Micah Toll

When it comes to oddities of the electric vehicle variety, it doesn’t take much to pique my interest. If it’s got an electric motor and a funky shape, I’m down to clown. But being an electric bicycle guy through and through, anytime we can work some good ol’ pedaling action into the mix, I’m all the happier. And this week’s edition of the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week sure tickles my fancy!

The Candela P-12 is the first hydrofoil electric ferry in the world to begin commercial operations. The 30-seat electric ferry uses a set of computer-controlled hydrofoil wings to fly above the surface of the water, resulting in a smoother and more efficient ride. But what happens when the seas get rough?

Vammo, a battery-swapping service for electric motorcycles in Latin America, has just announced that the company has surpassed an impressive 1 million battery swaps in a little over a year.

Last month I was fortunate enough to take a trip to China and visit seven different micromobility companies, each of which invited me to tour their factory, test out their new products, or attend their major events. The trip is something of a sequel to the first Chinese factory tour trip I took last year (with the documentary of that trip racking up millions of views on YouTube).

In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing detailed articles and videos about each of the following visits. But in the meantime, consider this as a preview of what’s to come.

This isn’t exactly my first time dropping a container full of Chinese electric vehicles in the yard and cracking it open with childlike glee. But it is likely one of the most unique experiences I’ve had so far doing this, revealing inside a fleet of battery-powered Chinese electric mini-excavators and assorted accessories.

With the flick of a Sharpie marker, new tariffs on goods imported from Canada, Mexico, and China were imposed this morning and will take effect next week on February 4, 2025. According to President Trump, the tariffs are intended “to protect Americans”, though nearly all economists agree that they will result in higher prices for consumer goods and increased inflation, devaluing the US dollar.

The Trump Administration’s new 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico are larger than the 10% additional tariffs on Chinese goods, but the latter will have the biggest impact on the electric bicycle industry in the US.

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 new solar charging kit from JackRabbit, a reversal on a plan to double the power limit for e-bikes in the UK, China is pushing to replace lithium-ion battery e-bikes with lead acid battery alternatives, the Dallas Cowboys all got new electric motorcycles, UBCO enters receivership, and more.

There’s no denying how popular high-power electric bikes have become. And a quick way to get more power without having to go with a ridiculously large motor is to simply double up, putting one motor in each of a bike’s wheels. That’s what Wallke did with the Wallke H7 AWD, and the result is a fast e-bike that is as powerful as it is chunky – which is to say, very.

If it sounded too good to be true, that’s because it was. A proposal made last year to double the allowable power limit of electric bicycles in the UK was canceled after pushback on the plan.

In what might seem like a headscratcher, China is now urging its citizens to trade in their lithium-ion battery-based electric bikes for newer models with sealed lead-acid batteries (SLAs).

Electric bicycle incentive programs have grown considerably over the last few years, and Washington State is one of the most recent to lay the groundwork for yet another program designed to reduce the cost of this alternative transportation for lower-income commuters. But the state is also going about it in a unique way, by using funding raised from its emissions taxes.

So many of the fun electric go-karts I’ve found while window-shopping on Alibaba have been of the child-sized variety. To be fair, I’m not opposed to folding my body in ways it shouldn’t in service of a good time, but it’d be nice to get the same experience while maintaining full blood flow to the extremities.

That’s where today’s find comes in, as a full-size electric go-kart that adults can enjoy, too! It’s both awesome and weird, but perhaps for once, this week’s honoree of the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week is more of the former and less of the latter!

JackRabbit, the maker of pint-sized electric microbikes, is back with a new product designed to quickly recharge their batteries from pure, uncut photons mainlined into an e-bike directly from the sun. In true independent charging form, the Solar Charging Kit from JackRabbit keeps riders rolling even when there’s not a convenient AC outlet in sight.

There’s riding in style, and then there’s over 80 Dallas Cowboys all cruising around on the same electric motorcycles. Thanks to a generous gift from team quarterback Dak Prescott, that’s exactly what the football team will be doing on over 80 new CAKE Makka electric mopeds.

The Tauranga, New Zealand-based electric motorcycle maker UBCO has entered receivership, marking dim prospects for the mobility company that had only recently announced a major partnership with Australia Post.

As electric trail bikes like Sur Rons and Talarias gain popularity among off-road enthusiasts, a growing conflict is emerging on mountain bike trails. These powerful machines, capable of speeds and torque far beyond that of a traditional mountain bike, are raising concerns among trail users, land managers, and environmental advocates.

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 proposed e-bike restrictions in New York and Oregon, Super73 lowering the performance of its e-bikes, a review of the Tenways CGO600 Pro-C electric bike, new sodium-ion batteries coming from Yadea, Heybike unveiling its first mid-drive e-bike, and more.

A new bill submitted to the Oregon Legislative Assembly seeks to ban street-legal Class 3 electric bicycles from bike lanes in the state.

LiveWire, the electric motorcycle brand spun out of Harley-Davidson, has just announced its latest electric motorcycle model. The new LiveWire S2 Alpinista is built on the same platform as the brand’s last two models, leveraging the Arrow platform as a versatile foundation for several diverse bikes.

The US electric bike industry has already seen a regulation-heavy start to 2025. Now, New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s potential new restrictions on fast and exceedingly heavy electric bikes could add to the proposed and enacted legislation we’ve seen lately.

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.

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.

Yadea, which has claimed the title of the world’s largest electric vehicle maker for seven years running, has just announced a new electric motorbike powered by the company’s innovative HuaYu sodium-ion battery technology.

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.