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Imagine an e-bike powered by a battery the size—and weight—of a 16-oz. water bottle. For many e-bikes, that would mean a weight loss of 6-7 lbs. That’s what happens when an e-bike runs off of hydrogen rather than a lithium-ion battery. The German company HydroRide, using the brand name Hyryd, is producing several different models of e-bikes, all of which are powered by hydrogen gas. They aren’t the first to consider using hydrogen for fuel in an e-bike.

The why of hydrogen gas is pretty interesting, Hindenburg notwithstanding. Here’s the first good reason to use hydrogen gas to power an electric motor: While an e-bike battery takes hours to charge, even with a 4 or 5A charger, a hydrogen tank can be filled or “charged” in mere seconds. The tank can be pressurized to 1 megapascal (MPa), which translates to 145 psi. Once charged, the tank can provide as much as 40 mi. of range on a single charge.

Here’s another reason why hydrogen is an interesting idea: Considering the size and weight of the tank, carrying additional tanks would be easy to do and purchasing additional tanks won’t come with a weight penalty of more than a few ounces. Doubling or tripling the e-bike’s range would not be difficult.

Yet another reason why hydrogen makes a compelling fuel: The exhaust is water.

Hydroride makes several different models of e-bikes. They offer a city model made for bike share programs, a folding e-bike and a “sport” e-bike that looks like it came from the set of a sci-fi movie thanks, in part, to a fork with only a left leg.

The key to the system is the hydrogen gas generator which is roughly the size and shape of a home oxygen concentrator used by people with respiratory issues. The hydrogen generator takes 200ml (6.7 oz.) and turns that into 5g of hydrogen gas over a 5-hour period of time. That 5g of hydrogen gas is what goes into the tank. Changing tanks on the e-bike takes about 10 seconds, they report.

The tank has a capacity of 390ml (13.1 oz.) and measures just 9.8 in. tall and 2.4 in. in diameter. One tank will hold 20g of hydrogen, which means that it takes about five hours to generate enough hydrogen to give an e-bike 40 mi. of range. That’s pretty close to what we see with many e-bikes.

City leaders face increasing pressure to reduce congestion and pollution in dense urban areas while also struggling with reduced parking as more and more spaces are given over to development for uses such as outdoor dining spaces. The advent of e-bikes has helped in this regard, but e-bikes can’t meet every contemporary transportation need. If only.

Delivery companies such as FedEx and UPS have instituted pilot programs in which they are testing four-wheeled e-bikes. Smaller than a traditional delivery truck, they are easy to park and offer a carbon footprint that is a fraction of that generated by big trucks. Plus, they can carry far more packages than a cargo e-bike is able.

But what about private citizens like us? What if we want an alternative to an expensive-to-fill SUV? Well, there are companies that are beginning to offer vehicles that cross the drivetrain and motor of an e-bike with the stability and carrying capacity of a four-wheeled vehicle. These new designs sit almost perfectly between what an e-bike is and what an EV is, and as a result, they’ve been given the clunky name “car bikes.”

You’re probably wondering why four wheels rather than three? Even though adding a fourth wheel adds weight and increases rolling resistance, anyone who has ridden a trike of any sort will attest that four wheels are inherently more stable than three. And once you add some sort of canopy to the vehicle, that raises the center of gravity, increasing the possibility of tipping in a hard turn, so a fourth wheel is critical to making the “car bike” as stable as possible.

One French company decided to embrace the term, going so far as to name their company Karbikes. The Karbike rolls on a four-wheel chassis and features a 250W motor and a 1200Wh battery, which is estimated to offer up to 40 mi. of range per charge. It has a roof and windshield as well as removable doors, depending on the weather. Behind the rider is a seat wide enough for two kids or one adult and the seatback can fold down to convert the seat into an expanded cargo area.

Many of these designs allow the rider/driver (drider?) to sit upright as you might in a car, but some go for a more laid-back recumbent position.

The Podbike is one such design; it is produced by a Norwegian company called Frikar. The Podrider uses a single-seat recumbent design with a canopy that looks like it came from a fighter jet. By giving it an aerodynamic form it gains efficiency to help offset its weight and allow riders to enjoy the sort of range one might see with a more traditional e-bike. When not in use it can be tipped up on its back for storage that occupies only 1m². The Podbike has already entered production and Frikar reports that they have more than 4,600 preorders.

Yet another is made by the German company CityQ. It has four wheels, up to 2m³ of storage for the closed version, but there’s also one with a pickup-style open bed in the rear. DHL has purchased some for use in deliveries.

In the U.K. a more elaborate form of cargo car bike, the Cityshuttle ePack, looks like a small, articulated truck. It is meant as a delivery vehicle, but can also be configured for carrying passengers. People in the U.K. have complained that its weight—which can run as high as 650kg (1433 lbs.)—presents a fresh form of danger for pedestrians.

The English brand Ariel has announced it is introducing two new e-bikes following a 92-year hiatus from the bike biz. Ariel got its start in 1871 with what they claim was the first production penny farthing. You may know the name as a result of their track car, the Atom.

The Ariel Dash is a road e-bike with a frame made from titanium and carbon fiber. It uses seamless 6Al/4V tubing (94 percent titanium, 6 percent aluminum and 4 percent vanadium), welded to 3D-printed lugs, while the seat tube and seatpost are made from carbon fiber. No word yet on weight, but road e-bikes can weigh less than 30 lbs.

The Ariel Dash comes in two different configurations. The Dash Urban is a single-speed e-bike while the Dash Adventure features a Shimano 1×12 GRX mechanical groupset. Both versions sport a Mahle X20 250W mid-drive motor powered by a 236Wh battery. Both versions feature internal routing of the brake hoses (and the cables in the case of the Dash Adventure).

