Micah Toll

Gazelle Bikes, a popular Netherlands-based bicycle manufacturer, is reintroducing the company’s Arroyo electric bikes for US customers.

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 a new partnership between SUPER73 and Indian Motorcycle, new e-bike models from Rad Power Bikes, Yamaha and Ducati, Polaris testing new electric ATVs, Gogoro unveiled a solid state swappable battery for EVs, and lots more…

Most of the weird electric vehicles I find each week on Alibaba for this column are fun to imagine driving, but they box you into a single odd product. Maybe you get an electric horseless carriage, or an electric backyard train, or an electric house-on-wheels. But there’s not much creativity in that, now is there?

So instead, this week I think it’s time to let our creative side out to explore just what is possible when we remove the shackles of fully completed vehicular design, and instead embark on our own custom electric car creations using China’s very own electric car skateboard platform.

Polaris isn’t simply paying lip service when it talks about the future of electrification in powersports. The Minnesota-based leader in powersports vehicles has already unveiled its first next-gen electric UTV and now has shown off several test vehicles for electric Polaris ATVs, side-by-sides, and snowmobiles.

The Swedish electric surfboard company Awake is best known for its high-speed boards that can surpass 57 km/h (35 mph). But now the company is reaching new heights as it rises out of the water on its latest product: the Awake VINGA electric hydrofoil board.

The Fiido Beast is preparing for its big unveiling, where it will be one of the first of its kind electric scooters. In addition to dual motors, dual suspension, and a giant battery, this electric scooter packs another big surprise: You can sit down on it and ride it like a two-wheeled go-kart.

SUPER73 definitely has something coming next week; we just don’t know what. But a new teaser released by the lifestyle electric bike brand sets the date for March 15 and hints that it could be the company’s highly anticipated (and yet unconfirmed) electric motorcycle.

Rad Power Bikes didn’t become the largest electric bicycle company in North America by resting on its laurels. The Seattle-based company has been hard at work on a new model to be added to the lineup. The RadExpand 5 electric bike has just been unveiled, and it comes with an attractive price of just US $1,299.

We’ve watched Honda play around with prototype electric motorcycles as well as electric scooters for years. Now we’re finally getting an initial look at the first-production Honda electric motorcycle. But there’s a distinct chance that your kids may be more interested in the Honda CRF-E2 than you.

Even though you can’t buy an actual Tesla Cyberquad yet, your kids can already get a half-sized version. Or at least they could have if they were quick, since Tesla and Radio Flyer’s co-developed Cyberquad for Kids only briefly returned to being in stock before immediately selling out again.

When I think of Tern and its popular electric cargo e-bikes, I think of two things: Incredible quality and incredibly expensive. But with the launch of its latest model today, the Tern Quick Haul, one of those things is fading away, and it’s not the quality.

The Yadea KS5 Pro electric scooter isn’t some low-performance, toss-it-after-a-month-type of electric scooter. The largest electric scooter company in China made sure to pack it full of performance, features, and value. I spent several weeks testing the KS5 Pro electric scooter, as well as also trying out Yadea’s smaller KS3 scooter, and I’d definitely recommend them both.

Here’s why.

Gogoro, the company behind what has become the de facto standard for swappable batteries in light electric vehicles, has just unveiled the world’s first swappable solid state EV battery prototype.

Arcimoto recently unveiled a fascinating new electric bicycle-like vehicle known as the Mean Lean Machine, or MLM for short. The unveiling left us with plenty of questions about the radical new electric three-wheeler, and Arcimoto has delivered again in the form of a video overview with designer Leo Cruces.

Leading smart electric scooter company NIU has seen a rollercoaster ride of stock prices over the last year, not unlike many other electric vehicle companies. However, NIU’s overall downward trend in stock price over the last year wasn’t abated by its recent 2021 Q4 earnings report.

Canadian electric scooter company Apollo is hyping the upcoming launch of the brand’s redesigned Apollo City electric scooter. As the name implies, the scooter is designed for urban commuters, but the latest version is expected to have some big updates.

And with thousands of happy customers in the US, Canada, and beyond from the company’s existing scooters, Apollo has a lot to live up to with this upcoming launch.

Stylish urban electric bicycle company Ampler has just unveiled two all-new city e-bike models that offer both work and play options for urban riders. The new Ampler Juna is a relaxed comfort bike for cruising the city, while the new Ampler Axel offers a sportier, more responsive ride that is more likely to strike a chord with daily city commuters.

Both bikes are pretty darn sleek looking, featuring hidden batteries and controls to offer a stealthy appearance.

Iconic motorcycle company Indian has teamed up with the equally iconic electric bike manufacturer Super73 to leverage the branding of the former with the high power e-bikes of the latter. The result? An Indian-themed e-bike known as the eFTR Hooligan 1.2.

No motorcycle license necessary.

There’s no shortage of weird, funky, or wild electric vehicles on the Chinese shopping platform Alibaba. I’ve found some real doozies for past entries in this weekly column. But this week’s feature of an electric bus is particularly far-flung. A tiger-molded electric bus might prompt some to ask “Why….?”

But for me, the answer is simple. “Why not?!”

In a fascinating real-world test of Gogoro’s electric scooter battery swap stations’ ability to run completely off-grid, the GoStations managed to remain operational even though a massive power outage in Taiwan yesterday shuttered gas stations and other key infrastructure.

We knew that Yamaha was going to have a big unveiling coming up soon as part of the brand’s new “Switch ON” campaign to showcase its electric vehicle, but we were surprised by the number of vehicles that Yamaha ultimately rolled on stage. With six new electric two-wheelers to show off, Yamaha made a splash and underscored its commitment to light electric vehicles ranging from electric bicycles to electric scooters in the 50cc to 125cc equivalent class.

The EMOVE Roadrunner from Voromotors seems like what an engineer would design for a seated electric scooter if they didn’t have to follow any rules. It’s basically two wheels strapped to a battery, and it goes faster than it probably should. It’s small. It’s powerful. It’s probably dangerous in the wrong hands.

In other words, it’s perfect.

The Ducati Futa was just unveiled today as the Italian motorcycle maker’s first-ever racing electric bicycle. The move marks an even stronger push by Ducati into the e-bike industry, expanding its offerings with a new format of e-bike.

Twenty years ago, Razor released that iconic aluminum kick scooter that all the cool kids in the neighborhood had and that I didn’t (which I’m not bitter about at all). For anyone who wants to relive those glory days of youthful scooting gone by, but perhaps wants it to be a bit faster and safer and less childlike, the new Razor Icon is right up your alley.