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Patrick Brady

Hollywood Racks Destination E Review | Read Before Buying!

There’s a truism about bike racks like the Hollywood Destination E bike rack we’re reviewing: They need to be able to carry more bikes than the purchaser owns.

There’s no telling when you’ll need to pick up a friend on the way to the ride location or rescue someone who has run into a bigger mechanical than they can fix on the ride.

The Hollywood Racks Destination E hitch rack has more range than most. In a world full of one-size-doesn’t-actually-fit-all, this hitch rack can accommodate everything from a 70-lb. cargo e-bike down to a BMX bike, not to mention any e-bike with tires up to 4.5-in. wide.

While the versatility of this bike rack was the star of the show for us, it also scores well in the affordable and reliable boxes, making it worthy of a look for any e-biker in the market.

DJI Is Getting Into E-Bikes With New Brand Amflow

The Amflow PL Carbon features a proprietary motor called Avinox that produces 850W at max and a whopping 105Nm of torque, and that’s before setting it to Boost mode.

The electronics wizards at DJI—best known for their drones—have launched a new e-bike brand, Amflow. The Amflow PL is an eMTB with a proprietary new motor, the Avinox.

Not to overstate things, but in a world full of disruptions, this new motor is going to disrupt the eMTB market.

The Avinox drive unit looks like a typical 250W mid-drive motor. It’s not, though. This mid-drive may produce 250W nominally, but its peak power output is 850W with a massive 105Nm of torque. That is, that’s the peak output until you put set the controller to Boost mode in which peak power output jumps to 1000W and torque climbs to 120Nm. Despite all that power, this is still a Class 1 motor with a maximum assist speed of 20 mph. It weighs just 2.5kg (5.5 lbs.), giving it one of the highest power-to-weight ratios on the market.

Amflow produces the PL Carbon in two different versions. The Amflow PL Carbon is made in four sizes and features 150mm of travel. In spec, the Amflow PL Carbon comes with the Avinox drive unit, an 800Wh battery, Fox Float Performance shock and Fox 36 Performance fork and a SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain with Magura MT-5 4-piston calipers matched with 203mm rotors. Maxxis tires, an alloy bar and KS dropper post.

The Amflow PL Carbon Pro features the same frame and Avinox motor, but upgrades the Fox Float Performance to a Fox Float X Factory and the fork to a Flox 36 Factory. Riders are given a choice between a lighter 600Wh battery and the 800Wh battery. The drivetrain goes to SRAM’s X0 Eagle transmission with a wireless AXS Pod controller. The bar is upgraded to carbon fiber and an adjustable-travel Fox Transfer dropper post.

The Amflow PL Carbon Pro is reported to weigh just 42 lbs., a weight that rivals some of the lighter eMTBs with lightweight motors that can’t match the output of the Avinox drive unit.

Amflow produces a smartphone app that will allow users to adjust certain performance parameters as well as remotely track the PL Carbon’s location. If the location is “abnormal” the owner will receive an alert on their phone.

The OLED display mounted in the top tube will display a range of information, not just battery level. The GaN charger is said to take a battery up to 75 percent of charge in just 90 minutes.

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Manufacturers always want to introduce the next product that will be called a game-changer. Very few do, but Amflow, backed by the considerable expertise of DJI, may have accomplished just that with the PL Carbon and PL Carbon Pro.

The Amflow eMTB has the ability to reset expectations for what someone can expect from an eMTB in terms of power and weight.

No word yet on pricing or availability.

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Have You Seen This? Bakcou Timberwolf Is a Huge AWD Scooter

The Bakcou Timberwolf is an e-scooter with two 750W motors, a 1008Wh battery, disc brakes front and rear and fat tires that can roll over lots of terrain.

Imagine an e-scooter. Imagine going off-road. On your e-scooter. You might have gotten stuck at that last suggestion because most scooters—electric or otherwise—have wheels the size of what we put on suitcases. Small wheels aren’t great for unpaved surfaces, which is where the Bakcou Timberwolf figures.

