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E-bike News: New Releases From Cowboy and Forestal, Shimano’s New Drivetrain Tech, Bikeflights Performing Well, and More!

Would you consider renting rather than buying an e-bike? Would you consider ordering an e-bike in advance that hasn’t been produced, but promises as yet unproven, though exciting technology?

This week’s news covers both scenarios, in the first case it’s rental company Zoomo’s plans for major expansion and in the second relatively unknown company Forestal have released news of an exciting new range of lightweight carbon e-bikes with a new lightweight mid-drive. And would an e-bike company’s ability to recycle old e-bike batteries influence your decision to purchase one of their bikes in the first place? Specialized are certainly hoping so…

In this week’s news:

  • Belgium’s Cowboy Release Details of Latest generation City E-bike with Higher Torque Motor
  • Three New Models from Forestal with New EonDrive Mid-drive
  • Shimano’s New Linkglide Technology for Stronger Drivetrains
  • Bikeflights’ Boxing & Delivery Service Has Strong Pandemic Record
  • Specialized Expands Battery Recycling Plans
  • Zoomo E-bike Hire Raises Capital for Expansion
  • Lime Calls on Its Workers to Help Lobby For More Bike Lanes
  • All the Latest Business E-bike News

[Read more…] about E-bike News: New Releases From Cowboy and Forestal, Shimano’s New Drivetrain Tech, Bikeflights Performing Well, and More!

Rad Power Bikes RadRover 5 Review, 2021

Rad Power Bikes Rad Rover 5 E-bike Review

Summary Review: Rad Power Bikes RadRover 5

Looking for the review of the latest RadRover? Click here.

We were eager to get our hands on the RadRover 5, as we have had great experiences with Rad Power Bikes in the past. With that being said, the Rad Power Bikes RadRover 5 review process was an absolute blast and lived up to our expectations here at Electric Bike Report.

There’s just something about a rugged, giant-wheeled bike that seems so inviting for fun, isn’t there? The RadRover 5 is largely just that – a fun time to be had on two massive wheels. You can charge hard on any terrain thanks to its 4” fat tires. And between the tires and the suspension fork you’ll be able to focus more on enjoying your ride, and less on feeling any bumps in the road.

Backing up the RadRover is a reputable company we’ve reviewed often in Rad Power Bikes. So when it comes to questions, customer service, and accessories Rad Power Bikes has your back. And, at least in our experience, Rad takes care of their riders.

One thing worth noting before you dive into our RadRover 5 review: you’re going to see the word “smooth” a lot, and that’s simply because the RadRover 5 is noticeably smoother than many of the other fat tire competitors out there. I’m not by any means saying this is a perfect bike, but it’s certainly been a fun, controlled ride.

We’ve reviewed plenty of fat tire e-bikes with similar specs, and price points, very few of them ride as smoothly (see, “smooth”!) as the RadRover does.

[Read more…] about Rad Power Bikes RadRover 5 Review, 2021

The Aventon Aventure: The Next Great Fat Tire E-Bike?

Launch Details

Are you ready to go on an ‘Aventure?’ Today the Californian e-bike company Aventon announced its newest addition to its lineup with the Aventure. This fat tire-styled electric bike comes equipped with massive 4” Kenda Krusade tires which are propelled by the bike’s 750W hub motor capable of a whopping 1130W peak. This combination has a lot of promise for those looking to head off-road on occasion.

On top of the new bike itself, Aventon is debuting what they call an industry first color display screen that integrates with an all new app. The app powers the bike and its integrated lights on and off, while also tracking your mileage and trips, and provides a community feature to meet up with other Aventon riders. The app even displays how many trees you’ve saved riding on your bike instead of a car.

Aventon sees the bike and app as a collective step forward for e-bike communities.

[Read more…] about The Aventon Aventure: The Next Great Fat Tire E-Bike?

E-bike News: Shimano E-cargo Mid-drives, Ribble Lightweights, Olympia 900Wh Model, Hydrogen Cargo Hybrid and Much More!

Whilst Shimano have often gone toe to toe with Bosch mid-drives in the city, trekking and e-mtb areas they have not been forthcoming in other areas where they might have wanted to match Bosch’s increasingly extensive offering of mid drives, such as cargo bike specific systems….until now!

