How far will automotive and motorbike tech be integrated into e-bikes? Much more in future if Niche and Pendix have their way. They feature in the headline story as they are both seeking to replace traditional bike gearing, be it in derailleur form or hub gear form, with a single mid-drive unit. Niche are even claiming to do it solely by electronic rather than mechanical means. It sounds revolutionary but is it a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist? Today’s e-bikes are very good technically speaking and many aspects of bike and e-bike technology have improved out of all recognition over the past few decades – arguably the real holy grail is new battery chemistry that could lead to much lighter and quicker charging e-bikes. Perhaps in heavy duty applications these new ‘all in one’ mid-motor designs could find a use but that is still a niche genre of e-bikes, though a rapidly growing one.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• ‘Revolutionary’ new mid-drives from Niche and Pendix
• New e-bikes from Porsche and DYU
• New, three e-bike folding and tilting rack from Thule
• Amsterdam; microcar wars explained

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: Mid-drives with New Tech, Porsche and DYU E-bikes and Lots More!

It’s often the small news snippets at the end of our news column that can point the way to future trends. In this week’s news it’s the incredible news that e-bike sales in Germany are set to overtake conventional non-electric bikes. And as usual the seemingly great news does pose some awkward questions; what will happen to those who want to ride non-electric bikes in future if they end up becoming a quaint rarity? Is the industry truly green if it replaces bike journeys rather than car journeys? For now it’s clearly still a massive success story and a very welcome one, but to take it to the next level of undreamed of success e-bikes and light electric vehicles need to start replacing car sales – there is some suggestion this has happened on a very small scale in Germany; the technology is here but the political will to make cities and towns more bike and light vehicle friendly is still very variable.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Record breaking Evelo Atlas sales offer
• Yamaha YDX Moro – Yamaha celebrates 30 years in the US with high end eMTB
• Tucker take on Rambo e-bikes for outdoorsmen
• New off-road e-trikes for the UK
• Aura smart lighting system kickstarts
• Germany’s ‘folding’ electric microcar road tested
• German e-bike sales set to overtake non-electric ones

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: Evelo Record Breaker Sales Offer, Yamaha US only e-MTB and lots more!

Is there too much ‘sameness’ in the e-bike world? The many hundreds of e-bike brands that the internet is awash with can seem samey, especially if you’re not really interested in technical differences – this is especially so at the budget end of the market where the companies will be using off the shelf frames rather than designing their own as many of the premium brands do.

Whilst this sameness keeps prices down – obviously no bad thing in itself – it can make it hard to pick a distinctive e-bike and perhaps of more concern to pick a reliable brand with a good sales track record. This week, along with e-bike launches that do, at least on the surface, resemble other e-bikes, we also have details of Urtopia’s curvy, high tech offering that certainly does stand out from the crowd (and won’t break the bank) and of Winora’s very capable looking, premium e-trike. Long may diversity continue!

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Urtopia Chord – an organic-looking yet high tech e-bike
• RadRover 6 Plus massive discount
• DYU King – a value-priced e-fat bike
• Winora e-trike makes it to the UK
• PVY budget e-folder fat bike now crowdfunding
• BBC journalists set up e-cargo bike as solar powered broadcast centre
• Battery recycling update

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: Urtopia Chord, Huge Rover 6 Discount, DYG King 750, Winora E-trike and Lots More !

It’s great to see plenty of new e-bikes from an ever expanding pool of manufacturers regularly coming along to feature in Electric Bike Report’s weekly news. But this can only continue as long as new tech is developed for premium brands to pick up and run with – it allows them to differentiate themselves from brands at the lower-priced end of the market and offers buyers genuine choice. The ‘digitalisation’ of e-bikes feels like it’s making significant steps forward recently as Bosch roll out their Smart System on more and more new models whilst – as reported on this week – looking at future applications for wireless tech and e-bikes. Is the e-bike world approaching a digital crossroads? If so, what direction will it take and will that direction be a success with e-bike buyers? The answers might not be imminent but the questions are certainly making their way up the agenda.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Heybike reveals 28mph, magnesium framed e-folder
• Razor Rambler 20 – a $999 moped style e-bike
• Raleigh Modum – a practical, Bosch-powered compact e-cargo bike
• Is Bosch trialling the wireless road safety technology of the e-bike future?

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: Budget Models from Heybike and Razor, Raleigh Goes Compact Cargo and Much More!

The trickle down effect is a term used quite widely in economics but it can also be applied to the e-bike industry and its use seems very apt this week in relation to two new e-bikes from Aventon and Ride1Up that look great value.