Bakcou, whose name comes from backcountry, has introduced an electric scooter with wheels and tires big enough to go offroad. The Timberwolf has a 24-in. wheel in front, with a 20-in. wheel in the rear. The tires are 4-in.-wide knobbies, perfect for going offroad.

It is equipped with not one, but two, 750W Bafang hub motors. They are powered by a whopping 1008Wh battery, which seems huge (okay, it is objectively huge), but considering that it is powering two motors rather than one, and considering that most riders will be using the throttle full-time, range won’t be as enormous as you might expect. Bakcou indicates a top speed of 20+ mph, which suggests it has a mode that will allow it to go faster than 20 mph, but they don’t go into detail on the site.

Bakcou specs a GT MRK coil-spring suspension fork with 110mm of travel to help soak up the bumps so your knees don’t have to do all the work. Because of the deck you stand on, ground clearance is an issue for the Timberwolf in a way it is not with an e-bike. It offers 6 in. of clearance below the deck, which means that any rocks or roots someone rides over will, hopefully, be less than 6 in. tall.

It features Tektro hydraulic disc brakes both front and rear and they are matched with 203mm rotors, which is the largest size you can get for an e-bike. This e-scooter won’t have any trouble stopping—as long as it’s on solid ground.

The max load for the Bakcou Timberwolf is 320 lbs., though they say that depends on the terrain. Reading between the lines, that suggests that on a steep enough uphill, the two motors may not be able to produce enough torque to move that much weight. The weight of the scooter is a factor in this. Because it has that ginormous battery and two motors, it weighs 90 lbs. Should you need to pick it up, removing the battery will drop the weight to 79 lbs.

Bakcou estimates that the 1008Wh battery will give riders a range of 25 mi., depending on the terrain and surface. The hillier the terrain, the more that number will shrink.

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When it comes to the annals of, “What will they think of next?” just when the crew here at Electric Bike Report thinks we’ve seen it all, we realize, nope, we have not seen all of it. New ideas pop up seemingly weekly.

One of the interesting lessons we’ve learned is that no matter how unusual a product may seem, there’s always someone out there who sees it and thinks, “Exactly what I need.” It’s hard to imagine the use case that makes someone think this will better fit their needs than an e-bike, but that’s not our job. Our job is to let our readers know Bakcou makes the Timberwolf (and two other e-scooters).

The Bakcou Timberwolf is not cheap, which should not be a surprise, considering that it comes with a very large battery and two motors. Be prepared to spend more than $3000 if you’re interested. It comes in three colors: matte black, matte Army green and matte orange.

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Racers Rejoice: Shimano Unveils EP801 Update

Shimano’s new update allows more boost, smoother power cutoff and adjustable carryover assist.

Shimano has just announced an update to their race-winning EP801 motor. The update will increase the power available to riders, how the motor assistance decreases when a rider reaches the motor’s max assistance speed, as well as how long the motor’s carry-over assist lasts once the rider stops pedaling.

The best part? This is available to everyone with an e-bike equipped with the EP801 motor. This is possible because the changes come in the form of a firmware update.

The biggest change this firmware update gives riders is more power in Boost mode. Shimano says riders will be able to reach a 400 percent assist ratio with ease—making the most of the EP801’s 600W max output. This means a more immediate response to pedal input and improved acceleration, as well as max torque on command.

For anyone who has ever been annoyed by the way their motor shut off once they reached its maximum assist speed, this update allows riders to customize the manner in which the power ends. Whether someone wants max power right up to cutoff or they want it to taper off to give them some warning, the motor’s behavior can be tailored to your preference.

Shimano says the most exciting new feature is the extended assist carryover. How long the motor continues to produce power after the rider stops pedaling can now be adjusted according to the rider’s needs based on terrain, race-specific needs or the rider’s riding style and what feels natural.