There’s also some intriguing new tech this week in the form of carbon composite, injection moulded e-bike frames on the immediate horizon (2022) and further experiments with e-bikes and hydrogen. Which technologies will become mass adopted, which will remain specialist applications and which will disappear is as hard to tell as ever…

In this week’s news:

  • New Firmware from Shimano Makes EP8 and E6100 Mid-drives Cargo Compatible
  • Ribble Introduce Two New Superlight E-bikes
  • Brompton Electric Apple App Now Available
  • Carbon Composite Injection-Moulded Frames for 2022
  • Olympia’s New 900Wh Model
  • Italy’s Military Police E-bike
  • E-tech Developments with Hydrogen Hybrid and UK’s New ‘Self Driving’ Laws
  • Bike Share Companies Going Public and More E-bike Biz

[Read more…] about E-bike News: Shimano E-cargo Mid-drives, Ribble Lightweights, Olympia 900Wh Model, Hydrogen Cargo Hybrid and Much More!

Ribble’s New Electric Bike Is Possibly The World’s Lightest E-Bike

One of the lightest e-bikes in the world? Ribble launches new Hero edition, aluminum eRoad bikes

With up to 1250 watts of power being delivered through it’s high quality motor, the Model R accelerates quickly and smoothly.

The lightest electric road bike just got lighter.

British manufacturer Ribble on Wednesday launched two new featherweight electric road bikes — the Endurance SL e Hero edition and the aluminum-framed Endurance AL e — with each claiming to be the lightest in their respective categories.

Ribble’s Endurance SL e model already held the title for lightest electric road bike, which weighed in at a claimed 25.3lb (11.5kg). But the new Hero edition of the bike, which comes spec’d with Shimano Di2 and new superlight carbon wheels, is slimmed down to 23.08lb (10.49kg). That’s a new high-water mark (or, rather, a low-water mark) for superlight electric road bikes. Both weights are based on a medium frame, according to Ribble.

[Read more…] about Ribble’s New Electric Bike Is Possibly The World’s Lightest E-Bike

E-bike News: Range Extenders, Powered Bike Trailers, Solar Power, E-bike Subsidies and more!

One thing that it’s taken e-bike manufacturers a while to figure out is how to best integrate a battery into the bike frame. On early e-bikes batteries appeared as afterthoughts, usually either integrated into the pannier rack (bad for balance and handling) or, literally, bolted onto the frame, which may have been better for balance but didn’t do a lot for the looks of the bike, especially if a large capacity battery was used. Current designs look a lot slicker, usually integrated into the frame in varying degrees, and they also afford the battery better protection and give the bike better handling. To show how far the concept has come Van moof released their latest take on battery design with their completely frame-integrated main battery now supplemented by an optional range extender. With several electric assist systems offering range extender options this could be an idea taken up by more manufacturers in future.

In this week’s news:

  • Van Moof Launch Range Extender
  • Ein and 1Drive Powered Bike Trailers
  • Solar Powered SunRider eCargo Trike Announced
  • Revonte’s Innovative Mid-drive Explained
  • Domino’s Trial E-powered Bots
  • New E-bike Hire Scheme for NYC
  • E-bike Subsidies Analysed

[Read more…] about E-bike News: Range Extenders, Powered Bike Trailers, Solar Power, E-bike Subsidies and more!

Lectric XP Step-Thru Review, 2021

Lectric XP Step-Thru Review: Summary

Lectric has been on our radar for some time now, and we were super excited to see how their Lectric XP Step-Thru stood up to other, similar ebikes that we have tried. It didn’t take us long to figure out the Lectric XP Step-Thru is where fun and budget-friendly meet.

The XP Step-Thru is Lectric’s second bike and really only has one difference from the original XP – the step-thru frame. So for those who are familiar with the Lectric XP, you are going to feel right at home with the XP Step-Thru.

The Electric Bike Report team’s consensus is that this is easily one of the better ebikes you can buy for under a thousand dollars: it’s powerful, it has great battery life, and it’s foldable. The combination of those points plus 20”x4” tires is going to make the XP Step-Thru ready for pretty much anything you throw at it. We took this bike on dirt, gravel, and the steepest hills we could find and it handled all of them with ease.

If you are looking to get into the ebike space but don’t want to spend thousands of dollars, the Lectric XP is a great option. Everybody from college students who don’t want to buy a car, to campers who want something to adventure on, to those with limited space in their garage are really going to appreciate what the XP has to offer.

In our eyes Lectric has solved the issue of eBikes being too expensive for those who could benefit from them the most. With that being said the Lectric XP is going to be great for those who don’t have a lot of extra storage space or cash to spend, if you are trying to save money but still have places to be then we would definitely recommend considering the Lectric XP

*Looking for the review of latest version of the Lectric XP? Click here.

