Micah Toll

I know, I know. The whole “Don’t like gas prices? Ride a bike!” sounds annoying and feels impractical for most people. But if you weren’t already aware, there’s a much more practical alternative to conventional pedal bikes: fun and energy-efficient electric bikes! Now more than ever, with gas prices rising steeply and uncertain fuel prospects on the horizon, perhaps it’s time to give an electric bike a second thought.

You know that feeling, right? It’s Monday morning and you just barely have the energy to get out of bed to face the day. You groggily down your coffee just so you can open your eyes enough to drive yourself to work. But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if there was an Uber service that could let you finish your sleep on the way to work? Well, my friends, it appears that’s exactly what the masterful engineers at Alibaba have come up with. And this primo specimen of ingenuity on China’s largest online shopping platform is perfect for the latest entry of the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week.

When we first learned that Ducati would be taking over Energica’s role as the sole supplier of racing electric motorcycles for the FIM MotoE electric motorcycle racing series, the news came as a bit of a shock. At the time, Ducati didn’t even have any electric motorcycles – at least not that they were showing off. Now we’re getting our first look – and listen – to the company’s upcoming electric racing models.

When Ride1Up first unveiled the Prodigy electric bicycle, it shocked many in the industry. The combination of a full-featured commuter electric bike with a high-end German mid-drive motor is nothing new, but selling it for just $2,295 was unheard of.

Now after several industry delays, the bikes are finally heading to riders’ driveways, ushering in a new era of affordable higher-end electric bicycles.

After electric vehicle company Ideanomics celebrated its successful acquiring of Italian electric motorcycle company Energica last month, the duo hosted an investor and analyst day at the Nasdaq this week. With Electrek in attendance, we heard first hand from the leaders of the two companies about how Energica’s industry-leading technology will now benefit Ideanomics other electric vehicle verticals, and vice versa. 

Oh, and we snagged a pretty awesome ride on a 150 hp electric motorcycle too.

Last week we broke the news that Fiido X electric bikes suffered from a design flaw in the magnesium frame’s folding mechanism, resulting in multiple bikes breaking in half. Now the Hong Kong-based company has announced its solution, which involves a major redesign to the bike and replacements for riders.

Personal vehicles such as bicycles, e-bikes, e-scooters, and motorcycles have skyrocketed in popularity in the US over the last few years due to their efficiency and effectiveness compared to cars. But a six-year study by UCLA shows that these light vehicles account for a higher proportion of injuries.

Rad Power Bikes, the leading electric bicycle company in North America, is restructuring its operations to cut costs and double down on the customer experience of its hundreds of thousands of e-bike riders.

Helping to lead new changes, Rad Power Bikes has also onboarded a new president and chief operating officer Phil Molyneux, who previously served as president and COO of Sony Electronics and President of Dyson America.

Harley-Davidson’s motorcycles are frequently used for police motorcycles, though the latest bar-and-shield cop bike isn’t your typical Road King. Instead, Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire electric motorcycle is now getting the police treatment.

The team over at Phoenix, Arizona-based Lectric eBikes has just launched their newest and most affordable electric bicycle yet: the Lectric XP LITE. At just $799, it packs in much of what riders already loved about the brand’s flagship Lectric XP 2.0 folding e-bike, yet shaves off some serious dollars and poundage.

Massive electric two-wheeler manufacturer OKAI has just launched its first consumer-oriented electric bicycle, the OKAI Stride. And for a first consumer e-bike, it comes with surprisingly nice performance specs like an industry-leading speed of 28 mph (45 km/h).

CAKE may be best known for its stylish and highly-designed electric motorcycles. But the company’s latest teaser today seems to imply that a lighter electric two-wheeler is in the cards for the brand’s next model.

This week on Electrek’s new Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This week that includes new electric bikes from VanMoof, a giant 36″ wheel electric bike for Shaquille O’Neal, high-speed standing electric scooters, a low cost highway-capable electric motorcycle for Europe, and lots more…

I love electric vehicles as much as the next guy, and I’m particularly enthralled with personal electric vehicles. You know, the kind built for just one person: electric bikes, electric scooters, electric rideables, and such. I like to think I’ve embraced some of the more oddball designs out there, though I’m not sure I’ve faced anything as nutty as this self-balancing seated electric scooter.

But as seems to be the theme with this weekly column, I’m ready to jump in with both feet on what is most certainly one of the more unique Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week finds this year.

Phoenix, Arizona-based Lectric eBikes may have just dropped a teaser about a new model destined to join its lineup of low-cost electric bikes.

Japan’s heavyweight motorcycle manufacturers known as the Big Four have unveiled a new electric motorbike battery swapping program called Gachaco. But what Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki haven’t come right out and said is that instead of the highly anticipated innovative new motorcycle battery standard, it’s looking a lot like a blue version of Gogoro.

We learned earlier this week that California-based electric moped manufacturer ONYX was rebooting the short-lived CTY electric moped. That lower-cost model, with half of the speed of its bigger brother, the RCR, was put on the back burner a few years ago in favor of the much higher-demanded and higher-performance model. But now ONYX has given it new life with the CTY2, and bumped its performance specs accordingly.

If you’ve got a Fiido X electric bike at home, now you have a pretty magnesium sculpture. That’s because the company has issued an urgent notice for owners to stop using the e-bike after a frame defect has been discovered that causes the bike to break in two.

The newly unveiled Yadea KS3 Lite electric scooter has just been launched as the brand’s latest low-cost, lightweight electric scooter designed for urban commuters.

Bafang, a leading Asian supplier of electric bicycle drive systems, has just unveiled its newest electric bicycle motor intended to improve upon one of its popular high-power drive units. The M510 is said to be a lighter-weight solution that still provides high performance for powerful electric bikes.

Electric motorcycles have a wide range of advantages over their gas-powered counterparts. While most electric converts tout their low operation cost, lack of maintenance, and smoother power delivery, there’s one other big advantage that often goes unnoticed: the ability to essentially submerge in water and continue operating. A new video shows a series of Grunt electric motorcycles doing just that.

The Wolf King GT Pro from Voro Motors is one of those “be-all, end-all” of the electric scooter world. With its high power and high speed plus a rugged full-suspension design, this thing should be the weapon of choice for anyone in search of a seriously high performance electric scooter.

The brand-new Ariel Rider Kepler has just been unveiled as the e-bike manufacturer’s latest high-performance electric bike. Designed for adventure and recreational riding, this fat tire bike pushes speed and power specs to the max.

The world’s leading shared micromobility company, Lime, has just launched a month-long campaign under the tagline ‘Break Up With Cars.’

If you’ve been wondering whether a car may be more harm than good for you (and for your city), then Lime is trying to incentivize your way over the edge towards going car-free.