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Is it just us, or does it seem like every electric bike brand got together this year and decided April was going to be when all the new and updated models would be released?

This week’s news brings word of two new e-bikes — an electric fat bike from Blix and a new electric superbike from Wilier (that boasts a new ultralight motor system). We’ve also got some details on an e-bike battery fire that claimed a south Florida bike shop this week, a lawsuit against Rad Power Bikes stemming from a loose stem and a new e-bike battery recycling program from Trek.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Blix introduces the new Ultra, an all-terrain electric fat bike
• E-bike battery fire claims south Florida bike shop
• Ride1UP’s Prodigy starts shipping
• New Wilier Filante Hybrid claims its got the “lightest pedal assist system in the world”
• Trek starts e-bike battery recycling program

[Read more…] about E-bike News: Blix launches an e-fat bike, e-bike battery fire claims Florida bike shop, battery recycling programs and much more!

An 80-year-old Canadian adventure cyclist this June will attempt to set the world record for the longest electric bicycle ride, an approximately 13,500 km (8.388.5 mi) route stretching from Alaska to Panama.

The rider, Robert Fletcher, a retired educator and lifelong bicycle tourer, is attempting the feat to celebrate his 80th birthday. If he makes it, Fletcher would best the previous world record of 8.209.20 km (5,100.96 mi) by a significant margin.

The existing record is held by renowned long-distance e-biker and alternative transportation advocate Ravindra Kempaiah, who set the record in summer 2016 while riding a Stromer ST2-S across a portion of the U.S.

For his attempt this June, Fletcher will use an Evelo Atlas hybrid-style e-bike, which sports a Bafang mid-drive motor, a dual battery design and a MTB-style riding position.

[Read more…] about 80-Year-Old to Attempt Record-Breaking E-Bike Ride From Alaska to Panama

E-bike designs tend to conform to certain conventions as certain firms like Bosch and Bafang have become highly skilled at what they do and produce excellent products that have become very widely used throughout the industry. Add to this the fact that most e-bike frames are built in Taiwan and you begin to see why the e-bike industry could be accused of not being daring enough in terms of new tech and new business models. After all, many of today’s e-bikes are superb products, and as the saying goes ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.’

So it’s refreshing to see the likes of OKAI and Mokumono aiming to break the mould of what’s expected from an e-bike in the wider sense. OKAI are experts at producing very simple, rugged e-bikes for large micro-mobility clients but now have their own model. Details released so far suggest it will be as similarly rugged as its fleet e-bikes, if a little more elegant looking and will have a level of connectivity not found on may e-bikes at its $1599 price point. Even more radical is Dutch Mokumono, relying to a very large degree on domestic suppliers and offering unsurpassed back up over time in terms of spares availability – e-bikes have pretty good green credentials but Mokumono is clearly aiming for an impeccable reputation on sustainability.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• OKAI Stride – a 28mph connected e-bike for $1599
• Decathlon launches keenly-priced e-cargo longtail
• Mokumono Polder – a totally different approach to manufacture and aftercare
• Lightweight e-bikes come to the fore
• Fiido X recall
• UK court prosecutes seller of 70mph capable e-bikes
• Bosch’s first update for its Smart system
• Rad Power Bikes looking to shift from mobile service to bricks and mortar

[Read more…] about Ebike News: Innovative E-bikes from OKAI and Mokumono and Much More!

The Sea Otter Classic is the largest cycling event in the world and aside from all the athletes who hope to stand on the podium, or just to finish, roughly 350 bike companies from around the world display their products in the expo area for riders to check out. Everyone present wants to convince attendees that their product will change the rider’s life for the better. Very few products can live up to such a claim, but this past weekend Electric Bike Report saw something that exceeds its hype.

[Read more…] about Spoke Safety: a Technology That Will Make Streets Safer—for Everyone

Though there is no specific safety standard for electric bike helmets in the United States, we’re seeing more and more “e-bike rated helmets” showing up on shelves in the U.S.

If you’re skeptical, I don’t blame you. From tires to seats and drivetrains to bike wash, it seems like there’s an e-bike specific something for anything. But when it comes to helmets (and, quite honestly, many of the components listed above), there actually is reason behind the e-bike specific rating.

The NTA-8776 safety standard is a Dutch-concocted designation given to bicycle helmets with heightened safety features designed to protect riders against the higher possible speeds capable on e-bikes. It’s a standard that’s really only applicable in Europe, but it’s something we’ve been seeing more and more in helmets sold on the U.S. market.

Electric Bike Report scoured the expo area at the 2022 Sea Otter Classic for e-bike rated helmets and found some pretty killer options, including popular helmets from some of the biggest names in the biz.

[Read more…] about Sea Otter Classic 2022: Best E-Bike Rated Helmets On Show

As a website with mainly US readers and also a good proportion of European ones, EBR tends not to report so much on what is happening directly in Asia. But a couple of smaller news stories this week demonstrate just how things change – and also perhaps how they stay the same.

Firstly we report on a couple of motor systems on display at the 2022 Taipei Cycle Show that show how more advanced and more reasonably priced motors might be making their way to western markets soon. For years the east was known for making basic – but often very effective – budget hub motors typified by the likes of Bafang. But good quality Bafang mid-drives are now appearing on more and more e-bikes in western markets.

And now Hyena looks to be developing lightweight hub motor systems with frame integrated batteries – perhaps similar to Mahle – and KHGears are looking to produce a downtube motor system – perhaps similar to Fazua – for western e-bike markets. No doubt these new systems would look to undercut their western developed counterparts on price. Yet at the same time as eastern companies increasingly target the west with evermore sophisticated motor systems, the Deloitte report we look at shows, ironically, how China’s own e-bike market still dwarfs that of the US and Europe combined as it has done for many years.

In this week’s e-bike news:

• Van Moof’s all-new 5-series e-bikes
• Swytch’s new pocket sized battery
• Canyon to use bigger battery and all-carbon frame in 2002 Spectral:ON
• Himiway Pro Escape battery capacity increase
• New motor systems shown by Hyena and KHGears at Taipei
• Japanese electric flying machine makes a public appearance
• Market overview from the US, Europe and China

[Read more…] about Ebike News: Van Moof New 5-series, Swytch Pocket Battery and Much More!