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Buzz Drone Review | Will It “Bee” Worth Your Buy?

A Vespa-like moped-style e-bike that is both wallet-friendly and fun to zip around on.

Buzz Drone Review 2024
Depending on your age, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of bike brands like Huffy and Niner. As a newer brand, Buzz Bicycles might be less familiar, but it shares a parent company with the other two (and a few others). Collectively, these brands have an established corner of the market—and tons of experience making bikes.

When approaching the Buzz Drone, we questioned how this experience would translate to a moped-style e-bike. After all, the category has a well-deserved reputation for speed, power, adrenaline, and aggressive looks. Would the Drone follow this trend?

Its specs left us unsure, as it sports a 500W hub motor instead of the 750W or even 1,000W motors common on similar bikes we’ve tested. Numbers aren’t everything, though; a 500W motor can feel punchy and power-hungry just as easily as it can feel reserved and controlled.

Visually, the Drone’s uncommon step-thru frame resembles a traditional moped like a Vespa. This gives the bike a cool, approachable appearance, but it also has a functional benefit: getting on and off the bike is easy, with no need to swing a leg over the saddle.

We found the Drone’s price to be approachable, too. It’s common for moped-style e-bikes to start around $2k, but at the time of writing, Buzz sells the bike for a decidedly more affordable sub-$1,500 price tag. With one minor change, we think it could go even lower.

As with every e-bike we review, we tested the Buzz Drone’s real-world performance in a series of standardized tests. Continue reading below to learn if the bike turned out to be just another powerful speedster or if Buzz took a more unique approach.

[Read more…] about Buzz Drone Review | Will It “Bee” Worth Your Buy?

Schwalbe Clik Valve Is Here: What You Need To Know

Rather than try to improve upon presta or Schrader valves, Schwalbe designed a whole new valve and pump head that is easy to operate and airtight.

Move Over Presta and Schrader Valves? Schwalbe’s Clik Valve Is Here

German tire maker Schwalbe has introduced a new valve for bike tires. Schwalbe’s Clik Valve (SCV) aims to make valves simpler, more foolproof as well as improve the interface between the valve and the pump head.

The Clik Valve is the same diameter as a presta valve, but it requires a new pump head. The pump head snaps onto the valve with little pressure—Schwalbe says just two fingers are enough—and in snapping closed, it creates an air-tight seal.

The primary market for the Clik Valve will be cyclists running tubeless tires, in part because the valves allow a 50 percent greater airflow through the valve than with traditional presta valves.

For those using presta valves with inserts, it is possible to replace the insert alone, rather than replacing the entire valve, which would necessitate removing the tire.

Schwalbe makes both a replacement pump head and a pump head adapter, depending on how the existing pump head attaches to your pump. They will begin producing tubes using the SCV soon. No word yet on whether they will produce tubes for 20-in. and 26-in. tires.

Schwalbe does make a valve cap to protect the inner mechanism—it’s possible to release air with your fingernail—the cap simply pushes on and pulls off.

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As someone who has been dealing with presta valves, pumps and ill-fitting pump heads for longer than Pearl Jam has been together, Schwalbe’s Clik Valve sounds like a dream come true. It would be nice not to worry about the pump head lever pinching fingers or hands or having to pump furiously to overcome a leaky pump head/valve interface.

Schwalbe will sell tubeless Clik Valve sets €23.90($25.83), a conversion kit including two valve inserts with either the pump head €16.95 ($18.32) or the pump head adapter and pairs of just valve inserts €13.95 ($15.08).

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Bosch and TRP Partner on Integrated Drivetrain

TRP and Bosch have collaborated on an electronic drivetrain for both road and mountain that will shift automatically and be powered by Bosch’s battery.

Bosch and TRP Partner on Integrated Drivetrain

TRP has collaborated with Bosch on a new electronic drivetrain for e-bikes equipped with Bosch motors. The TRP Bosch E.A.S.I. A12 uses a TRP-made electronic rear derailleur powered by the e-bike’s Bosch battery. But that’s just the beginning.