Other options include the ability to add fenders, racks, Tailfin panniers, Supernova lights and a Brooks saddle.
The Ariel Dash Urban will go for £9,984 ($12,698), while the Dash Adventure will run £10,992 ($13,987).

Each Ariel Dash will be made to order by a single technician whose name will adorn the frame on a nameplate. The Dash is available to order now, though there’s no word on lead times.

Hi-Power Cycles, a California-based e-bike maker is known for making a number of e-bikes that operate without restriction. They have just announced a new variation on one of their existing models, the Revolution, called the Revolution W, that is billed as being capable of delivering riders to 80 mph.

Hi-Power Cycles has also announced a new “Defense Division” that is aimed at getting the Revolution into the hands of the military and law enforcement.

The Revolution W is driven by a mammoth 10,500W hub motor that produces an astonishing 280Nm of torque, more than triple what most eMTBs offer. Another version of the Revolution, the Revolution XX has been tested at an OHV area achieving a top speed of 74 mph. No word on exactly how big the battery is, but they claim it will give riders a throttle-only range of 100 mi.

The Revolution W will have 8 in. of travel in the fork and 9 in. of travel in the frame. In order to make sure that riders can actually pedal at speeds above 50 mph, HPC chose the German-made Schlumpf drive which offers a 2.5x overdrive feature that will allow riders to pedal at freeway speeds.

HPC says that Revolution W is constructed from aerospace-grade aluminum and carbon fiber. It appears from photos and video that all load-bearing components are made from aluminum. The fork is made by DVO.

The Revolution XX will be limited to just 20 units worldwide, while there is no word on how many of the Revolution Ws will be made. It can also be configured to take fat tires or run off with a mid-drive motor rather than hub motor.

A new bill seeks to foster growth in domestic production of e-bikes. Earl Blumenauer, democratic representative from Oregon has introduced legislation meant to encourage manufacturing and assembly of both bikes and e-bikes. Blumenauer is founder and co-chair of the Congressional Bike Caucus and is one of the most vocal supporters of cycling in Congress.

The Domestic Bicycle Production Act seeks to flatten the investment necessary for manufacturers to produce bikes and e-bikes on U.S. soil.

Three parts compose the bill. The first part would suspend tariffs on components for 10 years. By reducing the cost to import components like brakes, handlebars, derailleurs and wheels, it should encourage domestic bicycle assembly. The second part creates a domestic, transferrable e-bike production tax credit, which would create a financial incentive for companies to produce e-bikes domestically. The third part would create what is being called the U.S. Bicycle and E-Bicycle Manufacturing Initiative which would make low-interest, 12-year loans for companies to set up or expand manufacturing in the U.S. by buying capital equipment.

The first part, which would suspend tariffs, doesn’t seem like much on paper, but it’s a big deal as a set of tariffs that were suspended during the pandemic are now going to hit imported bikes and e-bikes beginning in July. Some of the products that were part of the Section 301 exclusion carry a 25 percent tariff.

The second part, because it focuses exclusively on e-bikes, will create a real incentive for manufacturers to begin domestic production of motors and batteries. The domestic production of components such as brakes and drivetrains still seems a stretch.

The third part, which offers low-interest loans over a 12-year term, would make purchasing the sorts of tools necessary to produce bikes and e-bikes within the realm of many small businesses that struggle to expand due to a lack of capital or sufficient credit.

Bicycle seats have been compared to date repellant, Medieval torture devices and a cheap form of birth control. They get about as much affection as a traffic jam. That’s because a saddle needs to support your rear end while still allowing your legs to move, which is about as easy as trying to put a pair of jeans through the laundry—while you’re wearing them.

Ataraxy BSC is a new U.K.-based company with a fresh idea on how a bike seat can function and just how comfortable a seat can be. They call the Ataraxy a “virtual axis bicycle seat.” What that means is that the seat, which is split into two halves, actually moves with the rider. The two halves slide backward and forward on an arc meant to conform to the rider’s hip movement when pedaling. According to the product description, the seat’s movement transfers the rider’s weight from their hind quarters to their legs.

Ataraxy means tranquility of mind, and this seat is meant to set the rider at ease.

The saddle’s movement is not its only unusual feature. The Ataraxy can be adjusted both fore and aft to give the rider proper saddle position and can be rotated to make sure it’s orientation is correct for the rider. All of this is integrated into a special seatpost due to how the seat slides on its rails. There’s no word yet on just which seatpost diameters will be available.

The seat can also be adjusted width-wise in order to make sure that the seat is neither too wide nor too narrow (a seat this is too narrow is usually a bigger issue than being too wide)

The country of Finland has a government-backed program for its citizens to lease a bike or e-bike for commuting to work. It takes the concept of a company car and extends it to two-wheeled machines. A recent study by the Finnish employee-benefit platform Vapaus found that people who rode a “benefit bike” covered five times as many miles as Finns who don’t have one.

According to the study, Finns with benefit bikes ride, on average, 1,217 km (756 mi.), while the typical Finn who doesn’t have one will pedal just 234 km (145 mi.).

Benefit bikes are typically leased, not purchased, and program participants can receive up to €1200—tax free—per year. On top of that, they usually save between 30 and 50 percent of the bike or e-bike’s original purchase price.

Among program participants 43 percent reported a significant increase in their riding. Another 36 percent reported a slight increase in their riding. That means that 79 percent of the program’s participants increased their cycling, which is precisely what the Finnish government hoped to inspire with the program, which was instituted in 2021.

Some 80,000 Finns are taking part in the program and according to Vapaus 46 percent have reduced the amount they drive and 56 percent report improved health. Averaged across the program, the typical Finn drives 42 fewer kilometers each week. Were every program participant to ride that much, Finns would see a decrease of 74 million km (45.9 million mi.) traveled by car per year.