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Only a few years ago e-bikes’ existence would have been beneath the radar of most automakers – Mercedes’ involvement with the Smart bike being the one possible exception (although that was arguably part marketing exercise in support of their Smart car brand). With Porsche’s buyout of e-bike motor system maker Fazua, it’s clear this automaker at least sees significant profit in e-bikes of the future.

But beyond that Porsche have bought themselves a foothold in the emerging electric micromobility market too. As we also point out this week, all manner of light electric vehicles are starting to populate bike lanes around the world, and at some point legislators, national and local, will have to sit up, listen and act. Porsche can see it’s not just e-bikes they have potentially invested in, but a possible transport revolution. The writing may not be on the wall for the car, but this car maker for one has recognised there are significant other players in town.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Porsche to make e-bike components and whole bikes
• Lectric 46% increase in battery size
• Bianchi launch e-mtb line
• Where has the Federal e-bike tax credit gone?
• Micromobility America conference for September
• UK’s Mycle launches three new e-bikes
• Paris vs NYC cycle lanes

[Read more…] about E-bike News: Porsche Goes E-bike, Lectric’s Bigger Battery and Much More!

Trek’s new e-bikes are an interesting step for the company as it typically produces premium e-bike with expensive mid-drives and other components and they are known for working superbly well. Their new Dual Sport+ and FX+ models use hub motors and modestly sized batteries typical of much cheaper budget models, so it will be interesting to see how they fare against cheaper models that use ostensibly similar electric drives (albeit the Trek bikes have a torque sensor which most budget e-bike don’t). Of course, Trek will be offering their own attention to detail in manufacture and their longstanding pedigree as a high quality producer of bikes and e-bikes, not to mention local bike shop backup and valued warranty cover.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Trek goes hub motor with new more affordable e-bikes
• Bimotal say innovative removable electric drive in final pilot phase
• Ridgeback Errand – a new affordable compact e-bike
• Chainless e-bikes confirmed as legal in the EU
• Zapbatt and Toshiba claim ‘game-changing’ battery
• Bike lane cameras could be appearing in New York and London

[Read more…] about E-bike News: Trek’s New Affordable E-bikes, Bimotal Final Pilot and Much More!

The incredibly light mid-drive e-mtb from Swiss firm Thömus and the powerful hub motor options on offer with Frey’s latest e-bike might initially grab the most attention this week, but there are arguably more innovative developments happening in the seemingly more modest announcements; here Honbike look to further develop their funky-looking and low maintenance die-cast e-bikes whilst Enviolo’s latest stepless hub gears are rated to work on electric cargo bikes and vehicles with loads up a huge 1100lbs / 500kg.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Thömus Lightrider full-sus e-mtb claims sub 33lb weight
• Frey Savannah Hybrid Runner – their first hub motor e-bike
• Honbike’s innovative e-bikes continue in the shape of the U4
• Funky, folding Mirider now with three gears
• Lavita Boost – the minimalist retrofit kit from the UK
• Heavy duty stepless gearing with Enviolo’s Extreme range
• Solid state batteries promise lower carbon footprint
• New (e)revolution show for Denver in 2023

[Read more…] about E-bike News: Thömus Claim 32.18lb Full-sus Emtb, Frey Hub E-bike and Much More!

It’s that exciting time of the year when e-bike companies start to announce new tech and new e-bikes thick and fast. So this week we have not only a brand new full-sus e-mtb from Trek but one of the lightest mid-drives out there with it. Brompton continue their recent launch of new bikes with their lightest e-bike yet and Shimano map out how urban e-bikes can now feature a more powerful mid-drive, electronic automatic gear shifting and ABS braking. Plus milestones for Eli’s micro electric car, e-cargo bikes in the UK and European e-bike sales.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Trek’s bike like 38.5lb Fuel EXe e-mtb
• Brompton’s 34.4lb electric folder
• Shimano’s new mid-drive rolls out alongside ABS braking and auto gear shifting & Bosch brings out new ABS system
• Ducati’s new e-folders
• European e-bike sales over 5 million for the first time
• Eli deliver first one hundred neighborhood electric vehicles
• Vancouver OKs 270 miles of protected bike lane
• UK e-cargo boom

[Read more…] about E-bike News: New Lightweights from Trek and Brompton, Shimano Expands Mid-drive Tech and Much More!

This week sees very few new e-bike announcements. More in the headlines have been attitudes to e-bikes. People’s overwhelmingly positive perception and experience of e-bikes is at the root of their fantastic recent success.

But clearly there is still work to do; the implementation of the 2019 Federal directive to public land authorities (including the National Park Service) to establish policies for e-bike access to public lands was clearly a huge win for e-bikes. This week’s news though, shows that there are still those out there who perceive e-bikes as some kind of threat rather than a benefit. This is despite the fact that most public land management policies limit e-bike use off-road to class 1 pedelecs (meaning the rider has to pedal and the assisted speed limit is 20mph). In terms of weight and speed, class 1 e-bikes are pretty similar to non-electric bikes that were already allowed on many of these trails – that is surely the message that still needs to be communicated to those worried about e-bike access.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Ruling on lawsuit against National Park e-bike access
• NOKO reduce prices on their lightweight e-bikes
• Jeep’s full suspension e-scooter comes to the UK
• Rad Power’s sixth store opens in Salt Lake City
• Amazon e-cargobike deliveries for London
• Dutch compulsory battery recycling scheme
• UK’s Pure Electric stop selling e-bikes and go online only
• E-bikes help NYC cope with crazy free lunch offer
• Accessories roundup

[Read more…] about E-bike News: National Park E-bike Access, Amazon Announce E-cargobike Deliveries and Much More!