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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 2.0, the $1,095 Ride1Up Roadster V2, the $1,199 Rad Power Bikes RadMission, 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.

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Weird Alibaba: Anybody want an electric airplane stair truck?

Remember how the Bluth family drove that airplane staircase truck in the TV series Arrested Development? My apologies if not, since that’s a bit critical to the lead image gag above. But either way, you can surely appreciate how ridiculous it would be to actually own and drive one of those as a real vehicle. And now thanks to Alibaba, you might not have to purely imagine it anymore.

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Lectric’s CEO answers the most common questions about its shock electric bike launch

lectric one e-bike

Earlier this week, Phoenix-based e-bike maker Lectric Ebikes surprised the industry with the unveiling of a high-end yet low-cost electric bike. The $1,999 Lectric ONE e-bike, which includes components like a Pinion automatic shifting gearbox normally found on models approaching five figures, resulted in a flood of questions. To get to the bottom of the most pressing concerns, we sat down with Lectric’s CEO Levi Conlow to discuss the decisions made in designing and producing the new e-bike.

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Mahindra electrifying its three-wheelers across India with the help of IRP

mahindra trike

It’s hard to imagine India’s roads without picturing the country’s popular three-wheelers weaving around traffic jams. They’re a staple of India’s transportation ecosystem, and now leading three-wheeler manufacturer Mahindra is hoping to turn them all electric with the help of IRP Systems’ cutting-edge electric vehicle technology.

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MOD BIKES unveils new 2024 e-bikes with torque sensors, helmet turn signals, and more

mod cargo electric bike

MOD BIKES, the Austin, Texas-based maker of a wide range of electric bikes (including an impressive sidecar electric bike that I tested last year), is announcing today its 2024 lineup full of new models and impressive upgrades. In an unveiling at the South By Southwest Expo, the new e-bike models are taking center stage to show off their new features and tech, including upgraded performance, components, safety equipment, and accessories.

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The hidden costs of using an electric bike

Whether you love them or hate them, electric bikes are becoming increasingly popular on streets and trails around the US. First embraced across Asia before rolling their way across Europe for the last decade, e-bikes are now surging in popularity in North America.

But while you’ll see plenty of people espousing the supposed advantages of electric bikes, it’s important to keep in mind some of the hidden costs of owning and using these two-wheeled electric vehicles.

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Weird Alibaba: A 14-seater electric bus for cheaper than an e-bike

alibaba fish finding nemo bus

Ah yes, good ol’ Alibaba. It’s the place to go whenever you want to see just how weird and wild the world of Chinese electric vehicles has become. It’s all fun and games to laugh and enjoy the weirdness, though it’s important to remember that China actually leads the world in real electric vehicles, too. But we’re not here for those boring things. We’re here to see a full-size bug-eyed electric bus shaped like a fish, and at the cost of a couple car payments in the US.

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We need to talk about Rad Power Bikes’ new e-bike batteries

rad power bikes safe shield battery

Electric bikes just may be the biggest transportation revolution of our generation, helping millions replace car usage with more affordable, more efficient alternatives. But there’s no denying that concerns have been swirling about the safety of e-bike batteries, even if such fire fears have primarily been overblown by much of the media.

Leading electric bicycle maker Rad Power Bikes has just unveiled its new “Safe Shield Battery” in an effort to mitigate worries over e-bike battery safety. And it’s something we need to talk about.

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Mukkpet Tank review: How good is a super low-cost full-suspension fat tire e-bike?

mukkpet tank

Full-suspension and fat tires are basically the holy grail of comfort when it comes to e-bikes. They’re excessive in many situations, but that doesn’t stop a large swath of new e-bike shoppers looking for both. The only problem is they both tend to add to the cost of an e-bike, often pushing the number into the $2k range or higher. But what if you could get a full-suspension fat tire electric bike for under a thousand bucks? That’s what the Mukkpet Tank offers, and so I was excited to test it out and see how good it could be.

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Wheel-E Podcast: New e-bikes from Rad, Aventon, Frey, tiny golf cart, & 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 a pile of new electric bike launches with four new models from Rad Power Bikes as well as e-bikes from Aventon, Frey, and Ride1Up, an awesome little micro golf cart, and more.

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Here are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in March 2024

Here at Electrek, we’ve spent countless hours doing detailed hands-on testing of hundreds of electric bikes. Through thousands of miles of riding, we’ve learned these e-bikes inside and out, top to bottom and front to back. That dedication to real-world e-bike testing has helped us find the best electric bicycles on the market for just about any budget.

Below are some of the top e-bikes we’ve hand-tested for every price range, current as of March 2024. It may not feel like it, but spring is just around the corner (in the Northern Hemisphere) and riding season will soon be upon us. After an ultra-competitive e-bike selling year in 2023, we’re still seeing some great sales into early 2024. So check out the awesome e-bikes below, any one of which could become your next electric bike.

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Rad Power Bikes unveils 4 new e-bikes & faster speeds in biggest shakeup yet

rad power bikes rad expand 5 plus

Rad Power Bikes, the Seattle-based electric bike maker that spent years at the top of the US e-bike sellers list, has occasionally rolled out major updates alongside the launch of a new model. But today the company is announcing the biggest shakeup in its history, simultaneously debuting two brand new e-bike models, two majorly updated e-bike models, and new battery technology that could help push the industry towards safer batteries. The Rad lineup is now welcoming the new Radster Road and Radster Trail e-bikes, as well as the RadWagon 5 and the RadExpand 5 Plus models.

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Ride1Up LMT’D V2 launched as new torque sensor electric bike

Ride1Up, the San Diego-based electric bike retailer known for some of the best value commuter e-bikes on the market, has spent much of the last year expanding into new categories such as electric mopeds and adventure e-bikes. Now, the company is updating one of its popular commuter-focused models, maintaining its grip on the road market even as the brand expands its reach. Meet the new Ride1Up LMT’D V2.

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Non-bike bike gear review: A legit ‘one weird trick’ to warmer winter cycling

Thanks to electric bikes, more people than ever before are discovering the joys of car-free living. Many others find that they can at least leave their car in the garage more often, using an e-bike instead for many of their around-the-town trips and errands. But when the weather is cold, e-bikes can sometimes feel less enticing. For anyone who has dreaded the rude awakening of cold air in your face, I think I might have found a trick that can help: swapping a typical bike helmet for an insulated ski helmet.

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Propella 9S Pro V2 review: A low-cost torque sensor electric bike for the masses

propella 9s pro v2 review

Commuter electric bikes are a key segment helping reduce America’s dependence on cars for navigating cities. The Propella 9S Pro V2 is designed squarely to get people to work, school, the coffee shop, or just navigating town on their own schedule. But compared to many other electric commuter bikes on the market, Propella does it with some outstanding value and several features we rarely see at this price level.

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