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To take advantage of this firmware update, riders need to take their EP801-equipped e-bike into their dealer; techs can install the new firmware. Tech-savvy riders will be able to install the firmware themselves with Shimano’s E-Tube Project smartphone app following an update coming this fall.

New e-bikes assembled after June 25 will come equipped with the updated firmware.
Offering riders an increased level of customization helps to make the e-bike experience more individualized and can make riding with friends more exciting by differentiating motor performance. We are looking forward to giving this a try.

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Portland to Launch E-Bike Rebate Program in 2025

Portland will institute a $20M e-bike rebate program for low-income and BIPOC residents in 2025 that will also fund the training of 50 new e-bike mechanics.

Portland, Oregon will soon have its own e-bike rebate program. Portland’s program will be run by the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund Climate Investment Plan (PCEF). The plan, which was implemented in 2023 calls for $750 million to be invested in programs for black and indigenous people of color, as well as low-income Portlanders, all with the intent to fight climate change.

Of that $750 million, $20 million has been designated for an e-bike rebate program. Compare that with the $1 million that Atlanta set aside.

The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) will administer the program and they have been authorized to hire staff and/or organizations to implement the program.

Seetha Ream-Rao leads the transportation decarbonization programs for the PCEF. In presenting the program to the city council she framed it as being, “Absolutely essential to meeting Portland’s net zero goals.”

To bolster her case, she cited a recent Oregon Household Activities Survey that revealed the average daily trip in the Portland metro area was just 6 mi. and 80 percent of those trips are conducted by car (that 20 percent are conducted by means other than vehicle is impressive).

Ream-Rao said, “That [distance] is well within the range of any e-bike on the market today and one of the biggest opportunities for carbon reductions.”

The rebate program will administer funds through a website where applicants will be awarded a voucher that can then be used at the point-of-sale with an approved e-bike retailer. No word if direct-to-consumer brands will be approved to participate.

In addition to the rebate, the program will fund the training of 50 new e-bike mechanics. The other provision of the program will create a pilot program aimed at residents of multifamily buildings to create secure storage and charging facilities on the building’s ground floor.

There will be three tiers to the rebate program; standard e-bikes will receive the base rebate (amount still to be determined). The second tier will be aimed at cargo e-bikes; those recipients will receive the base rebate plus an additional $750. The third tier will serve riders with a disability who need an adaptive e-bike and they will receive a percentage of the cost of the e-bike, capped at a certain amount.

Some rebates will be set aside for middle-income households, but the amount will be less than what will be provided to low-income families.

Every voucher will come with an additional $200 “safety incentive” that will allow people to buy the essentials people need to use an e-bike for transportation, such as a helmet and lock.

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It remains to be seen just how much of the $20 million in funding winds up in the hands of Portlanders in the form of rebates. That the program is focusing on the needs of low-income and frequently disenfranchised populations holds the promise of making a measurable impact in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

According to Sarah Iannarone, executive director of the nonprofit The Street Trust, they estimate that the rebate program will lead to 180,000 mi. traveled by e-bike, 100,000 new bike trips and 17,000 fewer car trips. Iannarone warns that Portland needs its cycling infrastructure to expand exponentially.

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E-Bike Ownership Less Correlated To Income Than Acoustic Bikes

E-bike ownership skews young, as does participation in bike share programs, while conventional bike ownership skews toward affluent, educated men.

A recent study considered whether there was a relationship between income level and whether an individual owned an e-bike or an “acoustic” bike—a regular, non-motorized bike, that is. The research, published in the Journal of Transport and Health, focused on the population of Sydney, produced some surprising findings.

Young adults aged 25-34 were found to have the highest rate of ownership of e-bikes as well as the highest rate of participation in bike share programs. They also had a lower rate of conventional bike ownership.

Regular bike ownership skewed toward those who were male, young, highly educated and affluent. No surprise there.

