range, Better Performance, Less Weight

Gains include greater range, more motor performance control, better walk assist and new features including hill hold and hill start assist.

Some products set the standard by which their category is judged. The Gibson Les Paul comes to mind. So does the Bosch Performance Line CX. When it was released in 2015—nearly ten years ago—the Performance Line CX was the first system dedicated to eMTBs. Since then, it has become the go-to mid-drive motor for electric mountain bikes, the motor against which all others are judged. It’s hard to believe that nine years have passed since Bosch introduced the Performance Line CX, considering how quickly the e-bike market moves.

When Bosch set out to redesign the Performance Line CX motor, they chose to keep the basic performance parameters the same: The motor still produces a maximum of 600W and up to 85Nm of torque, making for a 340 percent assist. The question, of course, is why Bosch didn’t increase the amount of assistance. In Bosch’s view, the Performance Line CX already provided the perfect balance of power, rideability, efficiency relative to battery range and drivetrain durability. More power would mean greater weight, making the eMTB heavier and less nimble; it would also result in a decrease in range because of more weight and drawing more power for the motor, as well as more wear and tear on drivetrain components.

So what changes? Well the first notable difference is that the new motor is 100g (3.5 oz.). The new motor also provides greater thermal stability; traditionally as a motor heats up, power production is reduced by the controller to prevent the motor from overheating. While the previous Performance Line CX offered greater thermal stability than its competitors, the new motor shows even more consistent performance on long rides.

Bosch redesigned the different sensors to make it even more responsive to rider input. It features new torque and cadence sensors, as well as the addition of inertial sensors. The inertial sensors measure acceleration in three axes as well as rotation in three axes—six sensors total and what this does is provide the controller a sense of where the eMTB is in space—how it is moving. The motor can now respond in subtle ways based on whether the rider is climbing, descending, riding on smooth ground or rolling through a rock garden or over roots.

Bosch has cut the amount of noise the motor produces, particularly the higher frequency sounds that tend to be the most noticeable part of the sound a motor generates.

The Performance Line CX now offers a smart walk assist; with the press of a button, the rider receives just enough power to walk up grades too steep to ride, but thanks to the inertial sensors, it tailors the speed of the walk assist based on the grade and how smooth or bumpy the ground is. They’ve also added a hill hold feature, which will provide just enough power to keep the eMTB in position for 10 seconds after releasing the walk assist button. Additionally, they’ve added hill start assistance for when the trail is so steep that it is hard to generate enough speed and balance so that you can move the foot that’s on the ground to the pedal. Hill start assist provides an extra burst of power so that the rider can get up to a balancing speed and land their foot on the pedal.

Extended boost features new software that reads how quickly or slowly the rider is pedaling and that informs how long the boost is—the slower each pedal stroke, the longer the boost.

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Flow smartphone app

Bosch’s Flow smartphone app allows riders to adjust four important motor performance variables. Both maximum speed and maximum torque can be adjusted. Assistance, which is the ratio between your effort and the motor output, can be shifted depending on the rider’s needs. Finally, dynamics defines how reactive the motor is, both how quickly the motor responds and how forcefully it responds. Move all four sliders to the right and you get maximum power and maximum reactivity—which will ask more of the battery and reduce range. Move all the sliders to the left and the motor’s response will be smoother, gentler, less noticeable, and ultimately will extend battery range.

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Purion 400 display

Bosch’s new Purion 400 display is a high-resolution color display that mounts on the bar just right of the stem and behind the bar, giving it a relatively well protected position. It is compatible with both Bosch’s LED Remote and its Mini Remote.

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Bigger batteries

As part of this new release Bosch is introducing two new PowerTube batteries, the PowerTube 800 and the PowerTube 600, 800Wh and 600Wh batteries, respectively. Rather than purchase cells from an OE manufacturer they say they designed all new cells, new electronics and new aluminum housings for the batteries. The PowerTube 800 is Bosch’s most energy-dense battery ever. It weighs 3.9kg (8.6 lbs.). By comparison, the PowerTube 750 weighed 4.4 kg (9.7 lbs.), which means the PowerTube 800 weighs 500g (1.1 lbs.) less while offering an additional 50Wh of range. In terms of energy density, that a 20 percent improvement.