Once upon a time features such as hydraulic disk brakes and torque sensing were considered as premium priced e-bike features. Nowadays hydraulics are pretty standard, having ‘trickled down’ from higher priced models and torque sensing is certainly appearing on more and more reasonably priced bikes. Whilst the Ride1Up Rift actually lacks torque sensing and the Aventon Sinch .2 lacks hydraulics, at $1895 and $1799 they offer great value for e-bikes with large capacity batteries and a list of features as long as your arm, including some rarely seen on e-bikes such as the Aventon’s turn indicators. Long may the trickling down continue!

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Ride1Up get into e-fat bikes with the Rift
• Aventon Sinch .2 gets major upgrades
• Meet the Volt Lite – a lightweight e-folder with belt drive
• Garmin Vario brings ‘plug and play’ vehicle radar detection to e-bikes
• Rad Power battery recycling now available
• 60+ mph e-bike in Germany stopped and confiscated

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: Great Value New Models from Ride1Up and Aventon, Garmin Radar, Volt E-folder and Much More!

How much e-bike can you get for how little money seems to be the question posed by this week’s crop of new releases. EBC’s model J is a 28 mph e-bike for only $1199 whilst the triple battery option of the Eunorau gives you 2,808Wh of capacity. Engwe have also added to the moto e-bike fray with the option of a 1,248Wh battery model for $1599.

Of course people love big batteries and low prices but the question for the future is how far you can push the envelope in both directions. With battery safety concerns certainly making waves in the wider media the answer seems to be only so far. As we’ve mentioned before, some kind of battery standards would be a welcome move for many in the industry.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• EBC’s Model J – a 28 mph moto style model with huge customisation options
• More moto e-bikes from Engwe and Eunorau
• Velotric’s lightweight Thunder range
• Denago’s first mid-drives
• NY’s e-bike subscription service Whizz gets a serious cash injection

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: EBC’s 28mph Model J, more Motor E-bikes, Velotric Lightweights, Denago Mid-drives and More!

It’s that time of year when e-bike announcements of new products come thick and fast as e-bike companies vie for the attention of a riding public who are (in the northern hemisphere at least) eager to get out and about riding as the weather improves.

There’s a good mix of e-bike prospects here both long and short term, from exciting sounding systems from Mavic and Porsche still clearly very much in the development pipeline rather than nearing the factory floor, and imminent releases from Watt Wagons and Fiido plus a very functional sounding e-cargo model from Dost slated for sale at the end of 2023.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Mavic developing ultra-light high-tech mid-drive
• Distinctive and contrasting e-cargobikes from Dost an Watt Wagons
• Fiido’s value for money lightweight E-gravel model imminent
• Bosch announce new Smart System features
• Porsche reveal first real world testing of proprietary motor system

[Read more…] about E-Bike News: Mavic Ultralight Motor, Dost, Watt Wagons and Fiido New Models and More!

A federal subsidy to help people buy e-bikes, the E-BIKE Act has been reintroduced to congress. If passed, buyers could received a 30% credit toward the purchase of a new e-bike, although there would be a cap of $1,500 on the credit, and income restrictions would also apply. A similar proposition was first seen in 2021’s Build Back Better Act, but didn’t make the final draft. Will this new program get approved?

In this week’s e-bike news:

• E-BIKE Act Reintroduced to Congress
• Rotwild’s ultralight full-suspension e-MTB
• Bosch goes for ABS in a big way
• Acer announces funky and futuristic e-bike
• Aventon and Worx team up to power e-bikes with powertool batteries
• EBC’s new customisable helmets
• Norway claim world’s longest bike tunnel

[Read more…] about E-bike News: E-BIKE Act Reintroduced, ‘World’s Lightest E-MTB,’ Bosch ABS Braking and Much More!

Giant’s sub-brand Liv is a women-specific and appears to have gone from strength to strength since it was launched in 2014. It’s not just a matter of scaling down a larger frame – Liv say their bikes and e-bikes are fully women-specific, where the frame itself has a distinct geometry designed specifically for women using only body dimension data from women, as well as different contact points and suspension tune. Given the success of the brand it begs the question, why aren’t more e-bike manufacturers making truly women-specific e-bikes?

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Liv – Updated versions of women-specific e-mtbs
• Two new Hovsco torque sensing e-bikes
• Nicolai pioneer nine speed hub gear technology
• Juiced to relaunch key models in wake of trademark dispute
• Off-road access – class 1 education vitally important
• The phenomenal success of Germany’s e-bike industry

[Read more…] about E-bike News: Liv’s New Women’s E-mtbs, Nicolai’s Nine Hub Gears and Much More !