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Ebike News: Gazelle Step-thrus, Transition E-mtb and Lots More!

The US is the home of the electric fat bike, right? Well, maybe, but that doesn’t mean to say there aren’t plenty more options out there, often very contrasting ones, such as Gazelle’s newly reintroduced Arroyo range of step-thru city e-bikes.

Just as notable as the fact that the Arroyos are very nice looking and very practical city e-bikes is the fact that they were introduced to the US back in 2018 but then disappeared from dealers in subsequent years. The introduction of the updated Arroyo suggests perhaps that the US is finally taking to Dutch style practical city e-biking – or at least taking to it in big enough numbers to finally make the Arroyo a true success over here.

In this week’s e-bike news:

Gazelle’s Arroyo city e-bike range heads back to the US
Transition Repeater – the company’s first e-mtb is a premium e-bike
Super 73 gets an even younger image with kids’ e-balance bike
Eskute new budget models for the UK
Gas price hikes – why isn’t the obvious solution of e-cargo bikes promoted more?
SF’s JFK Promenade heading for permanent traffic-free status

E-bike News: Rad Power, Tern, Ducati Launches and Lots More!

After a few weeks where new e-bike launches were a bit thin on the ground, three companies have launched new models. Two of these look to keep the price of new e-bikes down, in spite of the overall prevailing upward trend and their names may well be familiar to regular readers; Rad Power claim to be the largest US-based e-bike manufacturer and have a new budget e-folder out, whilst Tern’s new model, whilst not exactly budget, aims to undercut the prices of their existing models and bring their unique ‘small bike, big load’ approach to as many riders as possible. There’s also details of an amazing tilting trike from light electric vehicle specialist Arcimoto and welcome news on the progress of the US’s e-bike battery recycling program.

In this week’s e-bike news:

RadExpand 5 – Rad Power’s new and cheaper fat-tired e-folder
Tern Quick Haul; a sub $3000 Bosch-powered compact cargo bike
Ducati gets into e-road bikes with the Futa
Arcimoto opens pre-orders for trid-motored, series hybrid tilting trike.
US e-bike battery recycling program ramps up
European Tier acquires Ford’s Spin

Is 250W enough power for an electric bike?

Aside from speed, power is probably the hottest topic — and selling point — in the electric bike world.

Conventional wisdom would say that when it comes to power, more wattage is better. But if that’s the case, why do so many high-end e-bikes come with what seem like smaller motors — and is 250W enough power for an electric bike?

There’s a few factors that dictate how much wattage an e-bike needs, ranging from the type of motor being used to how the e-bike was designed. It’s also helpful to understand what manufacturers are describing when they talk about motor wattage, and how U.S. law dictates how powerful an e-bike can be. This post will dive into those details and more.

The small but mighty front hub motor on a GoCycle G4i+, arguably one of the peppiest, torquiest and most compact 500W hub motors we’ve tested.

But here’s a short answer that I’m sure will ruffle some feathers: Yes, we’ve found that 250W is often plenty powerful for many e-bikes. There’s some caveats to that statement, but by and large a 250W motor is enough to give a rider’s pedaling a nice assist. Remember, an e-bike is still a bicycle — by definition at least a little physical effort is required.

E-bike News: Yamaha, Liv, Rossignol Announce New E-bikes and Lots More!

New model launches are important – they reflect the latest technology, such as the PWSeries ST mid-drive found on Yamaha’s latest US speed pedelecs. But e-bikes need somewhere to be ridden and that’s an area that gets a lot less press. So this week we are doing EBR’s bit to rectify that with some news from the UK on the attempts to bring more ‘lost ways’ back to life, making them legally accessible to cyclists and e-bikers.

In this week’s e-bike news:

New Yamaha speed pedelecs for the US
Yamaha-powered women-specific e-bikes from Liv
Rossignol looks to make a mark with new Shimano-powered emtbs
Will Reilly produce an e-road bike any time soon?
All the latest e-scooter news
The UK’s ‘lost ways’ saga continues with some good news

500W vs. 750W E-Bike: Does wattage matter on hills?