The PowerTube 800 and PowerTube 600 share the same length and interface, making them interchangeable within eMTBs. The advantage here is that for the rider who wants a lighter eMTB and is willing to give up some power and range, they can swap the PowerTube 600 for the PowerTube 800. This also gives product managers the opportunity to choose the 600 over the 800 if they want to reduce the retail price of the eMTB. Riders can still add the PowerMore 250 range-extending battery.

The PowerTube 800 and 600 both use recycled materials, making them more sustainable products than previous PowerTube batteries.

The PowerTube 800 is reported to charge 2.5 times faster than other batteries, thanks to a new charging standard that the industry is adopting, called Charge2Bike.

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eShift

Another core feature of the new Performance Line CX is eShift. In addition to existing electronic shifting solutions like the Eviolo Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), Bosch eShift will now support automatic electronic shifting with Shimano Di2 and Cues systems as well as TRP’s electronic derailleur.

ABS Pro

Bosch’s ABS Pro adds anti-lock braking to its suite of performance upgrades. It prevents front wheel lockup under hard braking, allowing a rider to brake later and harder. It also reduces the trail damage that happens when a tire skids.

With new sensors, the brake now reacts more quickly and precisely. With ABS Pro, the point isn’t to control the entirety of braking, but simply preventing overbraking in the initial moment when the brake is applied.

ABS Pro offers two different operation modes, Trail Pro and Race. The big difference between the two is that Race mode will not control for rear wheel lift—that is, braking so hard the rear wheel lifts off the ground, while Trail Pro will control for wheel lift, though to a limited degree.

ABS Pro works with two different brake systems, TRP’s DH-R and Magura’s MT7.

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Electric Bike Report’s take

If you’re wondering why a new motor didn’t include greater power or torque when most products grow in power as they get updated, Bosch resisted the urge to increase power due to the need to provide a product line that meets the requirements for Class 1 e-bikes. Many trail systems only allow Class 1 eMTBs.

This isn’t to say that the new Performance Line CX system isn’t a major upgrade. Increased range, reduced noise, greater performance adjustability and increased functionality in the form of walk assist, hill hold and hill start assistance will bring even more terrain within a rider’s comfort zone. Adding in features such as ABS and eShift will offer riders better performance with less effort on their part. Bosch sees both eShift and ABS Pro as game changers for the rental market, giving casual riders a better riding experience and making riding technical terrain less intimidating.

Bosch’s 20 percent increase in energy density with the PowerTube 800 is one of the most exciting aspects of this product launch. Riders can combine the PowerTube 800 with the PowerMore 250 for a total capacity of 1050Wh. Talk about all-day riding. The cows will come home before you will.

The quieter motor will be welcome. Mountain bikers are accustomed to hearing all the normal sounds of tires on the trail and drivetrain shifting noise, but the sound of an e-bike’s motor can be a distraction and reducing the high-frequency sounds the motor produces will make riding an e-bike equipped with the Performance Line CX a more natural-seeming experience.

The new, smarter walk mode, plus the hill hold and hill start assist will give riders greater access to less sanitized trails in the backcountry, just the sort of riding that an 800Wh battery can offer access to.

We suspect that the addition of inertial sensors will prove to be one of the more significant advances with the new Performance Line CX motor. The combination of the information from the inertial sensors informing the motor of the eMTB’s orientation combined with Bosch’s eMTB assist mode that adjusts the assist level based on how the rider is pedaling will make the eMTB mode even more dynamic and better tailoring its response to the rider’s needs.

It may be that many of these developments and improvements will appeal most to experienced eMTB riders who have experience in the very circumstances these improvements are meant to address. That’s not to say that these advancements are esoteric; a rider doesn’t need to understand all the inner workings of Bosch’s Smart System to enjoy its benefits. That said, don’t be surprised if we see a number of used eMTBs hit the market as riders move to upgrade to the new Performance Line CX.

