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Micah Toll

MicahToll

Micah Toll is an e-bike industry expert, 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 XP4, the $1,295 Ride1Up Roadster V3, 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.

Connect with Micah Toll

First look at electric Kawasaki Ninja and Kawasaki Z electric motorcycle, coming out in 2023

kawasaki ninja electric

Kawasaki took to the EICMA Milan Motorcycle Show to unveil a trio of electric motorcycles, with Electrek front and center to see the action live. The Kawasaki Ninja EV and Kawasaki Z EV were revealed as traditional battery electric motorcycles, while the company also unveiled an HEV hydrogen-powered concept motorcycle.

I’ll spare you the uninspired cliché about “Team Green going green,” and we’ll just get to the bikes.

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Gogoro delivery day: I got one of the first battery-swapping Gogoro electric scooters outside of Asia

Gogoro S2 ABS Micah Toll

Gogoro’s battery-swapping network is world-renowned for making EV charging obsolete in dozens of models of electric scooters and motorbikes. The system uses smart connected batteries and thousands of swap stations that allow riders to roll up, swap batteries, and ride off — all in less time than a fuel fill-up on an ICE vehicle. And now that I’ve gotten my own Gogoro S2 ABS electric scooter, I’ve finally had the chance to experience the system firsthand.

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Wheel-E Podcast: Gates belt drives, Lectric XP 3.0 drops, funky-looking e-bikes & 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 new best-bang-for-your-buck electric bike known as the Lectric XP 3.0, Gates unveiled a new belt drive system, SONDORS is headed for an IPO, test rides of two upcoming highway-capable affordable electric motorcycles and lots more.

Special Guest this week Jonathan Weinert, PhD Director, Strategic Marketing – Global Mobility at Gates talks to us about the new Moto X5 Belts and all things belt drive. Big thanks to Gates for sponsoring this week’s show.

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Weird Alibaba: Only $2,000 for this great-looking electric Vintage VW bus, with a small twist

There’s something fun about trademark infringement reproducing retro-looking vehicles in an electric form factor. You get all of the exciting, old school design vibes that today’s automotive culture is sorely lacking, yet in a modern vehicle that doesn’t require two hours of wrenching for every hour of driving.

And this awesome-looking reproduction of a 60’s VW bus is a perfect example. Well, except for the fact that Alibaba’s finest EV engineers seem to have given the bus a feature that I don’t think came standard back in the day.

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Gogoro’s global expansion continues as battery swapping giant enters Indian market

gogoro zypp battery swapping

Gogoro (NASDAQ: GGR) announced today that its highly acclaimed battery-swapping system designed for electric scooters and motorbikes is ready to roll out in India next month. The announcement came as Gogoro and local EV delivery company Zypp Electric unveiled a new partnership that will see Gogoro’s batteries and scooters soon zipping around Delhi.

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Is Rad Power Bikes planning a new low-cost electric bike? These 3 signs point to yes

rad power bikes radmission

Rad Power Bikes is the largest electric bicycle company in North America, meaning that when they make moves, the industry responds. And the latest move we could soon see from the Seattle, Washington-based e-bike manufacturer may be the introduction of a new low-cost electric bike to replace the RadMission.

Here’s why.

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Scientific study shows how much traffic increases when e-bikes and e-scooters are banned

atlanta traffic study

A study published last week in the scientific journal Nature Energy studied the effects of traffic and travel time in a city when micromobility options like electric scooters and e-bikes are banned. The results documented exactly how much traffic increased as a result of people switching back to personal cars instead of smaller, more urban-appropriate vehicles.

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Weird Alibaba: Time to take this electric mobility scooter off some sweet jumps

alibaba mobility scooter

One of the best things about scouring Alibaba for awesomely weird electric vehicles is that many of them seemingly start from something rather normal. There’s nothing strange about an electric tour bus – until it comes shaped like a tiger. Stuffed animals are rather normal – until engineers added wheels, motors, and batteries to make them rideable. And a mobility scooter for old folks is a pretty common sidewalk vehicle – until you add enough seats to make it into a party bus for old folks.

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Italian electric motorcycle maker Energica set to debut massive 180hp electric motor

energica experia

Energica, the pride of Italy’s growing electric motorcycle manufacturing industry, already has one of the most powerful electric motorcycle drivetrains in the market. But that hasn’t stopped the electric motorcycle company, which was acquired by Ideanomics earlier this year, from pushing the envelope further with what appears to be an even higher-powered electric motor.

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First ride: CSC RX1E $8k and 80 MPH electric motorcycle is a perfect starter bike

csc rx1e

When CSC first announced the RX1E, I was super excited about the prospect of an electric motorcycle that could hit highway speeds while priced at a fraction of most big name e-motos today. And so, when I was swinging through LA recently, I made sure to stop by CSC’s Azusa headquarters and give the bike a test. Now I’m even more excited than ever about this new addition to CSC’s lineup.

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Electric bike brand SONDORS files for IPO with new product hints, but details raise troubling questions

sondors metacycle motorcycle

The Malibu-based electric bicycle company SONDORS recently submitted filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicating that it seeks to go public, which would make it the first e-bike company in the US to do so. But in addition to revealing some interesting new future products, the filings shined some light on past missteps and gave customers who claim that the company misleads the public ample ammunition.

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