TRP is the high-end arm of Tektro; it stands for Tektro Racing Products. The TRP Bosch E.A.S.I. A12 is a 12-speed drivetrain. Though we’ve seen photos of integrated control levers for road and gravel e-bikes, TRP shows the drivetrain on an eMTB on their website. They show two cassettes; one features a 520 percent range (10-52t). The other features a slightly narrower 11-50t setup. Among the features that TRP touts on the site are automatic shifting so that you never have to think to shift. Riders can use Bosch’s Flow e-bike app to set their target cadence in case they choose automatic shifting. Manual shifting is, of course, an option, but so is a temporary manual override for riders who choose automatic shifting.

Perhaps the most intriguing feature of the drivetrain is the torque reduction it performs when shifting. The higher the torque the drivetrain is under when shifting, the more wear the drivetrain suffers. By reducing the amount of torque the motor produces while shifting, drivetrain longevity is increased. The shifting tends to be smoother and quieter as well.

The wireless shifter features a classic two trigger design. The shifter communicates via CMD technology and it runs on a CR-2032 watch battery.

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As we mentioned, we’ve seen photos of integrated control levers that feature a two-paddle design similar to Shimano’s road STI levers, but we have yet to see what sort of cassette it would be paired with. As they haven’t shown a front derailleur, we suspect this will be a strictly 1x system. We also suspect that this will be appearing on e-bikes that retail for $4000 and up.

This is an exciting development and considering the hold Shimano has on the industry, it would be healthy for suppliers to have an alternative to the bike industry’s dominant drivetrain supplier.

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NYC Receives $5.6M Grant for Last-Mile Delivery

The USDOT has awarded a grant to the NYCDOT to create a lab that will research last-mile-delivery solutions, including the use of cargo e-bikes.

NYC Receives $5.6M Grant for Last-Mile Delivery

The U.S. Department of Transportation has given a $5.6 million grant to the New York City Department of Transportation from its Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program. RAISE is part of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, one of the largest infrastructure investments in U.S. history; to date it has awarded more than $1.8 billion in grants.

The RAISE money will fund the creation of an Urban Freight Mobility Collaborative (UFC). It is intended to serve as an innovation hub that will revolutionize urban freight movement while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will be the first lab of this sort in the United States.

The UFC will work with the community, industry and universities to create public-private partnerships that will explore ways to decarbonize freight movement. Their goal is to secure a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions caused by freight movement by 2032.

A recent study demonstrated that delivery micro-hubs and cargo e-bikes could help save the city more than $240 million per year by simply eliminating delivery trucks idling while parked and blocking traffic.

The Urban Freight Lab will work to establish “microhubs” for delivery where a large delivery truck can offload its packages and then have those packages delivered to their final destination by smaller, nonobstructive forms of transportation including e-bikes—especially cargo e-bikes—handcarts and EVs. It will also work to develop marine infrastructure so that some trucks could be replaced by ships.

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You don’t have to be a New Yorker to appreciate what this grant could help establish. Anyone who has ever been stuck in traffic behind a double-parked delivery truck knows the frustration that comes with traffic that won’t move due to one vehicle.

The solutions that this grant will help establish won’t be limited to large urban centers, either. Cargo e-bikes are certain to play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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Tern Quick Haul Long D9 Review | A Premium E-Cargo Bike

With a relatively light, urban-centric design and a natural-feeling Bosch mid-drive, the Quick Haul Long rides like an analog bike – both with and without cargo.

Tern Quick Haul Long D9 Review
During my tenure here at Electric Bike Report, I’ve personally reviewed a majority of the cargo e-bikes we’ve tested, and I’ve spent a good deal of time with each of them. On the Tern Quick Haul Long D9 specifically, I put well over 150 miles on the bike in our Range Tests (and a handful of other, less formal test rides).

This experience allows me to state that the Quick Haul Long isn’t your average cargo bike.

As a Tern model, the Quick Haul Long is in the premium tier of e-bikes. It is thoughtfully designed and specced with high-quality components, and its ride feels extremely precise.

Case in point: I found that the Quick Haul Long behaved and responded much like a non-electric bike. Where cargo bikes with hub motors often feel overpowered without cargo so they can ride appropriately when loaded up, the Tern’s Bosch mid-drive motor felt reserved and natural.

