Micah Toll

Royal Dutch Gazelle, the Netherlands-based bicycle manufacturer so acclaimed that the company has been granted Royal status by the Dutch monarchy, has just released its newest e-bike. The Gazelle Eclipse intends to set new standards for comfortable, accessible long-range e-biking far outside of the city.

Cars and city living – it’s a complicated relationship. While cars offer the promise of supposed freedom and convenience, they also come with parking nightmares, fuel costs, and the dreaded rush-hour gridlock. But what if there was a middle-ground solution? Enter the low-speed vehicle (LSV).

LSVs are a federally approved class of motor vehicle that are basically the hybrid of car convenience and scooter/bike simplicity. With a healthy and growing car reduction movement in cities, they may be just the answer. Here are some compelling reasons why an LSV could be the perfect fit for you.

Have you ever tried flying with an electric bike? It’s surprisingly hard since those big lithium-ion batteries are usually not allowed in your checked luggage or in your carry-on. But that just made me even more determined to figure out a way to do it.

At Electrek, we cover plenty of new electric cars and other EVs as part of an overarching goal of shifting transportation towards a more sustainable future. But it’s important to keep in mind that electric cars aren’t the only answer – sometimes a vehicle much smaller than a car is an even better tool for the job.

But to use that tool to its fullest, it can help to have a few other tools along the way. As someone who gets around almost entirely on two-wheels, here’s my list of the coolest gear I’ve tested on my e-bikes so far this year.

Europe is chugging along slowly but surely in the transition from noisy, polluting combustion engine motorcycles to quiet, efficient electrics. Asia has already made impressive progress, and North America is, well, making an attempt. But Africa could be poised to leap past everyone as several countries adopt ambitious plans to put millions of electric motorcycles on the roads.

InMotion is known for its wide range of electric unicycles, a type of personal electric vehicle that looks foreign to many but is prized by the fiercely vocal electric unicycle market as an ultraconvenient ride. Now, InMotion is taking on some of the highest power names in the game with the launch of its newest model, the Adventure.

One of the cool things about window shopping through China’s largest online mall is that you find some weirdly cheap yet impressive-looking things. And that’s exactly what we’ve got in store for this week’s Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column. If you’re a fan of vintage automotive culture, well then, prepare to be horrified at this Chinese knockoff of a car. But if you just like looking at cool stuff on wheels, then do I have something fun to show you!

NIU, the Beijing-based power player in the electric scooter market, has just released a pair of new electric scooters. Unlike the moped-style rides that the company is most famous for, these are standing scooters. Meet the NIU KQi Air and KQi Air X.

In a not entirely unforeseen turn of events, Dutch electric bike brand VanMoof has just found a buyer to scoop up the bankrupt e-bike maker. McClaren Applied’s scooter brand Lavoie purchased the company and looks set to try and roll it into its micromobility portfolio.

Anyone that’s into e-bikes is almost certainly already aware of Super73. And if you aren’t into e-bikes, then you’ve probably at least seen some Super73s riding around your town. They’re the admittedly motorcycle-looking electric bikes that haven proven extremely popular with young riders in the US. And perhaps that’s the first clue as to why Super73 seems to get more hate than anyone when it comes to criticizing e-bikes.

That always seemed a bit strange to me since I’ve only had positive interactions with the brand. I’ve enjoyed joining on organized Super73 group rides in Los Angeles and even rode a Super73 across Germany with my publisher. So to learn more, I sat down with the company’s CEO LeGrand Crewse to discuss e-bikes, riding culture and why Super73 seems to have such a big target on its back.

To be fair, the Äike T electric scooter is an interesting and innovative ride by itself. But the fact that it’s the world’s first USB-C enabled electric scooter is icing on the cake.

But what makes the Äike T electric scooter stand out so much from the hundreds of other e-scooters on the market?

Mercury Marine has just announced the launch of its two newest electric outboard motors, the Avator 20e and Avator 35e.

Much of the media is at it again, hyping up a manufactured fear of electric bikes. (Side note: I know that sentence makes me sound all MAGA, but even as a card-carrying liberal, I can call out media bias). The issue this time centers around American teenagers on e-bikes and the manufactured choice between supposed “freedom or danger.”

You may know of EGO POWER from the company’s electric lawn care tools, such as their extensive line of mowers, string trimmers, chain saws, and more. But now we’re seeing something that looks like a lot more fun than the rest of the company’s work-focused catalog – an electric mini bike. The creatively named EGO POWER+ Mini Bike uses the company’s swappable lithium-ion battery packs, meaning the same batteries that power your leaf blower can now send you flying over a sweet jump.

Specialized’s dedicated value-oriented utility bike brand Globe has just launched its second model, a fast and powerful long tail cargo e-bike known as the Globe Haul LT.

Propella has long been known for its lightweight, slick-looking electric bikes at reasonable prices. The company’s minimalistic design has been praised for keeping things simple and affordable for the masses. And it seems they’ve done it again now that we’re getting our first look at the Propella 9S Pro V2, the company’s new flagship electric bike model.

Students around the US are now heading back to college, but there’s one thing many of them won’t be able to bring with them: electric bikes and e-scooters. Several campuses are joining a growing movement in higher education, banning these efficient transportation alternatives.

The field of swappable batteries for electric motorbikes is booming, and Honda is trying to play catchup with its own design. The Honda Mobile Power Pack e: (MPPe:) is headed to Indonesia as the company makes a play for greater international market share.

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 moped-style e-bikes from Electra, e-bikes and the right to repair debate, e-bike vans coming to NYC, sustainable replacement for e-bike boxes, ordering e-bikes from Indiegogo and more.

Most of the fun and oddly-shaped electric vehicles we’ve found for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column have been rather slow, urban-style vehicles. That’s true whether it’s a tiger-shaped bus or a Cinderella carriage. But this supercheap electric car somehow got an extra serving of power before it left the factory, helping it achieve highway speeds.

For some electric scooter riders, modest speeds of 15-20 mph (24-40 km/h) are plenty. For others who want to travel on larger roads or cover farther distances on their scooter commutes, faster speeds are necessary. It’s those types of riders that Nanrobot had in mind when they rolled out their latest model, the Nanrobot N6.

Campers are a popular way to travel with the family, and smaller versions for bike camping have popped up too. But what if you want to go cabin camping with your dog in areas that don’t have car access – or cabins? If you’re handy, you could just build a wooden cabin to bring along with you on an electric bike.

We’ve seen electric bicycle drivetrains in a number of small-format vehicles, but the Old Town Sportsman BigWater ePDL+ 132 brings e-biking to the kayak market. The ePDL+ 132 is basically a pedal-assist system for a kayak, though it also offers pedal-free operation that effectively turns it into a tiny electric boat.

Electric car charging stations are becoming ubiquitous across many cities in the US. But with electric bikes vastly outnumbering electric cars, should we be considering charging stations for these more popular light EVs? In China, e-bike charging stations are already commonplace. Perhaps we can learn something from them.