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Are Electric Bikes Street Legal? Where Can/Can’t You Ride?

The answer really depends on the e-bike in question; not everything that is called an e-bike is actually an e-bike.

Generally speaking, electric bikes are perfectly legal. That’s because People for Bikes, the largest advocacy organization for cyclists in the U.S., wrote a model law and then lobbied heavily for a three class system that states could adopt to give e-bike riders consistency across the 50 states.

That said, we’re beginning to see news reports of e-bikes being banned or restricted in some communities. The village of Key Biscayne recently outlawed all e-bikes and e-scooters. In some places, only certain types of e-bikes are permitted. If you’re confused by what you’ve seen on TV or read in the news, it’s understandable.

Most states (42) have gone on to adopt the law defining the three class system; it positions the three classes of e-bikes within a state’s existing motor vehicle code and gives e-bike riders most of the same rights (and responsibilities) as riders of traditional bikes. A handful of states (Alaska, Kentucky, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina) have adopted laws that deviate from this by varying degrees.

Unless explicitly forbidden, all three classes of e-bikes are permitted on streets. Those three classes are:

Class 1: pedal assistance up to 20 mph
Class 2: pedal assistance or throttle up to 20 mph
Class 3: pedal assistance up to 28 mph (if it has a throttle, the throttle’s assistance tops out at 20 mph)

These three e-bike types, which cover more than 90 percent of all e-bikes sold, are permissible on any road that a bicyclist is allowed to ride. Like bikes, e-bikes are not permitted on interstates or similar highways. Riders are required to obey all the rules of the road, just as a driver would. Some states limit rider age, especially with Class 3 e-bikes. They may also require some riders (such as minors or riders of Class 3 e-bikes) to wear a helmet.

Things become more complicated when we begin looking at bike paths, multi-use trails, sidewalks and singletrack trails. In some states, you can’t ride an e-bike on sidewalks, period. In others, you can’t ride a Class 3 e-bike on a sidewalk. Some bike paths only allow Class 1 e-bikes or limit all bikes—electric and traditional—to a speed limit of 15 mph.

Federal regulations (per the Consumer Product Safety Commission) define an e-bike as producing less than 750W (nominal or continuous power, not peak). Additionally, sixteen states limit an e-bike’s motor power to 750W (nominal or continuous, not peak). Anything more than that isn’t classified as an e-bike.

Not an e-bike

Some e-bike makers offer models that can be “unlocked” and ridden in what is sometimes called an “off-road” or “race” mode. These modes allow an e-bike to be ridden at speeds faster than 28 mph. E-bikes with “off-road” mode are legal at Off-Highway Vehicle Areas (OHV), and few other places.

These e-bikes, some of which can produce as much as 3000W nominally, have yet to receive a formal classification from the government. They simply aren’t e-bikes. Because they have pedals, they aren’t considered mopeds or motorcycles, either; the government has yet to require riders to register or insure them, or carry a driver’s license when riding.

The state of Utah recently enacted a law defining out-of-class e-bikes that also differentiated between them and e-mopeds. Police are empowered to ticket anyone riding an out-of-class e-bike on city streets.

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Some communities have noted an uptick in crashes involving e-bike riders. In Carlsbad, California, the city enacted a new ordinance in 2022 aimed at increasing rider safety. It has outlawed passengers riding on handlebars or any other location on an e-bike not designed to carry a passenger.

Consequences

Some police departments have begun ticketing people for riding out-of-class e-bikes. Police in Danville, California, give minors tickets for driving without a license if they are riding an e-bike with a motor that produces more than 750W. According to California law, an e-bike that produces more than 750W (nominal, not peak), that is a moped, and mopeds require a license, registration and insurance.

Police in Manhattan Beach, California, impounded a 13 year old’s “e-bike” because it wasn’t an e-bike. It was an electric motorcycle—it lacked pedals—and the teen wasn’t wearing a helmet—a violation of California law. The Manhattan Beach Police Department is impounding electric motorcycles, such as those made by Surron and Talaria, if they are ridden on city streets. Such e-motorcycles aren’t street legal—at all.

