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Giant Reign E+ 2 Pro Review | Enduro Lovers NEED To See This

A terrific suspension setup, and a highly-capable motor highlight an overall great ride experience.

Giant Reign E+ Pro 2 Review

Our time testing and reviewing the Giant Reign E+ Pro 2 was eye-opening. There was a lot we already knew going into it: Giant knows what its doing with MTBs and produces sound products, Yamaha makes good motors, and a lot of the components listed on the Reign’s spec sheet are tried and tested and generally good quality.

Surprisingly, even though those are all positive known statements, they short-change a greater experience that we had to ride to know for ourselves. It sounds cliche, but the whole really was greater than the sum of its parts. The Reign E+ Pro is well equipped for a fun enduro experience.

Giant gave the Reign E+ Pro a slack geo, a slightly longer than most chainstay, and then gave it a burly 160/170 setup with the Fox Float X and RockShox Zeb. Although we already knew the suspension components were nice, they felt better than ever when paired with Giant’s Maestro linkage tech. If you want to have fun, try barreling downhill or hitting jumps – the bike can more than handle it.

It wasn’t all about the downhill though. The PW-X3 motor more than holds it’s own against some of the great e-bike motors out there today. It’s arguably one of the better performers in low cadence settings like going slow into a hill. Enduro bikes up hill is usually a chore, but the motor makes it just another good part of the ride.

Our expectations were exceeded and then some with the Reign E+ Pro. See how it did in all of our testing down below.

[Read more…] about Giant Reign E+ 2 Pro Review | Enduro Lovers NEED To See This

E-Bike Tariffs: Do They Protect or Hurt the Industry?

E-Bike Tariffs and What They Mean for E-Bike Prices

If you followed the news this summer—or generally spend time monitoring e-bike prices as closely as we do—you might have noticed a sweeping cost increase in June-July. In many cases, we observed increases of roughly $200 in the prices of e-bikes corresponding to changes in US tariff policies, which affected specific taxes applied to imported goods.

On June 14th, 2024, an exemption for e-bikes in the United States Trade Representative (USTR)’s Section 301 tariffs list expired. This caused e-bikes, some potential e-bike components, some non-electric bikes, some carbon fiber frames, and some kids’ bikes to become subject to a 25% tariff paid by the importing company to the US Government.

Tariffs are often applied to imports for a variety of reasons. As explained by the Cato Institute, they can help to protect domestic businesses from being undercut by foreign competitors, encourage consumers to support and rely on US-based manufacturers, and create jobs, among other things.

In the case of e-bikes, however, this reasoning collapses.

Many e-bikes originate from China, including many of the best-selling e-bikes our readers and YouTube viewers ride. Very few are produced domestically, and even in those cases, many of their components are manufactured and imported from overseas.

As such, tariffs do not—and at the time of writing, literally cannot—realistically serve to protect domestic manufacturers of e-bikes simply because almost no US-based e-bike manufacturers exist.

If e-bike tariffs DO NOT protect US workers or US companies, what effect do they have on the US e-bike industry?

We analyzed public pricing information and sales data from Electric Bike Report to try to answer this question. Spoiler alert: the data we gathered from the brief 3-4 month period between the expiration of Section 301 tariff exemptions and the writing of this article paints a negative outlook.

In almost every regard, the application of tariffs to e-bike imports has raised consumer prices and hurt sales.

New tariffs will go into effect on January 1, 2026, and recent political discussions relating to November’s Presidential Election have indicated that additional tariffs could be placed not only on Chinese goods but those from all foreign countries. We feel strongly that politicians and our readers need to know what negative impact tariffs have on the e-bike industry.

We hope that you, the reader of this report, will lobby your state and national government representatives to remove current tariffs on e-bikes and prevent future tariffs in order to protect American workers and businesses.

In our research, we reached out to Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. for help in understanding e-bike-specific tariff codes. A representative advised us that the relevant line items are 8711.90.0000 or 8711.60.00.

While the former relates to electric scooters such as Segway products and e-bikes, Bicycle Retailer explains that the latter defines e-bikes as “Motorcycles with electric power for propulsion, each of a power not exceeding 1,000 W.”

With this information in mind, we also hope to encourage lawmakers to separate and distinguish e-bikes from electric motorcycles and scooters in an effort to unify their legal definition across all avenues.

