Just how simple – or how sophisticated – do we want our e-bikes to be? That seems to be the question posed by this week’s news; e-bikes don’t come a lot simpler and lower maintenance than Priority’s new e-Classic Plus with its tried and tested formula of front hub motor and enclosed hub three speed drivetrain. By contrast, over in Europe, Decathlon has launched one of the highest tech and most groundbreaking e-bikes out there with stepless gearing integrated with the mid-drive itself. It will be interesting to see if the public put their hands in their pockets to pay for e-bikes with evermore connectivity and more complex and heavier gearing systems.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Priority’s e-Classic Plus
• Decathlon combines mid-drive and stepless gearing
• QuietKat Pivot Pro heavy duty 2-bike, 100lb vehicle rack
• 200 Lime e-bikes for St Paul
• Vook – not your average looking e-trike

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: Priority’s Simpe e-Classic Plus, Decathlon Mid-drive Model with Integrated Stepless Gearing & Lots More!

Variety is the spice of life as the old saying goes and this week we have plenty of it for you. City e-bikers might take interest in a couple of high quality offerings from Canada’s Devinci whilst those seeking the ultimate off-road thrills, price-no-object machine need look no further than Pivot’s new e-mtb. Small folding fans will be curious to see if the Boost Brompton kit makes it to market (as it is scheduled to do in autumn of this year) whilst those wanting a truly different self-supporting adventure might see themselves sleeping out by e-bike with the remarkable looking Hupi Trailer.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Devinci Cartier and Griffin – powered by Shimano
• Viribus brings $889 e-trike to the US
• Pivot Shuttle AM – the ultimate e-mtb?
• Boost Brompton conversion kit – a rear hub motor for the classic UK folder
• Have Van Moof finally found a buyer?
• Has the Veemo electric three-wheeler been rescued from oblivion?
• Hupi Trailer – the ultimate DIY project for one Finnish e-biker

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: New Devinci City Bikes, $889 Viribus E-trike, A VanMoof Buyer? & Lots More!

E-bike safety is much in the news this week. We look at the possibility of licensing e-bikers in California as a reaction against recent fatalities in the area and also at the latest recommendations from a UK charity for clamping down on the poor quality batteries and chargers that cause e-bike fires.

This is all about making e-biking safer, obviously a good thing – but that is not to say it is inherently unsafe. Quite the opposite. Many millions of miles are safely travelled on e-bikes every year but it’s the isolated incidents that make the headlines. Buy a good quality e-bike in the first place, look after it and charge it properly and ride safely – and you are highly unlikely to have any problems, just enjoyment…

In this week’s e-bike news:

• The 42lb Envo Stax is a slimline speedster
• Bill to require e-bike licences for those with without full driving licences arrives in California state legislature
• Forthcoming Quietkat Lynx will have a two speed motor
• Cowboy reduce price with new Core model
• UK charity make battery safety recommendations
• Battery tech roundup
• Lyft may sell e-bike and e-scooter division

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: Envo Stax Lightweight Speedster, California E-bike License Law and Lots More!

Van Moof’s financial woes appear to have come to a head this week as time seems to be running out for the groundbreaking Dutch brand to continue as a going concern. One question on people’s minds will be if there are other e-bike brand bankruptcies in the pipeline. Whilst we also report on the UK arm of Mate going bust it should be noted this is a very different and much smaller setup. The e-bike industry has successfully ridden out many difficult economic times in the past and new launches from Xtracycle and Velotric show there is plenty of confidence around and that the firms suffering real difficulties at present constitute a blip rather than a trend. After all, e-bikes are one of the most convenient and sustainable ways to get around and that fact won’t change.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Xtracycle Stoker – an off-road load hauler with Shimano mid-drive power
• Velotric offers great value with its two new utility models
• UK’s Claud Butler launches two new e-mtbs
• Van Moof declared bankrupt as creditor protection withdrawn
• Mate UK go into administration

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: New E-cargo Models from Xtracycle and Velotric and Lots More!

This week’s news has the usual rash of new e-bike announcements, but more unusual is the news of financial difficulties in an area that’s usually dominated by good news stories. In the intensely competitive European market high-tech leaders Van Moof have rapidly come unstuck as an going high rate of warranty claims appear to have caught up with them whilst Rad Power are retreating from this particular area of the globe altogether finding it a rougher ride than their home territory in North America where they undoubtedly have a higher profile. It all underlines the difficult economic climate in many parts of the world underscored by the fact that Covid-induced over production has lead to a glut of e-bikes in stock. You only need take a look at many e-bikes are being discounted to see the effect a complex mix factors has resulted in.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Borealis Keystone – a premium quality mid-drive e-fat bike
• Bergamont extends use of lightweight TQ HPR 50 mid drive in its new range
• UK’s Surge debuts it’s great value e-folder with premium components
• Is this the end for Van Moof?
• Rad Power retreats from Europe
• Garmin promotes e-bike compatibility

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: Borealis Goes E-fat, Rad Power Out of Europe, Van Moof Woes and Lots More!