It’s important to note that police aren’t issuing tickets for how people are riding; they are issuing citations for what people are riding. As long as the e-bike conforms to one of the three defined classes, people have nothing to fear.

The bottom line is super-straightforward. Riding a Class 1, 2 or 3 e-bike on city streets is perfectly legal (okay, except for in Key Biscayne). If you purchase an e-bike that conforms to one or more of the three classes and ride on roads (not highways) and obey all the traffic laws you would as a driver, you’ll be fine.

If you’re interested in riding on bike paths, multi-use paths or sidewalks, you’ll want to consult the laws for your state (and possibly your city). As with most things, if you ride in a manner that is considerate of others, you are unlikely to encounter any issues.

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A new proposal would allow eMTB riders on more than 100 miles of trails within the Lake Tahoe region.

Electric mountain bikes may soon enjoy access to more than 100 miles of trails in the Lake Tahoe Basin thanks to a new proposal. Trail access for electric mountain bikes has been a contentious issue in many parts of the U.S. and the Lake Tahoe region is no different.

The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the U.S. Forest Service has proposed opening up 100 miles of non-motorized trails to eMTBs. Called the Basin Wide Trails Analysis Project, the proposal encompasses the trails that sit within the ridgeline that rings Lake Tahoe.

The proposal aims to reclassify 87 miles of non-motorized trails motorized, but limited to e-bikes—not motorcycles, ATVs or other vehicles. It would also allow the construction of 23 miles of multi-use trails open to e-bikes. One mile of trail currently classified as motorized would be reclassified to e-bike-only. It would also allow for the construction of three new trailheads to increase user access.

The proposal would open 114 different trails to eMTBs, giving eMTBs access to a network of trails encircling the lake.

Granting trail access for eMTBs has been a challenging process. Back in 2019 the U.S. Forest Service determined that eMTBs met the criteria for legal use on non-motorized trails in the Tahoe National Forest. Three equestrian groups sued, arguing that eMTBs are loud and destroy the quiet and solitude of the natural surroundings, and that the USFS had failed to conduct an environmental assessment as mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) any time a new decision regarding access is made. The USFS’s argument was that they hadn’t made a decision. They simply looked at the criteria for access and concluded that eMTBs met the definition because, ultimately, eMTBs are self-propelled.

The equestrian groups prevailed and less than a year later eMTBs were banned from the trails. However, in 2021 the USFS conducted a formal environmental analysis and determined that eMTBs were acceptable. Initially, eMTB riders were granted access to 35 mi. of trails.

Since then, the USFS has announced that 72-mi. Pines to Mines Trail running from Nevada City to Truckee in the Tahoe National Forest will be open to eMTBs.

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Northwest Arkansas residents will soon be able to apply for an e-bike rebate program. A local nonprofit will administer a $7 million rebate program to encourage e-bike use.

The Tri-Regional Arkansas Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) Program was awarded a $99 million grant by the Environmental Protection Agency in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The program will benefit residents of the Tri -Region (Northwest, Central and River Valley)—roughly half the population of the state of Arkansas.

The program will be administered by Trailblazers, an organization whose mission is working to create a world-class recreational and active transportation infrastructure network. The $7 million program is impressive, considering the city of Atlanta set aside $1 million.

Rebates will be granted in the form of point-of-sale vouchers, resulting in a discounted price for the buyer. Trailblazers has yet to announce qualifying criteria and application procedures. Residents wishing to know more are encouraged to follow Trailblazers on Facebook or Instagram.

Northwest Arkansas may seem an unlikely location for a $7 million e-bike rebate program, but few places in the country can claim to be investing in cycling infrastructure the way Northwest Arkansas has.

Walmart is based in Bentonville in Northwest Arkansas and they have been the driving force behind the investment in cycling infrastructure. A number of members of the Walton family are avid cyclists and for the better part of 20 years a nonprofit funded by heirs of Walmart founder Sam Walton have been financing the construction of mountain bike trails.

