In this weeks news:

• New 28mph Yamaha eRoad bike
• Crosscountry and Downhill eMTBs from Mountain Bike Specialist Niner
• Vekkit Lightweight Retrofit Kit from Poland
• Vittoria’s New Graphene Tyres
• What Do You Pack for an eBike Trip?
• Electric Monowheel World Record
• ‘Free’ eBike Use for North Londoners
• Battery Tech Update
• Cargobike Boom in Europe

New eBikes and eBike Systems

New Yamaha Civante – A 28mph eRoad Bike

Class 3 e-bikes are allowed a top assisted speed of 28mph in the US. They are popular for those who feel the 20mph limit on class 1 and class 2 e-bikes is insufficient. The greater speed of course means you go further, faster. The downsides are:

• Access to all bike paths may be restricted so you may find yourself mixing more with motor traffic
• Shorter battery range and life due to the greater power demands on the battery to reach top assisted speeds

Despite any drawbacks, Yamaha have announced the launch of a new class 3 e-bike the Civante eRoad bike. It also looks pretty light, claiming to be a sub 20kg e-bike despite packing a powerful looking PWSeries SE mid-drive motor and a 500Wh battery. There are also 20 derailleur gears and LED lights and hydraulic disk brakes. There are also rack and fender mounting points.

 

 

Niner Launch New eMTBS

US brand Niner who have started producing 29″-wheeled mountain bikes back in 2005 are entering the world of e-mtbs with two new models. The RIP e9 and the WFO e9 feature different wheel sizes and suspension travel. Both models feature top end Bosch Performance Line CX mid-drives and large 625 Wh powertube batteries integrated into the frame but easily removable.

The RIP e9 is touted as an ‘allrounder’ e-mtb with 150 mm travel on front air suspension and 150mm rear travel, 29″ tires, 25.2 kg claimed weight and an RRP of US$5995 / € 5,999.

The WFO e9 is a downhill emtb with 180 mm travel on front air suspension unit, 29 rear and 27.5″ front tires, 25.2 kg claimed weight and an RRP of US$6295 / € 6,499

Here’s Niner’s own summary:

Vekkit eBike Kit

Polish firm Velotton are known more for bike bags. However they have now diversified into what looks to be a very minimalist e-bike retrofit kit the Vekkit. It features just three main components; battery, front hub  motor and wireless sensor that attaches to the pedal crank.

It has a claimed overall weight of just 3kg, with prices starting from €535. Vekkit say they have options for city bikes, touring bikes and folders. Electric assist is limited to European spec of 25kmh but Vekkit’s website intimates they will ship to many countries globally including USA. Here’s a video showing an early prototype of the Vekkit:

Cycling Accessories

Vittoria Launches eBike Tires with Graphene

Ebiketips report ‘Tyre experts Vittoria have launched their first e-bike tyre range, and boldly claim they can actually extend your battery life. This is thanks to the graphene compound that reduces rolling resistance, say Vittoria, and they also claim the ‘E-Tire’ range features the most robust construction they’ve ever developed for ultimate puncture resistance.’ The various tire models are aimed at urban, cross country, trail and enduro riding.

Vittoria claim that due to reduced rolling resistance the tires can extend e-bike range. Graphene is a microscopically thin layer of graphite and was discovered in 2002. In recent years it has been finding its way into tire technology and many other products where its strength and thermal and electrical conductivity are said to be useful. Sticking to tires though, experienced riders at mtbr like the this particular graphene enhanced mtb tyre so this seems to be a developing technology well worth keeping on your e-bike radar…

Get Inspired

What Would you Take on Your eBike Tour?

An eternal question in the e-bike world as, of course, it all depends on the rider, the tour and the e-bike! However there are some great tips and tricks in this video showing what one e-bike rider took on a tour around Mount Adams in Washington state. I especially love the look of the water bottle that doubles as a lantern!