E-Bike Tariffs Increase Prices, Hurting Brands and Consumers

To collect data, we used an internet archive called Wayback Machine to source e-bike prices prior to June 14th—and ideally, also before Memorial Day sales at the end of May.

We initially gathered numbers for 160 e-bikes, but we reduced our pool to 83 bikes after excluding online sales, in-store prices, discontinued models, clearance bikes soon to be replaced by new models, and products from some smaller brands we were less familiar with.

Our data is shown in the table below. Note that we chose to list the specific brands we analyzed anonymously to eliminate any potentially negative effects from publishing our data.

Additionally, we referenced the (pre-sales-tax) prices actually paid by the customer instead of listed MSRPs that could be artificially inflated; brands will often mark up the MSRP while showing a ‘discounted’ or ‘sale’ price to make consumers feel like they are getting a time-sensitive deal.

We weighted the data based on the number of bikes included in our data set from each brand.

Finally, we excluded bikes from certain legacy brands with global reach due to differences in product sourcing and focused more on direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands that have a higher percentage of manufacturing done in China.

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E-Bike Pricing Changes Post-Section 301 Tariff Exemption Expiration

Brand Ave Price(Pre Tariff) Ave Price(Post Tariff) % change
Company 1 $1,732.33 $1,910.11 10.26%
Company 2 $1,549.00 $1,699.00 9.68%
Company 3 $1,732.33 $1,899.00 9.62%
Company 4 $2,199.00 $2,199.00 0.00%
Company 5 $2,099.00 $2,224.00 5.96%
Company 6 $1,265.67 $1,265.67 0.00%
Company 7 $1,699.00 $1,799.00 5.89%
Company 8 $1,424.00 $1,634.00 14.75%
Company 9 $1,065.67 $1,232.33 15.64%
Company 10 $1,489.91 $1,535.36 3.05%
Company 11 $3,549.50 $4,399.50 23.95%
Company 12 $1,843.44 $1,976.78 7.23%
Company 13 $1,299.99 $1,374.99 5.77%
Company 14 $1,698.85 $1,683.46 -0.91%
Company 15 $1,974.00 $2,074.00 5.07%
Company 16 $1,256.14 $1,391.86 10.80%
Industry Average 6.69%


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Our findings can be summarized as follows:

  • On average, consumer e-bike prices across the industry have increased 6.7%
  • Larger companies with greater brand equity showed an average price increase of 9.5%
  • We expect end prices to consumers to increase by roughly 10% with the 25% tariff
  • Some companies with less brand equity have maintained or cut prices, possibly to attract sales. This could indicate they are struggling.
  • Electric Bike Report’s conversion rates have declined, showing a strong correlation with e-bike price increases following the tariff exemption expiration.
  • Overall e-bike sales are down, though it is difficult to estimate a percentage.




As Forbes reports, economists from Goldman Sachs estimated that consumer prices rise 0.1% for every 1% increase in tariff rates, but our findings suggest more extreme changes in the e-bike market.

As shown by the data above, e-bike prices increased after June 14th by 6.7% on average industry-wide, with some larger companies with greater brand equity showing an approximately 9.5% increase on average.

You may wonder why the additional 25% tariff does not correlate to the same increase in every e-bike’s price. Broadly speaking, production and import costs are only a portion of the total expenditures that the manufacturer’s e-bike prices must account for; overhead, marketing, shipping, and other operating costs are also pieces of the proverbial pie.

Our data shows that most manufacturers are, at least in part, passing on the added cost to consumers. As explained by TaxFoundation.org, this is an expected reaction that coincides with historical instances of tariff implementation or increase. Simply put, consumers usually bear the burden of tariffs, making import fees an indirect tax on the American people.

In truth, e-bike brands only have so many options. They could attempt to negotiate reduced production prices with foreign factories. They can choose to absorb the added cost, thereby reducing profit margins. As we have discussed, they might choose to pass on the added cost to consumers. In the most likely scenario, companies might combine these tactics.

In the cases of the brands that have, at least to this point, maintained consistent prices, we assume one of the following scenarios. These brands may have greater profit margins or lower cost structures, allowing them to absorb the tariff with reduced effect. Alternatively, they may intentionally suffer the loss of profits in an effort to gain market share.

