eBike News: New Jeep, EP8 e-mtbs, Virtual eBike Events and Much More! [VIDEOS]

In this week’s news:

• Jeep eBike Now Available
• More eMTBs Powered By Shimano’s Latest, Lightest Motor
• BULLS Sponsors Sea Otter Play
• eFondo at Mammoth Lakes
• Pashley Reveal eCargo Trike
• E-bike Biz Updates

New eBikes & eBike Systems

Jeep eBikes Now Available

Back in a February news post we mentioned that an advert for a Jeep e-bike had appeared during the Superbowl but that more detail wasn’t available. Well now it is; as mentioned in the original news piece, it is in fact a rebranded Quietcat and the spec certainly looks in keeping with Jeep’s off-road automotive tradition.

• Relatively unusual 160Nm Bafang mid-drive (check out EBR’s complete guide to mid-drives here).
• 750w or 1000w Motor
• 160nm Torque
• Torque Sensor + 2 Speed Sensors
• Removable Thumb Throttle
• 10 Levels of Pedal Assist
• 9 Speed Drivetrain
• 4 Piston Hydraulic Disc Brakes
• 150mm front and rear suspension
• CST Roly Poly 26” x 4.8” Tires
• 300lb Capacity

Although the Bafang mid-drive used here is their most powerful ‘Ultra’ drive, Quietkat say it is rated at 750W (toned down from the max possible 1000W) and they also say the bike can be configured as a Class 1 (20mph assist pedelec) or Class 2 (20mph assist throttle) e-bike. Pricing is US$5,899.00 – $6,327.00.

Jeep also appears to have been busy in the German e-bike market, recently launching a Trekking range of e-bikes powered by a rear hub motor.

New eBikes With Shimano’s New EP8 Mid-drive Revealed

EBR recently reported on the newly launched EP8 mid-drive from Shimano – as we noted, this motor is an upgrade from the Shimano STEPS E8000 with more power and less weight. The EP8 has a whopping 85Nm of torque but only weighs 2.6Kg (300g less than the E8000) so riders get accelerated speed and increased power with minimal weight.

Our news last week featured probably the first production e-bike to feature the motor, Merida’s eOne-Sixty. Now other brands are getting in on the act.

E-mountainbike reveals BULLS EP-8 powered Sonic range (though note these are for Europe only for the minute – no word of their launch in the US as yet). Both the BULLS Sonic EVO AMS and EVO ENS models pack large 750 Wh batteries as standard alongside the new lightweight EP8 mid-drive. With their new carbon frames, could the EP8 motor be inspiring a new generation of lightweight e-mtbs?

Other new EP8 models will also be arriving from Commencal and Thomus.

Get Inspired

BULLS Bikes USA Debuts Models at Sea Otter Play

BULLS Bikes USA recently announced its sponsorship of Sea Otter Classic’s virtual Festival, Sea Otter Play as the official electric bike sponsor.

Since the cancellation of the 2020 Sea Otter Classic due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Sea Otter and it’s sponsors have developed Sea Otter Play, ‘seeking to connect the cycling community virtually via remote challenges and a free online expo’. The virtual Sea Otter Play Challenges started September 1, 2020 and will run through the 20^th of this month. Riders can register for challenges, such as the Bulls Tahoe Challenge ePowered by Bosch. They can ride and record from anywhere in the world, even on their indoor trainer, and have their equivalent progress mapped on the selected course.

BULLS will debut several new models at Sea Otter Play, like the Adventure EVO AM and Aminga EVA TR and highlight the continuation of some of its most popular models from this year, such as the Copperhead EVO AM series, Iconic EVO TR 1 Speed, The Copperhead EVO HD .

eBike Riders Cycle More and Drive Less

A new study from Oslo in Norway reports on the habits of e-bikes users. According to this summary of the report in Cycling Industry News ‘A new study on the behavioural habits of new electric bike riders has concluded that increasingly they leave the car at home as time goes on.’

Apparently the data gathered found that typically cyclists would cover an average of 1.3 miles, while electric bike riders would bump that to a daily average of 5.7 miles. Also CIN reported ‘As part of the electric bike’s share of trips made, the average tally grew very quickly to reach 49% of trips made from 17% previously when cycling. That meant that the e-Bike quickly began to cannibalise trips that would otherwise have been driven, taken by public transit or walked.’

In other words this is the opposite of the ‘novelty’ effect wearing off; as time went on the e-bike riders realised more and more the usefulness of e-bikes and so used them more and more.

eFondo Event for Mammoth Lakes

The Mammoth Gran Fondo will introduce the first “e-Fondo” for electric bicycles during its first virtual event during the month of September. For the first time due to COVID-19 and state and local regulations, the Virtual Mammoth Gran Fondo will feature a month-long challenge from September 1-30 where participants will ride their bike — and for the first time, their e-Bikes, as much as they can, taking on routes that they never had before, and push to new cycling goals. If participants are able to visit Mammoth Lakes during September, the event organizers will have three different Gran Fondo routes available for self-supported rides. Historically, the Mammoth Gran Fondo has been one of the most popular events in the country, last year drawing more than 1600 participants on rides of 42, 70, 102 miles. More info here.

eCargobikes

UK’s Pashley Reveals 2021 Launch Of Own-Design eCargo Trike

The UK’s Pashley have a long and venerable history in bike design and production and are particularly well-known for their vintage style designs and for once having supplied the UK Post Office with their legendary Mailstar bikes.

Now BikeBiz reports that Pashley’s new e-cargo trike is scheduled to enter production in April 2021.

Currently named ALECS the article tells us that ‘the articulating lightweight electrically-assisted cargo solution will “form the platform for a new generation” of configurable products to meet the growing market for zero-emission last-mile cargo vehicles.’

The design apparently includes an intriguing-sounding tilting mechanism and the design will also be compliant with the German standard DIN79010. It will have a gross weight (including the rider and the e-trike itself) of up to 300kgs and a load capacity of up to 1.2 cubic meters.

Another welcome aspect for riders in busy cities will be the narrow wheelbase option, meaning it is designed to be used on cycle lanes and in areas with restricted access.

UK Trains to Cargo Bikes

According to Cycling Industry News:

‘InterCity RailFreight has announced a significant expansion of its same-day logistics services, which in tandem with its high use of EVs and electric cargo bikes, brings forward an 100% electric supply chain to a number of routes. Apparently experiencing “unprecedented growth”, the low-carbon high-speed logistics business announced the expansion of its network, with links forged to over 100 125mph daily rail services spanning the East Midlands, Great Western and Cross Country franchise networks.

eBike Biz

UK’s Halfords See eBike and Scooter Sales Rise by 230%

The UK’s BikeBiz reports that ‘Halfords has released its trading update for the 20-week period to 21st August, with cycling like-for-like revenue up 59.1%. Chief executive officer Graham Stapleton said sales of electric bikes and scooters were up 230% year-on-year.

Metz Motors Applies for Administration

Bike Europe reports that ‘At Eurobike 2018 Metz made its debut in the e-bike industry as a supplier of mid-motor systems. The introduction of the high-quality, German-manufactured e-step scooter ‘Moover’ got even more attention. Both projects failed and Metz Mecatech GmbH applied for insolvency on 25 August.’

Stay tuned for more e-bike news and reviews and thanks for reading!

-Rich