Don’t Try This At Home – Electric Monowheel Speed Record (Currently 72mph)

A team of engineering students at Duke University are working to break the fastest monowheel record with an electric monowheel.

More detail here.

eMicromobility

‘Free’ eBike Trials in London

Intelligent Transport reports that a trial is now underway featuring 200 dockless  shared e-bikes trial, with a further thousand e-bikes reportedly to be rolled out across central London in the coming months.

HumanForest is behind the scheme which offers 20 free minutes of riding per day and no unlocking fee. Once the 20 free minutes are used up, the scheme charges 12p per minute of use.

Battery Watch

More Capacity on the Way?

Everyone who makes or rides an e-bike want’s more battery capacity with no increase in weight – in other words more energy density. As this clear video on the subject shows the increase in energy density in recent years has been down to better manufacture and design of batteries rather than any fundamental advance in battery chemistry. Energy density remains stuck around the 250Wh per kg mark.

But change may be on the horizon. The video outlines the possibility of a solid state battery from Toyota for 2025 with a claimed 350Wh per kg energy density, though electric vehicles rather than e-bikes will be the initial recipients. More immediately watch out for the launch of Tesla’s battery day on September 15th – energy density and longevity improvements could be in the pipeline.

eBike Biz

Euro Cargobike Boom

Bike Europe reports that ‘The EU-funded CityChangerCargoBike project has released key results of the first European Cargo Bike Industry Survey. 38 cargo bike brands contributed data anonymously, revealing many positives for Europe’s cargo bike industry including an expected market growth of 53% in 2020.

 

Recent headlines might suggest that shared e-micromobility schemes – whether e-bike or kickscooter – are having a tough time. Whether it’s reports of shared e-bikes being scrapped or the likes of Bird and Lime suspending service in cities due to the pandemic.

But amidst the global chaos engendered by Covid 19 there was plenty of positive news about micromobility too, from corporate style product launches to new services out there on the streets.

Here EBR takes a look at what’s been happening to shared electrically powered schemes before and during the virus and what the signs are for the future.

First the Bad News

Rentals from e-bike and e-kickscooter schemes all but dried up at the start of the pandemic. As this March report from The Verge tells us ‘Lime, the largest e-scooter-sharing company in the world, said it would be suspending service in nearly two dozen countries. Bird said it would halt operations in six US cities as well as all of its European markets. And Spin, which is owned by Ford, has had to pause service in “very few” cities and universities. ‘

Clearly initial demand plummeted and, with expenses still piling up and next to no income, the virus was clearly an existential threat to many of these companies, companies that were largely still in their startup phase and yet to run into profit. Relatively small European micromobility company Voi advised customers in a blog post to “wear gloves” and use hand sanitiser.

However, as this Electrek article points out, much of the damage was already done; the essential weakness was in the underlying business model as ‘Electric scooter companies were already struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic, largely due to the higher-than-anticipated cost of replacing short-lived electric scooters and the low rental prices needed to keep riders on their vehicles.’

Undoubtedly a major headline grabber was that fact that, after a fanfare about global expansion, Uber was ‘scrapping thousands of electric bikes and scooters worth millions of dollars after selling its Jump unit to mobility start-up Lime earlier this month’, as revealed in this CNBC report.

But again, arguably this news was rather more to do with a mad rush of sometimes unthinking investors and a ‘land grab’ culture from micromobility startups keen to get scooters on the streets as quickly as possible at almost any price – and with the corporate disappointment when quick profits failed to follow.

Now the Good News

So, in the wake of the pandemic, is the concept of sharing any kind of transport dead? Clearly not as there are signs it may still re-emerge based on a new, leaner business model and working with rather than against cities that have shown a desire to rapidly move away from cars and with their populations understandably reluctant to return en masse to mass transit too.

After a slump in rentals during the initial virus lockdown, London’s (non-electric) hire bikes became a source of exercise, mobility and freedom for many. As the Evening Standard reported in late May:

‘More people hired a bicycle over the Bank Holiday than on any other non-strike day in the history of London’s public pay-as-you-ride scheme. Nearly 69,000 “Boris Bike” rentals were made on Monday, leaving many of Transport for London’s pavement docking hubs empty across the capital after restrictions around outdoor exercise began to ease.’