When considering the brands that have lowered prices, we can only assume that they are feeling the effects of decreased sales due to tariffs and reduced consumer spending power caused by inflation. By lowering prices, these brands might be attempting to clear old inventory and generate sales.

A few caveats about our data should be considered.

  • First, the industry has likely not yet felt the full impact of added tariff costs, so current pricing data may not reflect long-term effects.

    We expect that many brands are currently selling through existing inventory that was imported before June 14th. As new production runs are ordered, produced, and imported into the US, we expect prices on more models to increase, which will likely push the industry average higher.

    We believe this is evidenced by price increases on some specific models from Company 12, as this brand released many new models in 2024. These bikes are likely to be more popular than older models, so we assume the company has imported shipments of these bikes from China after the tariff increase.

  • Second, while we focused on brands with a significant share of the US e-bike market, our data pool is relatively small. The industry average may look different when considering a larger collection of prices from a broader group of e-bike companies.


  • Third, our data does not factor in volume. Brands may implement smaller price increases on popular and quick-selling e-bikes and larger increases on less popular models. As bikes are sold, the difference in volume and pricing can, in theory, balance out.

Assuming that tariffs’ impacts on the e-bike industry will continue to develop, we can extrapolate from our data to project possible futures.

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The Future of E-Bike Tariffs and the Industry

As we are now well into October, the 2024 US Presidential Election is looming on the horizon. While neither major presidential candidate has made firm proposals regarding the future of tariffs, one potential outcome is a 10% tariff applied to all foreign imports and an increased 60% tariff on all goods imported from China.

Our data points to roughly a 10% consumer-level price increase following the introduction of a 25% tariff on e-bikes. Therefore, we have calculated possible projected pricing changes should the 10%/60% tariff increase go into effect.

Projected E-Bike Pricing Based on Proposed Tariffs

Tariff Increase (%)
10% 25% 60%
Baseline Price (Bicycle)
$1,000.0 $1,040.00 $1,100.00 $1,240.00
$1,500.00 $1,560.00 $1650.00 $1,860.00
$2,000.0 $2,080.00 $2,200.00 $2,480.00
$3,000.00 $3,120.00 $3,300.00 $3,720.00
Projected E-Bike Price Increase %: 4.00% 10.00% 24.00%


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From this data, we can estimate:

  • A 10% tariff on e-bikes originating from foreign countries excluding China could increase consumer prices by 4%
  • A 60% tariff on e-bikes imported from China could cause a total consumer price increase of 24%



As shown in the table above, a 10% tariff—which would affect e-bike brands manufacturing e-bikes in Europe, Taiwan, or elsewhere outside of China—could result in a 4% increase in consumer pricing.

A 60% tariff—which would, again, affect many of the best e-bikes on the market—has the potential to increase their prices by a total of 24% when compared to tariff-exempt pricing (or an additional 12.7% from the current post-exemption expiration levels).

Current and future price increases will likely prevent at least some consumers from purchasing e-bikes. Conversion rates from our e-bike reviews have shown a 20-30% decrease in sales following the expiration of Section 301 tariff exemptions. If tariffs on Chinese-made e-bikes increase to 60%, we can only speculate on the severity of the impact on the industry.

Broadly speaking, we can imagine that local bike shops, US-based e-bike brands of all sizes, and their employees would all be hurt tremendously. Some brands could potentially shift manufacturing to less-tariffed countries, but not without significant cost, time, and effort.

Due to the extreme nature of the proposal to add a 10% tariff to products originating from every country outside the USA, we are unsure how to attempt to model this.

It is also worth noting that the current US Presidential administration has enacted, increased, or planned to enact/increase tariffs on Electric Vehicles (EVs), lithium-ion batteries used in EVs, and non-EV-specific lithium-ion batteries made in China. While we are uncertain of the potential effects of these tariffs, those relating to e-bikes are set to go into effect in January 2026.

Clearly, consumers and e-bike brands are suffering now, and the problems could get worse. This is evidenced by broadly reduced pricing across a handful of specific e-bike brands and events like Rad Power Bikes’ most recent round of layoffs.

With such drastic reductions in sales, we expect consolidation in the market, with some e-bike brands shutting down or selling to larger, more established companies.

However, considering that the bike industry is an ecosystem, the effects may not end there; employees of e-bike manufacturers, bike shops, and other ancillary businesses could lose their jobs.