Lectric XP VS Step-Thru

There are a few key differences between the Lectric XP Step-Thru, and the original Lectric XP. The Step-Thru XP is going to be a lot easier to get on and dismount, it’s also going to have a lower center of gravity than the standard XP model, which comes in handy on corners.

The Lectric XP Step-Thru is going to be better for shorter riders, as they don’t have to step up and over the frame to get on the bike. When it comes to folding up the two bikes the Step-Thru folds slightly smaller than the standard, and is just as easy to stow away.

[Read more…] about Lectric XP Step-Thru Review, 2021

E-bike News: Moped Style Bikes from Juiced and Bixtrix, New VELLO+ E-Bike, New eCargobikes, and more!

eBike News:

In This Week’s E-Bike News:

This week there really is a flavour of the sheer variety that e-bikes encompass, from the moped styling of Juiced’s latest Scorpion X to the ultra-lightweight titanium version of Vello’s latest electric folder, not to mention an extremely capable-looking load hauler from Carqon.

If you want e-bike ideas for getting out on your e-bike, read about trail plans for California’s Lake Tahoe or the emtb World Series of races in some of Europe’s most glamorous locations and the chance to ride one of the courses at Sea Otter Europe.

  • Moped Style eBikes from Juiced and Bixtrix
  • VELLO+, the 28.4lb e-bike
  • eCargobikes – High Quality Carqon Flatbed and Theft of Fiil Prototype
  • Further eBike Access for Lake Tahoe?
  • French Government Progresses ‘eBikes for Old Cars’ Law
  • Massless Batteries on the Horizon?
  • Minneapolis eBike Share Ramps Up
  • No, London’s Cycle Superhighways Do Not Cause Traffic Jams
  • All the Latest eBike Biz

[Read more…] about E-bike News: Moped Style Bikes from Juiced and Bixtrix, New VELLO+ E-Bike, New eCargobikes, and more!

Biktrix Releases New Moped-style E-bike

Launch Details

Canadian e-bike company Biktrix on Thursday released a new moped-style electric bike that boasts a 750W motor and a 100-plus mile range.

The new e-bike, which Biktrix has dubbed the Moto, was inspired by mopeds and built “specifically for those hoping to cruise down streets with ease,” the company said in an announcement of the new bike.

At first glance, the Moto’s looks are right in line with the moped-style of other e-bikes in the news that have seen gaining popularity over the past year or so. It’s low-slung and fitted with fat tires mounted on smaller 20” or 24” wheels, depending on the frame size. The handlebars also rise up chopper-style and there’s a motocross-style seat, which place riders in an upright seated position.The Moto comes with two power settings: The “limited” motor power setting that caps the maximum assisted speed at 20 mph and the “no-limit” setting which raises the maximum assisted speed to 28 mph, which makes it a Class 3 e-bike in the U.S.

[Read more…] about Biktrix Releases New Moped-style E-bike

Electric Bike Company Radical Scooter Review, 2021

Summary Review: Radical Scooter

We’ve had pretty positive experiences with the electric bikes we’ve reviewed from the Electric Bike Company. So we were pretty excited to review their Radical Scooter.

The Electric Bike Company is known for making comfortable, powerful electric cruiser bikes, and they managed to bring this look and feel to the electric scooter market with the Radical Scooter. Thanks to its generous suspension, tires, and moped-style seat, you can explore almost anywhere with comfort and ease.

The fast 350W motor on this e-scooter lives up to its promised expectations of 20 mph on straights, and it performs admirably on hills as well. You’ll be able to zip around town with little trouble, and thanks to the safety of lights on the front, back, and sides, you’ll be riding with a highly visible profile.

Taller and larger riders will appreciate the wide deck pad, adjustable stem, robust suspension, strong hydraulic braking power, and 250-pound weight limit. Three assist levels–eco, mid and high–allow you to ride at a leisurely pace through a park or at max speed for your workday commute.

For long commutes, the comfortable moped-style seat ensures you’ll be fresh and energetic when you arrive at your destination. And the wide handlebars and cushy grips mean your shoulders and hands will be too.

There is plenty to love about this feature-heavy, powerful, value-driven scooter. Read on to learn more in our full performance review of the Radial Scooter by the Electric Bike Company!

[Read more…] about Electric Bike Company Radical Scooter Review, 2021

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