Truthfully, when I first hopped on it, I wasn’t sure if it was powerful enough to handle the added weight of child passengers or a heavy load of groceries, so I knew I’d need to test that.

What I learned quickly on that first ride was that the D9 rode and handled more like an agile city or commuter e-bike than a typical cargo bike. This was primarily due to its relatively low weight (the D9 weighs 65 lbs, whereas other cargo bikes we tested were 75-90+ lbs), its maneuverable 20” wheels, and its forward-leaning riding position.

My first impressions were mixed—but open to change based on the bike’s real-world performance. Did it meet my high expectations based on its premium feel and price? And was the bike’s motor powerful enough for its role as a cargo hauler?

Read about our four standardized tests and my personal experience with the Quick Haul Long’s cargo-hauling capability below.

[Read more…] about Tern Quick Haul Long D9 Review | A Premium E-Cargo Bike

Bosch PowerMore 250 Review | Compact Range Booster

Bosch has introduced a new 250Wh range-extending battery to work with e-bikes using their SmartSystem and Flow e-bike app.

Bosch PowerMore 250 Review In Progress

Bosch has introduced a new range-extending battery, the PowerMore 250. This water-bottle sized battery provides 250Wh of capacity in a 3.3-lb. package. It comes with a mount that will attach where a water bottle cage would be bolted into place on the frame—no Velcro straps holding this in place.

If 250Wh sounds like a modest amount of power, it’s important to keep in mind that this is meant to work with Bosch mid-drive motors which do not need the kinds of capacity that are necessary to give an e-bike with a 750W hub motor reasonable range. Also, as this is a range extender and not a primary battery, we wouldn’t expect it to be huge.

The Bosch PowerMore 250 is meant to take a big day and make it bigger while also serving as an insurance plan: With the PowerMore 250, you can be confident that you’ll have enough power to make it home.

The PowerMore 250 does have limitations on just which Bosch-equipped e-bikes may use it. According to Bosch it is compatible with SmartSystem e-bikes from model year 2024. To learn whether your e-bike is compatible, you can find out in the Bosch Flow app. If you’re not using the Flow app, that might be your first indication that your e-bike may not be compatible.

Bosch PowerMore 250

If your e-bike is recent and you’re using the Bosch Flow app, then you can verify your e-bike’s compatibility by going to: System Settings > My eBike > eBike pass > Components. Also, if you are using a Bosch e-bike display, you can find out within its settings; click on: My eBike. If you see a menu item for PowerMore, then you’re in luck.

Bosch does not include the connecting cable; it must be purchased separately. That may seem inconvenient, but there is a good reason why: The PowerMore cable comes in a variety of lengths, ranging between 50mm—if the reach is short—up to 750mm. This helps to ensure you are using a cable of appropriate length for your e-bike.

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We mounted the Bosch PowerMore 250 to the Norco Fluid VLT C1. With its CompactTube 400 battery, our tester covered 24.8 mi. with 2853 feet of climbing in a time of 2:07. The PowerMore 250 added 11.3 more miles with roughly 400 more feet of climb and nearly another hour of riding (55 minutes).

Considering that 250 is 62.5 percent of 400, we expected the Bosch Powermore 250 to add another 15.5 mi. of range to the Norco Fluid. Instead, what we saw is closer to a 50 percent increase. Expectations can be a tricky thing. When we set our expectations for the PowerMore 250 aside and simply consider the value of an external battery that can increase an e-bike’s range by half, we quickly conclude that it’s a very valuable accessory.

Justin observed that the CompactTube 400 gave him enough range to handle the rides he does during the week. What the PowerMore 250 offers is the sort of range increase to allow for the kinds of longer rides that most of us can only find time for on the weekend.

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Euphree Stellar Falcon Review | Level Up Your Commutes

Comfort is king, and innovative tech leads the charge on this commuter.

Euphree Stellar Falcon Review

When I first got my hands on the Euphree Stellar Falcon, it was clear that e-bikes are evolving rapidly, much like the car industry. Each new model comes out with better fuel efficiency, more customizations, and designs that turn heads. In this market, brands are either keeping up with innovation or getting left behind.