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The E-Bike Industry Needs Your Help

The E-Bike Industry Needs Your Help

With little to no ground-up domestic production of e-bikes, all of the current evidence around e-bike tariffs suggests that the added import taxes harm the industry, its employees, and consumers at large. If tariffs are extended or increased, this harm is likely to intensify.

As advocates for the e-bike industry, the environment, and anything encouraging healthy and active lifestyles, we firmly oppose tariffs on e-bikes.

We encourage lawmakers to once again exempt e-bikes and their components from Section 301 tariffs. We also encourage more care in understanding the harm tariffs can inflict on the industry and consumers.

What can you do to help?

While it may sound trite or cliche, everyone’s voice matters.

If you agree with our take on the matter, we encourage you to contact your legislators to express your concerns. Linking to this article allows our research to support and enact change. If you are unsure who to contact, please reference Congress.gov to identify lawmakers based on your location.

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Blix Vika X Review | Next-Gen Tech Is Here!

This lightweight, natural-feeling folding e-bike raises the bar with electronic/automatic shifting, solid performance, and a comfortable ride.

Blix Vika X Review

Much like Twitter, XBox, the iPhone, and at least one film in the Fast and the Furious franchise, the new Vika X folding e-bike from Blix Bikes shows off its contemporary styling and high-tech features with an edgy ‘X’ designation.

The previous generation model, called the Vika + Flex, felt reminiscent of a classic car with its enamel-and-chrome trim. We loved its light and minimalistic frame, quality construction, simple operation, and practical folding design.

With the Vika X, Blix only added to that excellent foundation.

Now, instead of a retro feel, it sports a modern, European-inspired design appropriate for an e-bike from a Swedish-based manufacturer. It also comes decked out with a host of uncommon features—especially for a folding e-bike—including electronic shifting, an automatic assist mode, high and low beams, turn signals, and Bluetooth compatibility.

This newer version of the bike also features a torque sensor paired with its 500W rear hub motor. With this combination, pedaling the Vika X felt much like riding an analog bike, but with higher speeds and a much easier experience tackling hills.

Whether the X stands for “X-perimental” or “X-treme” or something else entirely, we’re not sure. But we couldn’t wait to test the Vika X and see if its real-world performance matched our high expectations. We dive into the results in our full review below!

[Read more…] about Blix Vika X Review | Next-Gen Tech Is Here!

CYKE Falcon X Review | Serious Exploring Potential

One of the least expensive all-terrain e-bikes I’ve ridden is one of the best I’ve tried. The Falcon X has power, comfort, and many possibilities if you can stand a quirk or two.

CYKE Falcon X Review

The CYKE Falcon X lives in the exciting, somewhat hard-to-define all-terrain e-bike class.

What is clear is that it’s built to roam off-road. Its powerful motor, slack geometry, long wheelbase, and 4.8″-wide fat tires make it conducive to riding across nearly any stretch of path in front of you. The unique properties helped it feel capable in sandy or loose conditions with some clear potential for mud and snow. It’s a bike where the term “riding season” doesn’t apply.

I had a lot of fun with it on local fire roads and double track, and it has mild to intermediate singletrack abilities. I can see the bike’s capabilities translating well as a camping/overlanding/hunting machine—there are simply a lot of places it can go.

The motor was one of the bike’s defining elements; the Bafang M620 is one of the market’s most powerful mid-drive motors. It gives the Falcon X 1000W of power (1100W peak) and 160Nm of torque to play with, which helps it fly to fast speeds and easily climb hills once you get a hang of the shifting.

Thanks to its full-suspension design, the bike was really comfortable. It’s very plush and handles well on straightaways over gravely terrain or when romping around rocky and rooty areas. It’s one of the few bikes I can confidently take over sand, too.

Some areas for improvement are noted below in the full CYKE Falcon X review, but for one of the most affordable all-terrain e-bikes I’ve ridden, the bike exceeded my expectations.

[Read more…] about CYKE Falcon X Review | Serious Exploring Potential

Yamaha YDX-MORO 07 Review | Full-Sus eMTB For Only $2599!?

One of the more unique eMTBs available thanks to the patented frame design, linkage system, and punchy, Yamaha motor.

Yamaha YDX-MORO 07 Review

You’ve likely heard of Yamaha and know them from something like its renowned motorcycles or maybe one of its pianos. They dabble in a lot of products, but a little-known fact is they created the first commercial e-bike back in the early 90s – go ahead and add that tidbit to your next trivia game night (am I invited?).