Does size matter? It’s a query as old as time that, depending on who you ask and in what situation, is going to yield a broad and potentially colorful range of answers.

In the less colorful context of electric bikes, motor size (to most people) very much does seem to matter. The general consensus is that bigger is better. More watts equals more power; equals more speed; equals an easier time climbing hills. But is bigger always better, or can a carefully tuned smaller motor compete with sheer wattage?

We set out to explore this question with a simple test: A head-to-head uphill race between a powerful 750W rear hub motor e-bike and a 500W rear hub motor e-bike that the brand claimed had been specifically tuned for hill climbing.

The result of that test was about as we expected, with the more powerful bike winning our race, but the relationship between motor size and climbing ability is far more complicated than power alone.
[Read more…] about 500W vs. 750W E-Bike: Does wattage matter on hills?

E-bike News: Biktrix’s New Monster Mid-drive, Cannondale Goes Smart Bosch and Lots More!

This week’s news on the forthcoming ‘ultra-powerful’ Biktrix XD mid-drive looks like it might spark off the old e-bike debates ‘how much speed is too much speed’ and ‘when does an e-bike become a motorbike?’. EBR usually excludes such superfast machines and, indeed, has written an article warning against them here.

However, we included the Biktrix XD on the grounds it has some interesting new tech and also because all the details aren’t yet clear; whilst it has a throttle and a claimed humungous 2000W plus peak power rating, the claimed assisted speed of 50kmh is only just above the current ‘speed pedelec’ limit that is a legal e-bike category in many US states. Much more speed than this and, pedals or no pedals, you are clearly looking at motorbike equivalent speeds beyond the remit of conventional e-bikes. But the XD does pose an interesting question, even with some reasonable speed cap as a limit, how much power should e-bikes be allowed in future (for example if we want e-bikes capable of towing truly heavy loads or conquering extreme terrain) and how should it be activated?

In this week’s e-bike news:

Biktrix XD mid-drive with novel design and high power
Cannondale go with New Bosch Smart System for 2022 Tesoro Neo X 1
Aventon Sinch now has a Step-Through option
Z-Triton bike-boat going into production
Brands Hatch electric lap records
E-bike price rises
Clean Air Zones from the UK

Ebike News: Affordable Eunorau Mid-Drive, Babymaker II Teaser and Lots More!

Is the age of truly affordable mid-drives here with the arrival of the Eunorau D6? Currently the e-bike industry is quite well-defined into two segments – more affordable hub motor e-bikes and pricier mid-drive machines. There are only a few pre-launch details available on the Eunorau model at present but time will tell if this is one of the models that finally means mid-drives will compete or undercut hub-motor machines on price and bring their undoubted benefits to a wider audience.

In this week’s e-bike news:

Eunorau D6 mid-drive remarkable offer price of $1199
Babymaker ups spec of original single speed model
Interesting e-mtbs from Corratec and Orange
Hase Pino e-bike therapy court case decision
ThinkBikes – Nigeria’s answer to sustainable affordable cargo transport
Will hydrogen ever succeed?
UK study on pollution exposure in child trailers

How to Safely Secure and Park Your E-bike

The first step when looking to keep your e-bike safe and secure is getting a good e-bike lock, but there are some other electric bike safety techniques that can further help you protect your investment. By practicing these simple habits you can rest easier knowing your e-bike is that much safer.

There is no one magic tip for making your e-bike safe and secure – it’s all about using a wide range of techniques and equipment that will make life so difficult for any would-be thief that they can’t or just don’t want to target your bike.

E-bike Security at Home

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When at home keep your e-bike out of sight

Keep your bike in your garage, shed, inside your house, under a tarp, etc. Thieves will spend time scoping out a neighborhood before they make their move. Don’t let them see your e-bike!