Riding the Stellar Falcon for over 100 miles in southern Utah’s 100-degree heat, it became apparent that Euphree isn’t coasting on past successes, they’re pushing hard to make their own mark in the cutthroat direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-bike market. With features like programmable strobe lighting for commuter safety, customizable LCD display themes, and the option to choose between torque and cadence sensors, Euphree is making big moves, and we’re here for it.

The paint jobs rival new cars, and the 27.5 x 2.8 Schwalbe Hans Dampf tires offer the benefits of fat tires without the extra weight and bulk. Euphree is clearly working to become a legitimate name in the cycling industry. Riding the Stellar Falcon, I could feel the culmination of Euphree’s steady progress and innovation. From the agile 2021 City Robin to the comfort-focused 2022 version, and now the adaptive 2023 City Robin X+, each model builds on the last, integrating user feedback and improved tech.

The latest Stellar Falcon isn’t just competing; it’s closing in on the bigger DTC players, proving that Euphree is a brand to watch. See for yourself what we mean in our testing below.

[Read more…] about Euphree Stellar Falcon Review | Level Up Your Commutes

This Smart Cargo Bike Will Eliminate Cargo Wobble

The Tarran T1 Pro is billed as a smarter cargo e-bike. It includes stabilizing wheels, three cameras plus radar and a carrying capacity of up to 485 lbs.

This Smart Cargo Bike Will Eliminate Cargo Wobble

Everyone seems to be releasing “smart” products, but few of them really seem to be all that intelligent. A new brand, Tarran, claims to have designed and built the first “smart” cargo e-bike, one that comes with landing gear to stabilize the riding experience.

Cargo e-bikes may be the wave of the future for many of us who hope to ride an e-bike for more of our trips, but many potential cargo e-bike owners and riders face a hurdle: The more weight you put in or on the cargo e-bike, the harder it will be to handle. Heavy loads are most difficult when starting and stopping, which is that the Tarran T1 Pro is meant to address.

The Tarran T1 Pro is a classic box-style cargo e-bike with a sizable cargo area in front of the driver, with the capacity to carry kids, pets, groceries and more. It features a proprietary mid-drive motor that produces 100Nm of torque. It is powered by a whopping 1500Wh battery that is estimated to offer riders up to 200km (124 mi.) of range per charge. The drivetrain combines an Enviolo continuously variable hub with a Gates carbon belt for smooth, quiet operation that will always offer the riders the perfect gear.

While there are a number of features that make the Tarran T1 Pro a very different cargo e-bike, the “landing gear” feature is unique so far as we know. Tarran’s proprietary Dynamic Dual-Drive Landing Gear uses stress, angle and speed sensors to know when to lower two small wheels hidden inside the cargo box. When deployed, they prevent the Tarran T1 Pro from tipping onto its side, no matter how heavy the load is. And the load can be quite heavy, thanks to a weight capacity of 220kg (485 lbs.).

When slowing while braking, the wheels deploy and then retract once the rider is back up to a sufficient speed to maintain stability. They can also be deployed so that they can assist a rider when pushing the T1 Pro, such as when parking it. Finally, they feature a kickstand mode that will support the e-bike when parked.

The Tarran T1 Pro’s smart features don’t end there. It includes three cameras, each with different missions. A front-facing camera with a 180-degree view increases the rider’s view, even when partially obscured. A head-tube-mounted camera provides security features. A rear-view camera and radar monitor all approaching vehicles and will alert the rider to risks with a handlebar vibration and video stream on the display screen.

The Tarran T1 Pro also includes dual headlights, adaptive lighting on the box to increase visibility and automatic signal lights to indicate turns.

Additional features for the T1 Pro include an MIK cargo rack, USB charging, a wireless charging panel for smart phones and built-in Bluetooth speakers. The proprietary display runs a diagnostic program that can inform the rider of what parts they need to replace.

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It can be tiresome to read through manufacturer’s claims of “smart” features and on-board artificial intelligence, only to realize that there is nothing earth-shakingly different about the product. The Tarran T1 Pro, if they deliver on all of the promised features, will likely be the “smartest” e-bike on the market.