The study found that factors such as being foreign-born, paying rent (rather than a mortgage) and living in an apartment reduced the likelihood of owning a bike, whether conventional or electric.

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The results of the study aren’t especially surprising, but having confirmed what we might have guessed by visiting a local bike path for an hour or two, it’s fair to ask what conclusions the study’s authors drew.

Their results, they say, suggest a need for financial incentives, such as rebate programs. They also believe that increasing bike storage facilities would help encourage more e-bike use. They encourage the expansion of bike share programs because they help to address hurdles to private ownership, and they emphasized the need for them to remain affordable.

These findings, while no great newsflash, are helpful because it takes what many of us see anecdotally and moves it into more objective data, which can be helpful to governments when deciding where to allocate funds.

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Demand Outstrips Supply in Atlanta E-Bike Rebate Program

Atlanta’s e-bike rebate program received more than 4,500 applications in the first 12 hours the page was live.

The city of Atlanta found out just how popular their e-bike rebate program was when it went live on June 16. In a bit more than 48 hours the program received 4867 applications. The program was funded with a $1 million investment from the city of Atlanta and was intended to provide affordable transportation options for low-income residents. A whopping 4,500 of those applications were filed within the first 12 hours after the web page went live.

By the time the application window closed on June 23, the city had received nearly 9000 applications.

Depending on your view, that is either good or bad news, possibly both. The overwhelming response shows just how keen people are to add an e-bike to their transportation options, which is certainly good. The bad news is that only 700 rebate vouchers are available in this first round.

Income-qualified Atlanta residents (those who demonstrate they meet the threshold to qualify as low income) can receive a rebate certificate good for $1,000 off a regular e-bike or $2,000 off a cargo e-bike. Residents who exceed the income threshold can receive a rebate of up to $500 for an e-bike or $1,000 for a cargo e-bike.

The first round of rebates should be distributed to recipients by the end of July. Recipients will have six weeks to purchase their e-bike from a qualified Atlanta retailer.

Atlanta will offer two more rounds of rebate distribution, with one taking place in August and another in September.

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As the cost of vehicle ownership continues to climb and with the other economic pressures of modern life, e-bikes have become increasingly attractive as a means of transportation. The overwhelming response to the program will hopefully spur Atlanta to invest more money in the program in future years, as well as serve as an inspiration to other cities.

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Check This Out: Bianchi’s Oltre Weighs Just 24 Pounds

The famed Italian brand has introduced a road e-bike that weighs just 24 lbs. and its Mahle X30 hub produces a spirited 45Nm of torque.

Bianchi is one of the oldest, possibly, the oldest, bike brands in the world with a history that dates back to 1885. Their top-of-the-line carbon fiber road bike is the Oltre, a beauty with clean lines and a Tour de France pedigree.

And now, for everyone who needs some help going 20 mph, the Bianchi E-Oltre adds the Mahle X30 hub motor to yield one of the lightest e-bikes on the market—just 11kg (24.2 lbs.)—light enough to rival Trek’s Domane+ SLR. It wasn’t that many years ago that a racing bike weighed 24 lbs.

The Mahle X30 hub in the E-Oltre produces 250W and 45Nm of torque. It’s unlikely that another e-bike could put this hub to use as well as the E-Oltre; 45Nm of torque will see this e-bike accelerate like other e-bikes with much bigger motors while still retaining the feel of a regular road bike. This may be as close as some of us come to keeping the cake we are eating.

The Mahle X30 hub draws its power from a 250Wh internal battery that Bianchi says can offer as much as 90km (56 mi.) range on a single charge. It seems unlikely that such a small battery has ever accounted for so much range. Mahle makes a range-extending battery that is estimated to add another 55km (34 mi.).

Bianchi offers the E-Oltre in seven different sizes to give riders an optimal fit. They also make it in three different versions. One is equipped with Shimano’s 105 group and goes for around $5,500. There’s one with Shimano’s Ultegra Di2 electronic shifting that runs close to $7,000, while the top-of-the-line version with Shimano’s Dura-Ace Di2 goes for close to $11,000.