Despite the region’s lack of standing as a cycling destination previously, a number of initiatives have helped propel the region into the new “it” destination for cycling in the U.S.

It makes sense that there would finally be a well-funded rebate program for area residents. What’s especially encouraging about the program being run by Trailblazers is that it is being funded by a source that isn’t the Walton family. The significance of this is that the organizations within the region are beginning to convince other agencies and organizations to invest in it.

The struggle to gain trail access for eMTBs echoes what mountain bikers were going through in the 1990s when many trail systems banned mountain bikes from singletrack trails. While mountain bike advocacy has come a long way since those dark days, eMTBs don’t yet benefit from the same level of advocacy.

There’s a baseline level of fear that many people have that eMTBs are essentially motorcycles with electric motors, so part of the advocacy mission ahead is to educate other trail users that people on eMTBs have to pedal and aren’t going to be roosting dirt as they pass hikers at 35 mph.

A surprising source of resistance to eMTBs has come from the mountain bike community itself. Some mountain bikers call eMTBs “cheating,” though how you can cheat at enjoying the great outdoors is hard to fathom. We’re not in an organized race, or P.E. for that matter. Fundamentally, they don’t like being passed by someone who isn’t working as hard as they are.

The greatest threat our natural resources face isn’t from user groups, it’s from development. Convincing the federal and state governments not to allow development of pristine wilderness will require many disparate user groups coming together as a unified voice to keep construction out. Every voice will matter and it is our hope that hikers, equestrians and even mountain bikers will recognize that just like in Horton Hears a Who, we must band together.

Of the many hitch racks on the market, few offer the depth of versatility that the Yakima StageTwo does. From the size of the bike it can carry to the way it loads to the accessories that can be added, this is one hitch rack that can meet a broad variety of challenges. We will show in our Yakima StageTwo review why it is a terrific option.

The Yakima StageTwo can carry e-bikes with a maximum weight of 60 lbs. and with a wheelbase of up to 52 in., long enough to carry some cargo e-bikes. It fits bikes with wheels as small as 20 in. and as large as 29 x 3.25 in.—a very big tire. Thanks to its offset trays keeping two bikes from interfering with each other, and it folds flat when not in use. Because it hooks the wheels rather than clamping onto the frame, the Yakima StageTwo is ideal for anyone concerned about their paint or own a bike with a carbon fiber frame.

As an added bonus it’s a sturdy rack that can be expanded to accommodate up to four bikes as was the case with the Yakima StageTwo we reviewed. It’s easy to appreciate the freedom this provides you for family and friend group rides.

German tire maker Schwalbe has introduced a new valve for bike tires. Schwalbe’s Clik Valve (SCV) aims to make valves simpler, more foolproof as well as improve the interface between the valve and the pump head.

The Clik Valve is the same diameter as a presta valve, but it requires a new pump head. The pump head snaps onto the valve with little pressure—Schwalbe says just two fingers are enough—and in snapping closed, it creates an air-tight seal.

The primary market for the Clik Valve will be cyclists running tubeless tires, in part because the valves allow a 50 percent greater airflow through the valve than with traditional presta valves.

For those using presta valves with inserts, it is possible to replace the insert alone, rather than replacing the entire valve, which would necessitate removing the tire.

Schwalbe makes both a replacement pump head and a pump head adapter, depending on how the existing pump head attaches to your pump. They will begin producing tubes using the SCV soon. No word yet on whether they will produce tubes for 20-in. and 26-in. tires.

Schwalbe does make a valve cap to protect the inner mechanism—it’s possible to release air with your fingernail—the cap simply pushes on and pulls off.

As someone who has been dealing with presta valves, pumps and ill-fitting pump heads for longer than Pearl Jam has been together, Schwalbe’s Clik Valve sounds like a dream come true. It would be nice not to worry about the pump head lever pinching fingers or hands or having to pump furiously to overcome a leaky pump head/valve interface.