The contradictory themes of simplicity and complexity run through this week’s news. Cowboy, who have just announced their new Cruiser model, are proponents of the simplest looking, simplest to operate e-bike, albeit one with some fairly advanced tech in the form of wireless tech and inductive wireless phone charging. Similarly Tenways have gone for the low maintenance simplicity of ‘stepless’ hub gearing and a belt drive with their brand new powerful mid-drive city e-bike.

The future seems far more complex in design terms – at least if you think Canyon will follow through on their declared intention of introducing the futuristic sounding ‘V2X’ (vehicle to everything) wireless technology that will let all vehicles on the road electronically ‘talk’ to each other (along with suitably equipped stationary objects). Is this the point at which the increasing cost and complexity of technology get halted by the demands of reality or will it prove to be a landmark safety development?

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Cowboy’s comfiest e-bike yet – the Cruiser
• Tenways AGO T – a city e-bike with powerful drive and stepless gears
• Peugeot’s new Digital range of connected e-bikes
• Canyon look to ‘vehicle to everything’ communication as the future
• Chinese carmaker NIO to roll out semi-solid state batteries

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: New Models from Cowboy, Tenways and Peugeot and Lots More!

It’s not often that e-bikes can attract $25 million dollars of federal funding but that’s the amount heading to New York City for new – and hopefully much safer – charging infrastructure designed to stop people charging e-mobility devices (including e-bikes) in housing and businesses and causing a fire risk. If it works and prevents lithium battery fires (some of which have been fatal) then it will all have been worth it.
Elsewhere in this week’s news we have a strong technological innovation theme, with reports about Fuell’s new e-bikes that utilise a mid-drive and gearbox in one style system from Valeo, whilst there’s a nice feature from Bike Europe on Specialized’s history of e-bike innovation in Switzerland.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• New York City gets $25 million for safer charging and storage infrastructure
• Fuell and Valeo team up for long range e-bikes on Indiegogo
• What has Specialized been up to in Switzerland?
• E-bike Vision offers third party, safety-accredited batteries
• Euro/UK e-bikes sales top 5 million in 2022

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: $25 Million for NYC Charging Stations, Fuell’s Ultra-long Range E-bike and Much More!

The high quality mid-drive market has been dominated by powerful and relatively heavy mid-drives from the big four of Bosch, Brose, Shimano and Yamaha for the last decade or so. But this year’s Eurobike suggests there are some fundamental changes afoot in the world of mid-drive technology. Both Bosch and Yamaha announced their lightest mid-drives yet, whilst Brose announced a new super powerful 48 volt mid-drive system and Pinion moved from bottom bracket enclosed gearing systems into the complex and challenging world of combining bike gears and a mid-drive motor in one unit. Exciting times certainly lie ahead in the world of e-bikes and light electric vehicles.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Mid-drive mega-launch at Eurobike as Bosch, Yamaha, Brose and Pinion stake their claims in the future world of mid-drive technology
• France’s Kilow combine innovation and style with their new e-bikes
• Wings – the tandem microcar from India

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: Bosch, Yamaha, Brose and Pinion all Release New Mid-drives and Lots More!

The importance of education comes up in two very different ways this week. Firstly Specialized’s new, high quality kid’s e-mtb show that they, for one, rate the importance of getting kids into e-bikes early and on reliable and impressively performing e-bikes. Less positively news from the US and the UK shows how the label of ‘e-bike’ is still being misinterpreted – either wilfully or innocently – even though the legal definitions of e-bikes on both sides of the Atlantic have been well publicised for many years now. Clearly it’s an ongoing challenge for all in the e-bike industry.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Specialized’s Turbo Levo SL Kids is just for kids
• Äike and Tempo bring high quality, durable e-scooters to the Bay Area
• Pendix look to challenge Bosch, Shimano et al with new mid-drive
• E-bike terminology still causing confusion
• Stromer and Alinghi Red Bull adopt Pinion’s latest Smart.Shift transmission technology

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: Specialized’s Premium Kids’ E-MTB, High Quality E-scooters in the Bay Area and Lots More!

What price e-bike safety? That’s a question that has been coming up again and again in recent news. This week the safety spotlight highlights those companies ‘doing it right’ – namely Brooklyn’s Upway – who will soon only be selling UL certified e-bikes from their new New York base – and Tern, whose new, stronger and heavily safety-certified HSD compact cargo model is announced. A race to the bottom in price will have serious consequences – as also revealed this week by New York Fire Department and by a UK report laying at least some of the blame for e-mobility fires at the door of Ebay and Amazon resellers.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Tern’s new HSD cargo compact is stronger than ever but just as small
• Upway overstocks and refurbs now available to order in the US
• Cruise into 2024 in comfort on HP Velotchnik’s new e-trike
• A new super strong looking auto-rack from the US’s 1UP

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: Tern Relaunches ‘New, Improved’ HSD, Velotechnik’s Comfort E-triking and Lots More!