The Yamaha YDX-Moro 07 continues the brand’s e-bike legacy, and in the case of our review bike, is a nod to its history with its special 30th anniversary colorway of chrome and blue (silver, and dual blue colors are also available).

Beyond the shiny colors there are a lot of interesting things going on with the Moro: it features Yamaha’s underrated PW-X3 motor that is twitchy and dead-useful in starting climbs, a value-packed 150/160 suspension system with a combo of Rockshox’s Super Deluxe Select+ RT shock and Lyrik fork, and other valuable and desirable components like one-finger Magura brakes, and Shimano’s XT groupset.

The Yamaha YDX-Moro 07 feel versatile; the bike does a little of everything and does most of it well. It can handle it’s own across a variety of singletrack, though the geometry and 27.5” tires means you’ll want to make youre way a bit more purposefully down hills instead of just outright bombing them.

Since Yamaha produced the unique frame, motor, and battery, you also get nearly-unrivaled warranty coverage of five years, so clearly, the brand has a strong belief in the longevity of this eMTB.

Overall, we enjoyed the Moro, but would make a few tweaks to it if looking to purchase it for ourselves and ride it in our notoriously chunky terrain in Southern Utah. For all our thoughts, check out the in-depth testing of our Yamaha YDX-MORO 07 review.

[Read more…] about Yamaha YDX-MORO 07 Review | Full-Sus eMTB For Only $2599!?

Lectric XPress 750 Review | High-Power, Low-Price

Lectric’s pure commuter e-bike maintains the brand’s hallmark value by equipping uncommon features on an affordable, fun, and speedy ride.

Lectric XPress 750 Review

Lectric finally made the bike I’d been waiting for them to make—or rather, they finally came back to it. The brand’s humble origins of its first product—a commuter e-bike called the LX—sold just 45 units. After the megahit that was the foldable XP series and the brand’s following success of some 400,000+ e-bikes sold, they were able to roll their experience and R&D into the XPress 750, an affordable commuter model that holds mass appeal.

The XPress 750 high-step we reviewed is a classic commuter bike with a diamond frame and full size 27.5” tires. It is powered by a custom hub motor that had a great showing in our performance tests, but more importantly it passed the “vibe check” of being plain fun and fast.

Lectric’s calling card will always be the value they pack into their models, and the XPress is no different. The XPress 750’s little brother will likely garner more headlines (the smaller motor and battery XPress 500) with its $999 price tag, but this model is worthy of the extra cost with 50% more power which climbs hills with no trouble and hits higher speeds easily even with heavier payloads.

Lectric is debuting new tech on this model with a custom-built torque sensor and what they call PWR+ programming. It’s a torque sensor that helps the motor sense the pressure you apply to the pedals and then magnifies the effort, but it also can still allow the bike to carry the load in higher PAS with just a soft-pedal effort like cadence sensors are known for. It felt like a split between a natural ride, and an easy one – it just depends on the gear I was in and the PAS level.

The bike handles well under nearly any sense of the definition: it has responsive steering, appropriate gearing, and can stop confidently with a nice brake system. Lectric also developed the front fork which nicely smoothed out rough roads without feeling too floppy or divy into corners like some budget-priced bikes are know for.

There are still a few add-ons required to make this a quintessential commuter, but this bike is one heck of a starting place out of the box. For full details, see how the XPress 750 did in our review down below.

[Read more…] about Lectric XPress 750 Review | High-Power, Low-Price

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.

Bosch CX Performance Line Motor Update

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.

Bosch CX Performance Line Motor

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.

Bosch CX Performance Line Motor

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 Flow App

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

Bosch PowerTube 600Bosch Powertube 800
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 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

Bosch CX Performance Line Uphill Flow

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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Velotric T1 ST Plus Review | Simple, Light, and Impressive!

This active, comfortable city e-bike has good performance and impressive test results. The “Plus” model is an improvement over the original we already held in high regard.

Velotric T1 ST Plus Review

The original model of the Velotric T1 ST impressed us with its price, comfort, and high-tech, stealthy design. It proved itself a capable, nimble, and fun city e-bike that wasn’t without its quirks. When Velotric sent us the refreshed and updated T1 ST Plus, we were curious to discover what had changed and what effects—if any—the changes would mean.