Schwalbe will sell tubeless Clik Valve sets €23.90($25.83), a conversion kit including two valve inserts with either the pump head €16.95 ($18.32) or the pump head adapter and pairs of just valve inserts €13.95 ($15.08).

TRP has collaborated with Bosch on a new electronic drivetrain for e-bikes equipped with Bosch motors. The TRP Bosch E.A.S.I. A12 uses a TRP-made electronic rear derailleur powered by the e-bike’s Bosch battery. But that’s just the beginning.

TRP is the high-end arm of Tektro; it stands for Tektro Racing Products. The TRP Bosch E.A.S.I. A12 is a 12-speed drivetrain. Though we’ve seen photos of integrated control levers for road and gravel e-bikes, TRP shows the drivetrain on an eMTB on their website. They show two cassettes; one features a 520 percent range (10-52t). The other features a slightly narrower 11-50t setup. Among the features that TRP touts on the site are automatic shifting so that you never have to think to shift. Riders can use Bosch’s Flow e-bike app to set their target cadence in case they choose automatic shifting. Manual shifting is, of course, an option, but so is a temporary manual override for riders who choose automatic shifting.

Perhaps the most intriguing feature of the drivetrain is the torque reduction it performs when shifting. The higher the torque the drivetrain is under when shifting, the more wear the drivetrain suffers. By reducing the amount of torque the motor produces while shifting, drivetrain longevity is increased. The shifting tends to be smoother and quieter as well.

The wireless shifter features a classic two trigger design. The shifter communicates via CMD technology and it runs on a CR-2032 watch battery.

As we mentioned, we’ve seen photos of integrated control levers that feature a two-paddle design similar to Shimano’s road STI levers, but we have yet to see what sort of cassette it would be paired with. As they haven’t shown a front derailleur, we suspect this will be a strictly 1x system. We also suspect that this will be appearing on e-bikes that retail for $4000 and up.

This is an exciting development and considering the hold Shimano has on the industry, it would be healthy for suppliers to have an alternative to the bike industry’s dominant drivetrain supplier.

Patrick Brady

E-bike Writer & Reviewer

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Rad Power Bikes RadExpand 5 Plus Review | Nice Tech & Ride

A compact folding e-bike that has range for days and the upgrades fans had been asking for.

Best Electric Bikes For Kids | Be Safe AND Have Fun!

Our Best Electric Bikes for Kids for 2025

Best Cheap (Budget) Electric Bikes, 2025

Here are our picks for the best cheap electric bikes:

Bosch Updates Performance Line CX Motor – More Range, Better Performance, Less Weight

Gains include greater range, more motor performance control, better walk assist and new features including hill hold and hill start assist.

Are Electric Bikes Street Legal? Where Can/Can’t You Ride?

The answer really depends on the e-bike in question; not everything that is called an e-bike is actually an e-bike.

Not an e-bike

Consequences

Patrick Brady

E-bike Writer & Reviewer

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Patrick Brady

A compact folding e-bike that has range for days and the upgrades fans had been asking for.

Our Best Electric Bikes for Kids for 2025

Here are our picks for the best cheap electric bikes:

Gains include greater range, more motor performance control, better walk assist and new features including hill hold and hill start assist.

The answer really depends on the e-bike in question; not everything that is called an e-bike is actually an e-bike.

Not an e-bike

Consequences

Area residents will soon be able to apply for a point-of-sale voucher that will discount the price of an e-bike.

Electric Bike Report’s take

A new proposal would allow eMTB riders on more than 100 miles of trails within the Lake Tahoe region.

Electric Bike Report’s take

The StageTwo can carry e-bikes weighing up to 70 lbs. and with a wheelbase of 52. in., making it one of the better racks for e-bikes on the market.

Rather than try to improve upon presta or Schrader valves, Schwalbe designed a whole new valve and pump head that is easy to operate and airtight.

TRP and Bosch have collaborated on an electronic drivetrain for both road and mountain that will shift automatically and be powered by Bosch’s battery.

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