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Micah Toll

MicahToll

Micah Toll is a personal electric vehicle enthusiast, battery nerd, and author of the Amazon #1 bestselling books DIY Lithium Batteries, DIY Solar Power, The Ultimate DIY Ebike Guide and The Electric Bike Manifesto.

The e-bikes that make up Micah’s current daily drivers are the $999 Lectric XP 3.0, the $1,295 Ride1Up Roadster V3, and the $3,299 Priority Current. But it’s a pretty evolving list these days.

You can send Micah tips at Micah@electrek.co, or find him on Twitter, Instagram or TikTok.

Connect with Micah Toll

The days of superfast SUPER73 e-bikes are over… sort of

Even if you’re not knee-deep into electric bikes like many of us, you very likely may have heard of the e-bike brand SUPER73. The company’s motorcycle culture-inspired electric bikes have proven incredibly popular among teens and young adults, but the heyday of fast and questionably (or clearly) illegal e-bike modes seems to be coming to an end for the brand.

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E-bike makers push speed-reduction updates after California’s stricter new laws

specialized globe haul lt

Earlier this month, California enacted new regulations for electric bikes that resulted in stricter speed limits on e-bikes with throttles. At the time, it was unclear how electric bike makers would respond to the new regulations, but we’re now starting to see at least one manufacturer pushing to bring its existing e-bikes owned by California residents into compliance.

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Los Angeles is a tough city to get around. But this scooter made it work!

vmax electric scooter

Last month, I had the chance to visit Los Angeles and attend Micromobility America, a yearly industry tradeshow focusing on e-bikes, e-scooters, and other small-format vehicles. To get around the city for a few days, I borrowed a VMAX VX2 Extreme from VMAX’s Los Angeles distribution center and it made all the difference in navigating a city that is notoriously hard to get around.

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Here are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in January 2025

I’ve spent countless hours here at Electrek doing detailed hands-on testing of hundreds of electric bikes. Through thousands of miles of riding, I’ve been fortunate to learn these e-bikes inside and out, top to bottom and front to back. That long-term experience with real-world e-bike testing has helped me find the best electric bicycles on the market for just about any budget.

Below are some of the top e-bikes I’ve hand-tested for every price range, current as of January 2025. It’s a brand new year, and that means it’s a great chance to start it right on a fun and efficient electric bicycle! So check out the awesome e-bikes below, any one of which could become your next electric bike.

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Awesomely Weird Alibaba EV of the Week: A $7,000 armored golf cart?

What would you get if you created the illegitimate love child of a Mercedes G-Wagon and a Brinks armored truck (and perhaps if the Mercedes chain-smoked through the pregnancy)? I think you’d wind up with something like the wacky-looking electric cart that has earned the dubious honor of being named this week’s Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week!

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Wheel-E Podcast: California e-bike laws, Russian army scooters, more

Wheel-E Podcast by Electrek

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes new laws and regulations in California regarding electric bicycles, the return of ONYX and the company’s electric mopeds, a review of the Xtracycle Hopper, Russian soldiers on electric scooters, and more.

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New California law makes crystal clear which electric bikes are now ‘illegal’

California has led the nation in electric bicycle adoption, helping more people than ever before switch away from cars and toward smaller and more efficient transportation alternatives. However, the proliferation of electric bicycles has also led to a major uptick in higher-power models that have flouted established e-bike laws, often being used on public roads and bike paths to the chagrin of many local residents.

A new law that came into effect this week has now further clarified which electric bicycles are street-legal and which fall afoul of regulations.

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Starting today, California is coming for your e-bike throttles

Last September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB-1271, which redefines and adds to several electric bicycle regulations in the state. Chief among them is a clarification of the three-class e-bike system, which is likely to now rule that many of the throttle-enabled electric bikes currently available and on the road in California will no longer be street legal.

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I bought a weird motorized suitcase in China and rode it home. Here’s what happened

I was recently in China on yet another trip to tour the factories and showrooms of several leading micromobility companies, and I’ll have more to share with you on that trip soon. But first, while I was getting ready to fly out of the Shanghai airport, I stumbled upon the coolest little motorized carry-on suitcase that functions like a seated electric scooter. I ended up buying it on the spot.

Here’s what happened next when I tried to take it 8,000 km (5,000 miles) home.

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Xtracycle Hopper review: A better cargo e-bike at a better price

xtracycle hopper

More people are shifting from car-focused lifestyles to a mix of cars and bikes—or even going mostly car-free. While switching to a bike or e-bike might seem limiting, the cycling industry offers a wide range of categories to suit various needs.

Take cargo e-bikes, for example. These are basically the SUVs or pickup trucks of the electric bike world. And having spent many good miles on the Xtracycle Hopper cargo e-bike, the newest offering from the most famous cargo bike maker in the US, I can tell you that this family truck in an e-bike form is capable of a lot more than many people would expect.

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Awesomely Weird Alibaba EV of the Week: This 18 MPH suitcase is a terrible idea

I’ve got a bit of a reputation for testing out some of the wildest, strangest, and most interesting non-car electric vehicles on the internet. In order to find many of these far-fetched electric steeds, all I have to do is pop open a few (dozen) Alibaba tabs in my browser and start window shopping through the world’s largest repository of creative EV engineering. That’s exactly how I found this week’s focus: a surprisingly fast and fun-looking suitcase that you can giddy-up and ride till the wheels fall off, which they very well might.

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Wheel-E Podcast: New Priority Current Plus, Segway e-bikes, Rad trade-ins, more

Wheel-E Podcast by Electrek

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time that includes Priority Bicycles launching the new Priority Current Plus, Segway going big on e-bikes in the US, California kicking off its e-bike vouchers, NYC may try to put license plates on e-bikes, Micromobility America 2024 coverage, and more.

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Heybike Hauler review: A 1,400W electric cargo bike for the family

There’s nothing worse than a weak cargo e-bike that struggles on hills and under heavy loads. That’s why Heybike ensured the deck was stacked in riders’ favor when they built the Heybike Hauler electric cargo bike. With a 1,400W peak-rated motor and 28 mph speeds, it sounded ready to rock n’ roll. And now that I’ve been testing one out for a while, here are my thoughts on the latest budget-oriented yet high-power family e-bike.

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California’s $2,000 electric bike vouchers came and went in just minutes

California finally got its act together this month, rolling out an electric bike incentive program yesterday that had been in the works for years. But while the noble program was designed to help low-income riders afford a sustainable, independent form of longer-range transportation, it was exhausted in less than an hour and left many more people frustrated with its inaccessibility.

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