Micah Toll

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 electric bicycles from brands like Ride1Up and Heybike, plus comeback stories from Juiced Bikes and Rad Power Bikes, a look at how the answer to high gas prices might have been parked in the corner of your garage this whole time, and more.

Across the United States, a quiet shift is taking place in how some local governments think about small, slow vehicles. More cities and states are updating their rules to make it easier for residents to legally drive golf carts on public streets, often through simplified permitting systems or special local ordinances.

A Southern California school district is considering a controversial new rule that could significantly limit how students get to school. The Newport-Mesa Unified School District, which serves Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, is weighing a proposal that would ban most students from riding electric bicycles to school.

Whenever gas prices spike, the same advice tends to dominate the conversation: “Just buy an electric car.”

And to be fair, that advice isn’t wrong. Electric cars can dramatically reduce the cost of fueling your transportation, and for drivers who already need a car every day, switching from gasoline to electricity can be a smart financial move. A large-scale shift to EVs is also our best bet for energy independence, so global strife has less impact on our wallets. But that argument, despite its merits, ignores the fact that most people can’t simply buy a new car to replace their existing gasoline-powered vehicle.

Ride1Up is expanding one of its most successful e-bikes into an entire platform. The company has announced three new versions of its Vorsa electric bike, transforming what started as a single model into a family of bikes built around the same core ride system but tailored to different types of riders. The new lineup includes the lighter and more agile Vorsa Lite, the original Vorsa configuration, and the new fat-tire Vorsa FT.

“Juiced is back, baby” says the revamped Juiced Bikes website. It also shows us our first glimpse of what are set to become the new e-bike models that will help the re-animated electric bike maker launch its much-awaited comeback tour.

Rad Power Bikes’ new ownership says the brand is about to be reborn after being bought out of bankruptcy – and part of that rebirth includes building e-bikes in the United States.

But if that sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve heard similar promises before. And while the idea of American-made e-bikes is appealing, the reality of the industry makes it far more complicated than it sounds.

Kawasaki may have taken its sweet time to slowly bring us the most basic level of commuter electric motorcycles, but a new patent shows that the company has quietly been working on more advanced designs that could signify a major leap in development for the company.

Rad Power Bikes, once the dominant force in North America’s direct-to-consumer e-bike boom, has officially found a new home. Life Electric Vehicles Holdings (Life EV) announced this week that it has completed a court-approved acquisition of Rad Power Bikes’ brand, intellectual property, inventory, and certain operating assets.

A Southern California father is facing felony charges after his 12-year-old son was critically injured while riding a modified electric motorbike, a case that prosecutors say highlights the growing legal consequences for parents when children ride high-powered electric two-wheelers illegally.

Canadian mobility startup NorthForge has emerged with an ambitious goal: to develop a purpose-built electric military motorcycle designed for modern battlefields and extreme climates.

Electric bike maker Heybike has just officially unveiled its latest model, the Venus, a lightweight commuter-focused e-bike designed to bridge the gap between practical urban transportation and relaxed recreational riding. The new model launches with a starting MSRP of $1,499 and brings together a relatively powerful drivetrain, long-range claims, and a lighter frame package aimed at everyday riders. 

If you’ve been watching the light electric two-wheeler space over the last few years, you’ve probably noticed one category growing faster than just about anything else: compact electric “e-motos.”

These trail-optimized machines have carved out a niche somewhere far above off-road electric bicycles yet still below full-size dirt bikes, offering serious performance in a smaller, more approachable package.

Engwe, a popular maker of several different styles of electric bicycles, has just launched what appears to be its boldest and most powerful electric two-wheeler yet, the M20 3.0.

Florida’s proposed 10 mph e-bike speed limit law is moving forward, and unlike many recent attempts at regulating electric bikes, this one may actually thread the needle.

Electric bike maker Tenways has filed for a main board listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, marking a significant milestone for one of Europe’s fastest-growing commuter e-bike brands.

Electric vehicles are everywhere these days, but few are as intriguing – or as polarizing – as the tiny urban EV soon headed to American roads. Fiat recently announced plans to bring its diminutive new model, the Topolino, to the US this year. At roughly the size of a golf cart and priced far below most traditional EVs, it is technically more of a quadricycle than a true ‘car’ and offers a radically different vision of personal mobility: ultra-compact, affordable, and perfectly tailored to short city commutes.

Nearly 20,000 electric bicycles are being recalled in the US after a defect was discovered that could cause the rear wheel to separate from the bike, posing a crash risk.

When most people think about America’s best-selling budget electric bike, they probably picture affordability, practicality, and maybe a folding frame that fits in the trunk of a car. What they probably don’t picture is a former high-performance mountain bike racer hammering through the Arizona desert.

But that’s exactly part of the story behind Lectric eBikes and its wildly popular Lectric XP lineup.

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 e-bikes from Aventon and Xtracycle, a bump on the road to wireless e-bike charging, California wants to give out license plates for e-bikes, Honda has a cool new electric moped, Royal Enfield’s Flying Flea electric motorcycle is coming soon, and more.

China is tightening oversight of its massive electric bicycle industry with a new reform that will require mandatory product traceability markings on electric bikes and several of their major related components.

Florida is the latest US state to wade into the increasingly crowded waters of e-bike regulation, with lawmakers advancing a bill that would impose a situational 10 mph (16 km/h) speed limit for e-bikes on shared-use paths. It’s a move that fits squarely into a broader national trend, as states and cities across the country reconsider how electric bikes fit into public spaces that were never designed with fast, motor-assisted travel in mind.

[Update February 27, 2026: The Florida Senate has unanimously passed this bill, and now it moves on to the House, where if it also passes, it will be sent to the Governor to be signed into law.]

Just when you thought the micromobility world couldn’t get any stranger, Kawasaki decided to build an electric horse.

And no, this isn’t just another vaporware concept destined for a trade show floor and then the archives. Kawasaki Heavy Industries says it has officially launched development toward commercialization of its four-legged off-road personal mobility vehicle known as CORLEO.

For the last few years, one of the coolest bits of e-bike tech I’ve seen didn’t involve more power, bigger batteries, or new motor designs. It involved getting rid of the charger cable altogether.

Last summer, I covered Dutch startup Tiler’s newly developed wireless charging tile that lets an e-bike charge directly through its kickstand. You roll the bike into place, lower the stand onto the tile, and the battery starts charging automatically via an integrated magnetic coil. There are no plugs to deal with, no dangling wires, and no forgetting to bring your charger to work.