More than that though, it’s fairly obvious that the more secure the location at home the better. Inside your house is probably best, though not all have the space. Sheds and garages are popular locations, but the more secure the better:

A shed or garage located where it is difficult for thieves to see and operate is best. Timber and metal can both be good materials but the stronger the construction the better, whatever the material. Thieves have been known to substantially dismantle sheds if they think the reward is worth it, so a strong shed is a major defense. Strong anti-theft hinges and strong hasps and locks are also important.
Security lighting in the area is a good idea, so any intruders at night can easily be seen
A shed or house alarm is a good idea. Hardwired ones are ideal but battery-operated ones can be very practical and cost-effective too.
Don’t leave any tools that could be used to break into any storage area, be it house, shed or garage (sounds obvious but it’s easy to leave garden implements and the like lying around).
An immovable locking point within the shed is a very good idea, typically a ground or wall anchor.

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Record your electric bike’s serial number

In the event that your e-bike is stolen, you will need your serial number to give to the police and to provide any info that you may post about your stolen e-bike and it may well help with any insurance claim.

Typically the serial number on a bike can be found on the bottom of the bottom bracket (where the bike cranks are) or sometimes on the headtube of the frame (between the handlebars and forks).

Some serious thieves will go so far as filing off a stamped serial number so you may want to hide a piece of paper with your contact info in the handlebars or seat tube of the bike.

We also recommend signing up with a bike registration service (or ideally more than one). There are several organizations that offer this service.

Registration may be free and it’s simply a matter of recording the bike’s serial number on a central database that law enforcement or others recovering a stolen bike may be able to check to get the details of the owner. There may be some small optional outlay on further technologies that allow your e-bike to be identified if it’s stolen, such as indelible markings or unique identifying markers that are only visible under ultraviolet light.

There are numerous bike registration services but they include the following popular options:

Bike Index
Garage 529
BikeRegister (UK)
National Bike Register (Australia)

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GPS/Smartphone tracking

GPS/Smartphone tracking is a developing technology that can be found on an increasing number of e-bikes. Perhaps the best known off-the-peg e-bikes with GPS tracking are Van Moof, Stromer and Cowboy.

Let’s take one detailed example, Cowboy, as described by Cowboy themselves. A SIM is actually integrated into the bike and, once the bike is paired with your smartphone, it means you can track the position of the e-bike really precisely (i.e. within a few meters). If the bike is inside a building you can use the built-in Bluetooth scanner to know how close they are to the bike.
However, Cowboy do note that if your bike is in an area without cellular network coverage, it will not be able to send its position, and they add getting theft insurance is the best way to be 100% at ease in case of theft.

Stromer says GPS tracking in the Stromer ST2 helped an owner recover their ST2 and 50 other stolen bikes!

It’s also worth noting that there are other electronic safety features often associated with such high-tech e-bikes that might act as theft deterrents. For example, electronic keys (using a phone or special fob to unlock a bike) or integrated alarms that alert you on your smartphone if the bike is disturbed.

There are also an increasing number of GPS tracking devices that can be retrofitted to e-bikes to help track a bike in the event of theft.

Boomerang Cyclotrac is a GPS tracking device and alarm that is mounted to the bike at the water bottle cage. If someone tries to tamper with your bike an alarm will sound and your smartphone will alert you from the Boomerang app and the GPS tracking will show you where your bike is. Here is a video with more info:

There are also non-bike-specific trackers that you might want to consider and use either the cellphone network or short-range bluetooth technology – names to look out for include SPYtec, Apple Airtags, and Tile (bluetooth only).

The ultimate and perhaps most reliable protection against theft is good insurance and you can check out our guide about the basics of e-bike insurance for details of the leading policy providers.

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E-bike Security in Public

Taking your e-bike out and about and leaving it parked is probably when you will feel it’s at its most vulnerable, but following these tips will help mitigate theft risk and help keep your e-bike safe and secure.

Park your electric bike in a public place

Thieves are less likely to try to steal your bike in a public place – meaning somewhere where it’s highly visible to others. It is harder for them to break the lock when there are a bunch of people around.

Try not to leave your electric bike locked up somewhere public overnight. Try and find out where local bike theft hotspots are, so you can avoid them (you can ask questions in your city’s Reddit thread or a similar local forum – fellow bikers are always happy to reply).

