Micah Toll

An increasing number of premium bicycle companies have thrown their hat in the budget-minded electric bike ring lately, resulting in lower prices than ever before from major bike shop brands. So what’s behind this move?

One of the best parts of scouring the depths of Alibaba is finding all these fun-looking electric vehicles that no one seems to build anywhere else. While this is normally an adventure in window-shopping, this week’s find for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week really makes me want to own one of these electric battle tanks.

Evoke Motorcycles, an electric motorcycle maker based in Hong Kong and Beijing with worldwide distribution, has just unveiled its new off-road electric motorcycle known as the AmpX. The electric motocross bike takes advantage of its torquey electric motor and gearing to offer an impressive 1,000 Nm of torque (738 ft-lb) at the rear wheel.

In the growing electric vehicle industry, it is electric cars that are given center stage when it comes to environmentally-conscious solutions to transportation. But what if I told you there was an electric vehicle that was displacing twice as much oil as those electric cars? And if that wasn’t impressive enough, consider this: It does it with half as many wheels.

The Fucare Taurus fat tire electric bike brings the same fun-loving, off-road riding you’ve seen with plenty of other adventure-style electric bikes. But this time it gives you full speed 28 mph (45 km/h) operation on throttle only!

If you’re old enough to remember the original 1980s Honda Motocompo micro-motorcycle – or are like me and have enjoyed learning about it since – then today’s announcement from Honda will come with all sorts of warm, fuzzy feelings of nostalgia, either earned or learned. The long-awaited spiritual successor to the Motocompo has just been unveiled, and this time it’s gone electric. Meet the Honda Motocompacto.

X Shore, the Swedish electric boat maker, has just unveiled its third vessel, the X Shore PRO. Built on a similar platform to its flagship Eelex 8000 electric boat, the X Shore PRO is designed for the maritime professional sector.

When I first covered the ARK Zero electric microcar, its specs and pricing sounded too good be true. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” I quipped. Well I guess now I have to believe it, as the company says it has begun making deliveries and shared its first on-road photos.

The long-awaited deliveries of the new LiveWire Del Mar Launch Edition electric motorcycles have just begun, and we’re already hearing feedback on the rides from early customers.

Amazon appears to be throwing in the towel for its ambitious electric cargo bike delivery hub in NYC, putting its large cargo e-bike depot up for lease after letting its fleet of e-bike vans sit idle on the roof.

[Update – Amazon appears to still be very interested in expanding its cargo e-bike delivery program in NYC and other cities in the US. See below.]

AYRO, an electric mini-truck maker based in Round Rock, Texas, has just announced the start of production at its local factory. The company’s first vehicle, known as the AYRO Vanish, is an electric utility truck with a modular design intended for a wide range of urban uses.

JackRabbit has just launched a major update to its product line, unveiling the JackRabbit XG as a (slightly) larger version of its micro e-bike. The new model comes with a number of upgrades over the original pint-sized 25 pound (11 kg) two-wheeler.

Seattle-based electric bike maker Rad Power Bikes has just announced the biggest update to its entire product lineup yet, promising full UL-compliance for its batteries and e-bikes.

If you have protected bike lanes in your city, then you have a great reason to get out on a bicycle or e-bike and replace many car miles with fun, fresh air-filled joy rides. If your streets are mostly devoid of bike lanes though, then you may find the idea of riding alongside cars to be a daunting scenario.

You should never push yourself to ride somewhere you don’t feel comfortable, but if you do want to improve your city riding confidence on public roads, then these tips may be helpful for you.

X Shore, one of Sweden’s (and frankly, the world’s) leading electric boat makers, has been teasing a new product launch for the past week.

You may remember Cyrusher from several electric bike reviews we’ve performed over the years. As it turns out, e-bikes aren’t the only fast EVs that the company has been working with. Feast your eyes on the new Cyrusher Thunder electric surfboard.

Unlike in much of Europe and Asia, electric bikes sold in the United States can benefit from the inclusion of a hand throttle, which allows riders to power an e-bike’s motor without pedaling. These make up the vast majority of e-bikes in the US, and now the value electric bike maker Ride1Up is bringing that throttle to one of its only e-bikes that was missing one: the Ride1Up Roadster V2 Gravel Edition.

As far as strange finds go, we’ve managed to gather a pile of peculiar vehicles over the years for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column. Our loyal and brave readers have joined us in investigating everything from a tiny Pepto Bismol-pink electric car to an inflatable electric jet ski. But we may have just out-weirded ourselves this time with what appears to be an electric popemobile!

As more e-bike companies focus on the importance of safety certifications, riders are getting an increasing number of options for UL-listed e-bikes. Today we’re checking out the Heybike Ranger S, a folding fat-tire e-bike that has been tested in accordance with UL 2849 for complete e-bike drive systems as well as UL 2271 for the lithium-ion battery.

LAND, a Cleveland-based electric motorcycle maker and battery technology company, recently wrapped up a successful Series A financing round, surpassing their fundraising goal by over US $1 million. Following this success and having closed an oversubscribed seed round, the firm is now gearing up to introduce a $15 million convertible note, aiming to drive further expansion.

Earlier this year we saw a teaser from Greenworks that showed off a few transportation vehicles that could be powered by the company’s power tool batteries. Now we’re getting our first look at several of those new models from the electric power tool maker, including diverse options like go-karts, bikes, and even a UTV.

Lectric eBikes, one of the largest suppliers of electric bicycles in the US, made a joint announcement today with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) of a voluntary recall for many of the Lectric XP 3.0 electric bikes produced and sold earlier this year.

The recall is related to a braking issue with the mechanical brake calipers on the bikes.

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 college e-bike bans, new electric bikes from Specialized and Gazelle, sit-down with Super73, flying with an e-bike, and electric motorcycle that runs on tool batteries, and more.

San Diego-based e-bike company Juiced is preparing to launch its latest electric bike, the Juiced Scorpion X2. This will mark a triumphant return for the popular electric moped-style bike.