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One of the things that road cyclists love in a great bike is the feeling that they are on something that responds to every nuance of movement, and the lighter the bike, the better it responds. The Bianchi E-Oltre is light enough that it will feel like a road bike while the extra muscle from the Mahle X30 hub will make climbing a pleasure.

With a maximum assist speed of 20 mph, The E-Oltre is likely to disappoint riders looking for something that will assist them to traffic speeds on flat roads, but for people doing rides with lots of hills or very long climbs, the Mahle X30 will make the uphills go quickly and on the descents riders are likely to forget they are on an e-bike.

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Pinion’s Motor Gearbox Unit Gets Big Update

Completely automatic shifting comes to this combination mid-drive motor/gearbox while still offering riders adjustability and manual override.

Pinion made a big splash with the introduction of the Motor Gearbox Unit, or MGU. The MGU is a first in the e-bike world—a transmission that combines multiple gears with a mid-drive e-bike motor. Now they are announcing a new update that will make what was already one of the most-coveted e-bike motors even more attractive—automatic shifting.

Automatic shifting is a software update that improves upon what Pinion already offered with the MGU. Previously, Pinion offered a mode called Pre.Select that would change gears while the rider was coasting. I would compare the rider’s speed compared to a preset target cadence and then select the gear most appropriate to that cadence. Now Pinion has added two more shift modes, Auto.Shift and Auto.Shift.Pro.

With Auto.Shift the MGU automatically shifts—even under a full pedaling load. Pinion is careful to note that the automatic shifting isn’t predictive, but instead is reactive. The system monitors a number of inputs, according to Pinion, and while they don’t detail those inputs, it’s easy to connect the dots and conclude that some of those inputs would be cadence, speed and the amount of torque the rider is exerting on the pedals.

Because cadence is to some degree a matter of personal preference and riding style, Pinion allows a rider to define their preferred cadence range so that the MGU doesn’t shift at cadences above or below the rider’s preferred range. They can do this dynamically while riding with the TE-1 E-Trigger.

Pinion also offers Auto.Shift.Pro which allows riders to override the gear that the Pinion MGU has selected by using the E-Trigger. Pinion says this allows a rider to derive all the assistance of an automatic transmission without losing the dynamic edge that comes with shifting manually.

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Automatic shifting systems have been a dream held by riders and detested by engineers for almost as long as multi-gear shifting systems have existed. What most get wrong is the dynamic nature of cycling, how in some circumstances a rider might pedal with a lower cadence (such as when climbing) or a higher-than-usual cadence (such as when going fast on flat ground). The inability of most automatic transmissions to accommodate the idiosyncrasies of individual riders has been a strike against them big enough to prevent most manufacturers from trying to build them.

With the Pinion MGU both the Auto.Shift and Auto.Shift.Pro modes seem, based on their descriptions, to allow for enough on-the-fly adjustment to make them an exciting addition to what is already one of the world’s most intriguing motors for e-bikes.

Visitors to the Eurobike trade show in July will be able to will be able to try the new modes out on demo bikes there.

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McKinsey Predicts Booming $520 Billion Micro EV Market By 2035

The management consultants believe the market will grow by $180 billion by the end of the decade and then another $180 billion in just five more years.

Management consultants McKinsey and Company have released a market analysis for the micro-EV industry. They anticipate explosive growth for the entire segment, which is dominated by e-bikes, but also includes scooters and devices such as one-wheels.

These numbers reflect the size of the worldwide market, rather than one region. According to their analysis, they peg the current worldwide market at $160 billion dollars. By 2030, they predict the market will grow by $180 billion to $340 billion. That will grow another $180 billion in just five years to a total of $520 billion.