When glancing over the bike’s spec sheet, a few differences stood out. The Plus model’s sizing broadened to accommodate a wider height range thanks to an adjustable stem. The bike’s simple, light-based interface had been replaced by a color display with Bluetooth and app compatibility. It was also specced with a larger chainring for more efficient pedaling.

The changes didn’t stop there; Velotric’s advertised range increased from up to 52 miles to up to 70! It was also listed as having full Class 3 functionality with a maximum of 28 mph.

On the other hand, some potential downsides stood out – at least on paper. The Plus model’s 350W motor showed a slight reduction in torque, and the bike’s overall weight increased by a few pounds.

After some time in the saddle (I put roughly 100 miles on the bike during my testing), I was pleased to note that the bike’s feel hadn’t changed. It remained one of the more comfortable bikes of its style, and thanks to its torque sensor, it retained a natural and reserved pedaling experience.

Feel alone was not enough for comparison, so we put the T1 ST Plus through the same real-world performance tests as the original. To see how it stacks up against both the original T1 ST and the entire category of city e-bikes we’ve tested, continue reading our full review below!

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Lectric XPress 500 Review | What More Could You Ask For?

A budget-friendly, value-packed Dutch-style commuter (on the ST model) that rides speedily, easily, and comfortably.

Lectric XPress 500 ST Review

With a few exceptions, there’s often a fairly wide divide between great e-bikes and inexpensive e-bikes that are good yet rough around the edges.

On the one hand, there are highly affordable, budget-friendly folding e-bikes (like the XP 3.0) with which Lectric made its name. Low prices make these bikes accessible to the masses, but the folding style often has tradeoffs in fit and feel.

On the other hand, there are a host of more ergonomic full-size e-bikes that are of noticeably higher quality—but these are also usually significantly more expensive than their entry-level folding e-bike counterparts.

Lectric aimed to change that with the XPress 500 ST, and we tested the bike to determine whether they were successful.

The XPress 500 Step-Thru is a Dutch-style city cruiser with a comfortable, upright riding position, a modest but highly capable 500W motor, an effective 499-watt-hour (Wh) battery, and a starting price of around a thousand dollars.

At the time of writing, this commuter-style e-bike is one of only two full-size models the brand offers. It’s available in a high-step and step-thru (ST) frame with two spec levels for the motor and battery. This review will focus solely on the base model with the ST frame, but we’ll add a link to our review of the upgraded high-step model once it’s complete.

Based on our previous experiences with Lectric, we had high hopes for the bike, but only our series of standardized tests could tell if its design, price point, and spec package came together to make for a worthy purchase. We “XPress” our thoughts and experiences in the full review below!

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Velotric Nomad 1 Plus Review | Now With More Nomad!

Comfort, affordability, and personality: this refreshed fat tire e-bike is a smart entry-level option for those seeking value and versatility.

Velotric Nomad 1 Plus Review

The Velotric Nomad 1 was the first bike I reviewed for Electric Bike Report after joining the team here, and as such, it will always be a special one. Now, nearly two years later, Velotric has released a refreshed and lightly updated “Plus” version of its fat tire e-bike to replace the original model.

Does it still hold up?

That’s a complicated question, as there are many things to consider when passing judgment. We’ll arrive at that conclusion later in this review, but first, I think it’s important to revisit some of the things I appreciated about the OG Nomad 1 and compare those things with the Plus.

In contrast with many fat tire e-bikes on the market—and most of those we’ve tested previously—the Nomad 1 was sold in an uncommonly wide variety of color options. With the Nomad 1 Plus, Velotric weeded out some of the less popular options but kept Indigo Gray for mass appeal and brighter options like Cyan or Mango for a bolder personality.

From my first ride, I found the Nomad 1 to be highly comfortable and easy to operate. The new Plus model upped the ante by swapping the original’s standard threadless stem for an adjustable component. This allows riders to change their riding position or adjust handlebar height and reach to suit their personal preferences.

The original model also made a name for itself in terms of value; the bike was priced affordably for its specs, features, and performance. It could even be argued that the Nomad 1 Plus offers even better value now that inflation and technology have progressed.

To understand if the Velotric Nomad 1 Plus holds up, we must consider its performance and ride quality in relation to its price. Let’s dive into our review and find out!

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