The Tarran T1 Pro is an especially well-designed cargo e-bike. There’s no word yet on pricing, but with so many proprietary features, we expect it will run five figures. And it may well be worth that and more.

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Have You Seen This? Worlds First Extendable Cargo Bike

The Dutch brand CYCLR has introduced a design for an expandable cargo bike. Riders can adjust the length of the storage area based on their needs.

Have You Seen This? Worlds First Extendable Cargo Bike

Eurobike, the world’s largest trade show for bicycles is going on right now in Friedrichschafen, Germany. For those looking for the latest in new ideas in bikes or e-bikes, Eurobike is the place, and one of the newest ideas to debut there is a design concept for an extendable cargo e-bike.

Designer Nikolaï Carels of the Dutch brand CYCLR spent six years working on his design for a variable-length cargo bike. The Dutch call this style of cargo bike a bakfiets and they are prized for their ability to haul big loads. Multiple kids and groceries? No problem.

The challenge with bakfiets is that they are long, like school-bus-long. That makes them terrifically stable at low speeds, but difficult to maneuver in tight spaces because they have the turn radius of an SUV. CYCLR’s design allows the rider to change the container length, which changes the overall length of the bike.

CYCLR worked with VROEGH Design to create a patented system and build a prototype, the CYCLR-FLEX. While they don’t explain quite how they did it, they say the design uses customized bearings and slides that work with the steering cables that run from the handlebar to the fork, and that are said to be stiff enough to give the rider and load sufficient support so that it provides a stable ride. The CYCLR-FLEX can carry a load of up to 175kg (386 lbs.), including rider. As the CYCLR-FLEX will be an e-bike destined for market in the Netherlands, it will have a maximum assist speed of 25kph (15.5 mph). It is expected to come to market in the third quarter of 2025 and will retail in the neighborhood of €7,500.

CYCLR hopes to license the design to other bike brands.

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The idea that you could have a cargo e-bike that isn’t always the length of a kayak carries obvious appeal; no real sales pitch is needed. That said, whether or not the system actually maintains the stiffness necessary to be rideable is a different issue. A lack of stiffness is the sort of deficiency in a bike or e-bike that many casual riders may not be able to verbalize, but they will feel it and it will undermine their sense of confidence because they won’t be certain of just where the cargo e-bike is headed.

The expandable design will also prove useful to anyone for whom storage space may be in short supply.

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Time To Stop Renting? Citi Bike To Increase Prices

Citi Bike rental rates will increase for both members and nonmembers; the company blames high overhead due to the logistics of recharging.

Time to Stop Renting? Citi Bike to Increase Prices

Citi Bike’s e-bikes provide a great alternative to buying an e-bike for those who live in New York, but they are about to get a bit more expensive due to a new price increase. The convenience of a Citi Bike is considerable: Citi Bike riders don’t have to worry about security, range or charging.

Citi Bike has already imposed one rate increase this year, taking the cost up to $0.20/minute and now the rate will increase by another 20 percent, to $0.24/minute. That’s the cost for members who pay an annual membership fee of $199/year (Lyft Pink) or $219.99/year (Citi Bike). For those who aren’t members, the cost will also rise by 20 percent, from $0.30/minute to $0.36/minute.

Citi Bike blames the price increases on high overhead due to the fact that the docks do not charge the e-bikes. When a Citi Bike’s battery runs low, it must be picked up by staff, driven to a warehouse where it is charged, and then returned to a dock.

Battery swapping would seem to alleviate this issue, but Citi Bike says that battery swapping has proven to be more expensive than anticipated.

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While $0.24/minute isn’t much money, as all incremental costs do, it adds up. Combine a $200/year membership cost with $2.40 for a 10-minute ride and anyone who uses a Citi Bike to commute to and from work 150 days per year starts to close in on the cost of some of the budget-conscious e-bikes.

As is the case with many costs, a slightly higher incremental price can be preferable to bearing the entire investment to buy a new e-bike. So even if someone’s annual spend with Citi Bike exceeds the cost of a new e-bike thanks to daily or near-daily riding, the convenience of paying only a bit per day and knowing you don’t have to worry about charging or someone trying to steal your e-bike is likely to keep riders turning to Citi Bike for their service.

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