According to McKinsey, the biggest drivers will be regulation and consumer behavior. Regulation will figure as a driver because of how governments will prioritize forms of transportation that help them meet their climate targets. Subsidies and investment in micromobility infrastructure will help spur consumer behavior.

Currently, five European countries account for a whopping 50 percent of the market, some $29 billion in sales. Germany leads, with France coming in second and the U.K. third.

E-bikes the biggest segment of the European micromobility market, they say; e-bikes account for 40 percent of the total market. They project that e-bike sales will grow by 13 percent annually through 2035.

McKinsey also found that e-bikes are used primarily for transportation. Worldwide, 52 percent of owners use their e-bike for getting around, while 34 percent use theirs for exercise.

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Our big takeaway from McKinsey’s research is their faith that micromobility infrastructure will grow at a rate that will help to incent people to purchase e-bikes and make them part of their transportation.

This is important because as micromobility infrastructure grows in the form of bike lanes and bike paths, more and more people will feel safe riding as a means of transportation.

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Patrick Brady

E-bike Writer & Reviewer

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Hollywood Racks Destination E Review | Read Before Buying!

DJI Is Getting Into E-Bikes With New Brand Amflow

The Amflow PL Carbon features a proprietary motor called Avinox that produces 850W at max and a whopping 105Nm of torque, and that’s before setting it to Boost mode.

Have You Seen This? Bakcou Timberwolf Is a Huge AWD Scooter

The Bakcou Timberwolf is an e-scooter with two 750W motors, a 1008Wh battery, disc brakes front and rear and fat tires that can roll over lots of terrain.

Racers Rejoice: Shimano Unveils EP801 Update

Shimano’s new update allows more boost, smoother power cutoff and adjustable carryover assist.

Portland to Launch E-Bike Rebate Program in 2025

Portland will institute a $20M e-bike rebate program for low-income and BIPOC residents in 2025 that will also fund the training of 50 new e-bike mechanics.

E-Bike Ownership Less Correlated To Income Than Acoustic Bikes

E-bike ownership skews young, as does participation in bike share programs, while conventional bike ownership skews toward affluent, educated men.

Demand Outstrips Supply in Atlanta E-Bike Rebate Program

Atlanta’s e-bike rebate program received more than 4,500 applications in the first 12 hours the page was live.

Check This Out: Bianchi’s Oltre Weighs Just 24 Pounds

The famed Italian brand has introduced a road e-bike that weighs just 24 lbs. and its Mahle X30 hub produces a spirited 45Nm of torque.

Pinion’s Motor Gearbox Unit Gets Big Update

Completely automatic shifting comes to this combination mid-drive motor/gearbox while still offering riders adjustability and manual override.

McKinsey Predicts Booming $520 Billion Micro EV Market By 2035

The management consultants believe the market will grow by $180 billion by the end of the decade and then another $180 billion in just five more years.

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Patrick Brady

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Patrick Brady

The Amflow PL Carbon features a proprietary motor called Avinox that produces 850W at max and a whopping 105Nm of torque, and that’s before setting it to Boost mode.

The Bakcou Timberwolf is an e-scooter with two 750W motors, a 1008Wh battery, disc brakes front and rear and fat tires that can roll over lots of terrain.

Shimano’s new update allows more boost, smoother power cutoff and adjustable carryover assist.

Portland will institute a $20M e-bike rebate program for low-income and BIPOC residents in 2025 that will also fund the training of 50 new e-bike mechanics.

E-bike ownership skews young, as does participation in bike share programs, while conventional bike ownership skews toward affluent, educated men.

Atlanta’s e-bike rebate program received more than 4,500 applications in the first 12 hours the page was live.

The famed Italian brand has introduced a road e-bike that weighs just 24 lbs. and its Mahle X30 hub produces a spirited 45Nm of torque.

Completely automatic shifting comes to this combination mid-drive motor/gearbox while still offering riders adjustability and manual override.

The management consultants believe the market will grow by $180 billion by the end of the decade and then another $180 billion in just five more years.

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