Micah Toll

China is tightening oversight of its massive electric bicycle industry with a new reform that will require mandatory product traceability markings on electric bikes and several of their major related components.

Just when you thought the micromobility world couldn’t get any stranger, Kawasaki decided to build an electric horse.

And no, this isn’t just another vaporware concept destined for a trade show floor and then the archives. Kawasaki Heavy Industries says it has officially launched development toward commercialization of its four-legged off-road personal mobility vehicle known as CORLEO.

For the last few years, one of the coolest bits of e-bike tech I’ve seen didn’t involve more power, bigger batteries, or new motor designs. It involved getting rid of the charger cable altogether.

Last summer, I covered Dutch startup Tiler’s newly developed wireless charging tile that lets an e-bike charge directly through its kickstand. You roll the bike into place, lower the stand onto the tile, and the battery starts charging automatically via an integrated magnetic coil. There are no plugs to deal with, no dangling wires, and no forgetting to bring your charger to work.

As the internet’s resident e-bike guy, a lot of interesting things tend to come across my desk. Many of them get passed over; there’s only 24 hours in the day, after all. But when something is interesting enough, or in this case, quirky enough, it gets a second look. And this quirky little $199 Walmart e-bike definitely got another look this morning.

For years now, riders have been asking the same question: When is Honda finally going to give us a true-to-form electric Super Cub?

The gasoline-powered Honda Super Cub isn’t simply another small bike in the long history of mopeds and light motorcycles. It’s the best-selling motor vehicle in history, with more than 100 million units produced since its 1958 debut. The Cub helped motorize post-war Japan, democratized two-wheeled transport across Southeast Asia, and even carved out a cult following in the US with its step-through frame and famously approachable design. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Super Cub is one of the most important vehicles ever built.

Family cargo biking just got a big upgrade. Xtracycle, one of the original pioneers of longtail cargo bikes in North America, has announced the launch of the new Swoop ASM (Automatic Smile Machine), a fully redesigned family cargo e-bike that aims to remove many of the friction points that keep families from making the leap out of a car and onto two wheels. And with room for four people on a single bike, this is one that could truly replace the family car for school drop offs, sports practice, or just about any other family-oriented trip.

California lawmakers are once again turning their attention to electric two-wheelers, but this time the approach looks more targeted – and notably, it’s drawing broader support from major bike advocacy groups.

Tampa is bringing back one of the most generous e-bike incentive programs in the country, and for some residents, it could mean up to $3,000 off the cost of a new electric bike.

Last week, news of California lawmakers attempting to require license plates for electric bicycles took the internet by storm. But the Golden State isn’t the only one trying to slap tags on e-bikes this year.

If you’ve ever stood at a red light in Taipei, you know that when it turns green, it’s not just cars that surge forward – it’s a tidal wave of scooters. In Taiwan, scooters are a way of life, outnumbering cars by roughly two to one. That also means they represent one of the country’s biggest transportation-related pollution sources.

So Taiwan decided to do something about it: pay people to switch.

There’s a surprisingly strong debate long-swirling around the term “moped.” For a word that started as a simple mashup of “motor” and “pedal,” moped has caused an outsized amount of contention. Now, with the prevalence of a new age of light electric two-wheelers, that debate has only grown.

What began as a literal description of a pedal-equipped motorbike has, over the decades, evolved into something broader – from legal definitions to common usage. That evolution hasn’t sat well with everyone. So let’s talk about what a moped was, what it became, and why insisting that language remain stuck in time might be missing the bigger picture.

Royal Enfield’s first electric motorcycle is looking increasingly production-ready. The upcoming Flying Flea C6 (FF C6) has now been spotted testing in Chennai completely undisguised, giving us the clearest look yet at what appears to be the final design.

Honda is doubling down on small electric two-wheelers with the launch of a new budget-friendly model that undercuts its own gasoline equivalent – and can be ridden without a full motorcycle license.

Aventon is doubling down on trail performance with the launch of the new Ramblas ADV, an electric hardtail mountain bike built around the company’s second-generation in-house mid-drive motor. Positioned as a do-it-all, go anywhere, all-terrain machine, the Ramblas ADV blends legitimate MTB components with commuter-friendly versatility, all at a price that undercuts many premium mid-drive competitors but may still make eyes water in the direct-to-consumer market that has become accustomed to bargain basement pricing on simpler e-bikes.

A newly introduced bill in California could dramatically change how electric bikes are treated under state law – and it may put license plates on most e-bikes.

A war appears to be brewing in London’s shared e-bike market, and it’s getting messy with new accusations of sabotage.

The LiveWire S4 Honcho hasn’t officially launched yet, but it may already be one of the most important electric motorcycles the company has ever developed.

As of early 2026, the S4 Honcho is still in the pre-release phase, with LiveWire indicating a likely launch sometime this year, potentially spring or summer. While full specifications and pricing haven’t been formally announced, the positioning is clear: this is definitely not going to be yet another premium, heavyweight electric motorcycle. It’s something very different.

And that’s exactly why it matters so much.

Merida is taking aim at the more budget-conscious end of the electric mountain bike market with the launch of its new ETMO range, described as the brand’s most price-focused Bosch-powered electric mountain bikes yet.

Of course for big eMTB names like Merida, the idea of “affordable” becomes something of a relative term.

Royal Enfield has offered a clearer timeline for its long-awaited first electric motorcycle. During a recent earnings call, CEO B. Govindarajan said the company’s new Flying Flea C6 is “almost ready for production” and that “you will see it in the next quarter time window,” signaling a launch that now appears set for early 2026.

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 fun new automatic shifting e-bike from Trek, a whole host of potential new e-bike laws from around the US, a study that shows the impacts of e-bike use on the brain, Fly mopeds get in more trouble, Honda has a new low-cost electric motorcycle design, and more.

Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn has filed a new ordinance that would ban delivery app drivers in the city from using e-bikes, mopeds, or other motorized scooters to make deliveries, citing growing safety concerns.

There’s one company that now sells nearly three-quarters of all full-size electric motorcycles in the US. And no, it’s not some scrappy startup out of Silicon Valley (though there are some very cool California-based electric motorcycle startups).

It’s actually LiveWire – the Harley-Davidson-born electric motorcycle spinoff that just claimed a 70% market share in the 50+ horsepower on-road electric motorcycle segment in 2025.

Federal regulators have ordered a recall of Fly E-Bike’s popular model known as the Fly 10 moped, marking the latest and perhaps most serious blow to the embattled micromobility company that has long been a major supplier of low-cost electric mopeds and e-bikes in the US.

From a fitness perspective, electric bikes are often framed as a way to make cycling easier on the legs or more accessible for people who might otherwise avoid riding. But new research suggests the biggest benefits of e-bikes for older riders may be happening somewhere else entirely: the brain.