Conversely, there may be super secure parking facilities where you are headed, such as indoor Cycle Hubs, guarded parking, and the like.

Common sense says use the best lock possible and to help you do that you can check out our guide to lock security ratings and the best locks. This is a valuable guide to the main types of locks, but also features ideas for securing other parts of the bike like frame locks, wheel axle locks and hex bolts to secure stems and other components.

It’s not just about the lock – you need to pay attention to how you lock the bike up. Choose a locking point that is both firmly fixed to the ground and is heavy gauge – concrete posts are one of the best options as they are difficult to cut through (as opposed to say very thin metal railings or even thin wood which is relatively easy to cut through). Here are some suggestions:

– Bike parking area that is solidly attached to concrete.

– A tree or street sign or street light. Make sure your bike can’t be lifted over the tree, sign or light. Avoid parking meters for this reason!

– A solid fence, not a chain link because a thief could easily cut the chain link.

– A hand rail that is solidly attached to a wall or sidewalk.

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Use good bike securing/locking technique

Properly locking up your e-bike means of course locking the frame, but also the rear wheel and, if your lock is long enough or you have a secondary lock, the front wheel too. If possible try and leave minimal space around the locks themselves to reduce the space available for thieves with tools to work on.

If you find it a pain to carry the most secure (and often the heaviest) locks around with you, note some riders leave theirs locked to a good locking spot they often use (outside a workplace or transit station for example).

A few other points on good e-bike securing techniques:

Park your bike in high-traffic areas, but try to be respectful of where you park your bike. Some areas may not work because it will cause too much congestion where people are walking by. This can be especially true if you are locking up multiple bikes.
Lock your helmet to your bike. If you are in a high theft area you may want to route your bike cable through the vents in your helmet. Routing the cable through the helmet straps also works and I personally have never had a helmet stolen. In reality I am not sure how many people really want a used helmet!
If your e-bike display and lights are detachable take them with you. Some displays (like the Bosch Kiox) easily detach from the handlebars and will not allow the thief to ride away on your bike with electric assistance.
Some riders remove other components from their e-bike. This can make it less attractive to thieves – probably the battery is the one single item that it makes the most sense to remove (it’s vital to remove it if it’s of one of the small numbers of designs that does not lock to the frame of the bike). It effectively disables the e-bike and makes it far less valuable to a thief too and in any case you may want to charge it where you are going. Some riders have been known to go as far as removing seatposts and even wheels but obviously, you then need to carry them round with you or have a safe space in which to put them – neither of which may be a practical option.

These are essential practices for keeping your beloved e-bike safe and secure be it at home or in public. If there are any others that we may have left out, be sure to pass them along in the comments section below!

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With many now grabbing bike helmets instead of car keys for their daily commute, investing in insurance for your e-bike might make a lot of sense for your personal situation.

And a basic policy can be surprisingly cheap – e-bike policies start at around $100 per year and offer a variety of coverage levels and deductible options. You might imagine with the extra power and weight onboard that comes with an e-bike means they would cost more than traditional non-powered e-bikes to insure but this isn’t necessarily the case.

For example, UK based specialist bike insurers Bikmo announced in July 2020 that they would cut premiums for e-bike riders, with new research showing that e-bikers were 38% less likely to make a claim compared to non-assisted riders. Indeed, Bikmo says customers can now insure an e-bike worth £2,000 from £9 a month, which they say is typically 25% less than a standard road bike of the same value.

Also insurance brings with it other benefits if you opt for more of a ‘bells and whistles’ type policy covering areas such as third party liability and accidental damage.

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E-Bike Insurance 101: Make Sure the E-bike is Secure

It’s stating the obvious; of course you don’t want your bike to be stolen so of course the first line of defence is a good lock and good home security. If you live in a property with no secure outside storage folding and compact e-bikes can be the difference between owning an e-bike and not. If you have a larger e-bike kept in a garage or an outbuilding of some kind security is much more important.

A ground anchor is a particularly good idea for outbuilding security as a good last line of defence; I’ve used examples from Hiplok and Squire.
[Read more…] about The Basics Of Electric Bike Insurance

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