Clearly people are more than happy with shared mobility, even during the virus crises, in London at any rate. Indeed there are signs of a resurgence as London plans more cycle lanes and more people than ever are out on two wheels in one form or another.

Even much maligned Jump, currently infamous for scrapping excess e-bikes, intend to rise again via new owners Lime, as Mashable report:

‘Jump’s bright red bikes are being relaunched in London, the first big move in Europe since competitor Lime bought the company from Uber in June.

Londoners might have seen a few of the red e-bikes lingering around over the last month, but this relaunch marks a more practical alignment with Lime. A few hundred Jump bikes will be dropped in London starting Friday, first in Camden and Islington, and more will be added according to demand.’

And the same article states ‘E-bikes are still safe to occasionally use during the coronavirus pandemic, as long as the proper precautions are taken — wash your hands, wipe down handlebars if you can, don’t rent if you’re ill. And companies like Jump have been upping the cleaning of their vehicles. “We have increased the frequency of cleaning, and we are disinfecting all Jump e-bikes and scooters coming in and out of the warehouses,” a Jump spokesperson in the U.S. explained to Mashable’s Sasha Lekach. “Staff responsible for handling Jump vehicles are wearing gloves and washing their hands often.”

Indeed, many companies have adapted to the pandemic by putting in measures to protect employees and the public and rental companies are no exception as this article from early April demonstrates. Similarly there is a lot the individual can do including taking sanitising spray and wipes with them if they want to hire a bike or scooter. Increasingly, infection rates that differ widely between regions and states are becoming well publicised, which will also make it easier for people to make an informed decision about when and where they want to go out. If sanitising becomes a long term concern there is even the possibility of self-cleaning technology being deployed. 

Look Long Term

There are signs that cities that have made long term plans in the past or are starting to do so now are well placed to see a resurgence of shared mobility in the future.

The city of Madison, Wisconsin has seen a resurgence in the use of its all electric bike hire scheme in the midst of the pandemic, aided by a visible and reassuring sanitisation programme.

And many city authorities and companies still clearly see a future for shared e-micromobility.

Encouraging news from New York City as Intelligent Transport reports:

‘New York City councillors have voted on bills to legalise the use of electric bikes and scooters throughout the city. The legislation will remove restrictions on three classes of electric bicycles with top speeds under 25 miles per hour and electric scooters with top speeds under 20 miles per hour.

E-bikes and e-scooters were legalised statewide when the state budget was passed on 1 April, but the Council has now acted to remove the local law that prohibits them, and adds measures designed to ensure that delivery cyclists are not subject to unequal crackdowns and summonses of their bikes by the New York City Police Department.

As part of the legalisation, the New York Department of Transportation (DOT) is required to create a year-long pilot programme for the operation of shared electric scooters in New York City. Neighbourhoods underserved by public transit, lacking options for last-mile connections to transit stations, or underserved by existing dock-based bike-share programmes will be given priority in determining the geographic boundaries of the pilot programme.’

The corporate world still has its eyes firmly fixed on e-bike and e-kickscooter share too. CNBC reports on how Estonian ride-hailing firm Bolt is taking on other micrombility organisations in rental hotspot Paris whilst forthcoming UK trails are attracting keen interest from the likes of Bird, Lime and Voi.

Auto makers also still have their eyes firmly set on the shared micromobility. Daimler are an investor in Bolt whilst Spanish car giant SEAT recently launched a fleet of electric share vehicles including an e-kickscooter under the SEAT MO name.

Has electric ride sharing taken a knock? Sure. Is it out for the count? Definitely not and EBR will be here to keep you up to date on all the latest e-micromobility news in future.

Stay tuned for more e-bike news and reviews and thanks for reading!

-Rich