Electric bicycle companies are a dime a dozen these days, so when we were contacted by the somewhat-unimaginatively-named “Electric Bike Company,” I didn’t expect much.  I hadn’t heard of them before, but found out they were headquartered nearby, in sunny Newport Beach, California, so figured why not take a trip to the beach and have a look at what they have to offer?

What I found is a small company that makes a real gem of a bike, with good quality components, well-thought-out design, and at a very reasonable price point (starting at $1,299) compared to the competition.

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Most of the clientele Andrew Davidge’s Santa Clara-based electric bicycle company attracts are people for whom biking has become a thing of the past, the bike itself an afterthought – maybe a once-in-a-while thing, if that.

Which is why one of the key draws the company he founded – Vintage Electric Bikes, which started shipping its first bikes in 2013 and which is launching a new fifth model in June – is the design of its rides. The idea is pretty straightforward, marrying simple, California-built bikes with the chrome-laden charm of old, classic cars… expand full story

I had the pleasure of joining the Trek team in New York City this morning for a small briefing and a ride over the Williamsburg Bridge to Brooklyn on the new Trek Super Commuter 8S which due for consumers in the US later this Spring. What got us interested in this event wasn’t so much the Bosch 350W motor/500Wh battery technology but the marketing Trek was using in its campaign to sell this $5000 bike…

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Bombardier Recreational Products, better known as BRP, is having a lot of success with its Can-Am Spyder. It delivered the 100,000th unit last year. During the summer, you can’t travel far without driving by one on the road. The single rear drive wheel with two front wheels for steering is an interesting platform for an electric drivetrain and BRP knows it.

The company has been financing a project to create an all-electric version of the vehicle with the CTA and the Université de Sherbrooke for the past 5 years. They finally unveiled the all-electric concept at EVS29 last month. expand full story

Harley-Davidson unveiled its Livewire project two years ago almost to the day. While the all-electric concept with only ~60 miles of range was lacking compared to other models already available today, it showed that one of the most iconic motorcycle company, which is also obviously entrenched in internal combustion engines, is at least looking at other powertrain technologies.

At the time, Harley-Davidson made it clear that Livewire was only a concept (and good-looking one – see pictures below), but now the company confirms that it plans to bring its first electric bike to market “within the next five years”. expand full story

From 9to5Toys.com:

We’re not just talking about electric bikes as a “one day” or “down-the-road” solution any more. With smaller batteries and greater range, what once was a dream is now a feasible reality. The latest alternative fuel creation comes way of Lithium Cycles, a group out of South California that has eyes on bringing a retro-style battery-powered bike to the masses. So far, interest is heavy. The Super 73 Electric Bicycle has already raised over $165,000 in just a few days on Kickstarter…

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Airbus has a wholly-owned subsidiary called APWorks, which is set up to develop additive manufacturing techniques – especially metallic 3D printing – for the supply chains of Airbus’ main businesses. From time to time, the company releases independent products developed through their manufacturing work for Airbus.

The latest of such product is particularly interesting to us at Electrek: a 3D printed all-electric motorcycle. expand full story

Victory Motorcycle announced a surprise participation at the Isle of Man TT with the newly unveiled all-electric motorcycle: Victory RR. The Victory RR is another child of Victory Motorcycle’s union with electric bike maker Brammo through their parent company Polaris. expand full story

We recently stumbled upon a small Austrian-based company called Johammer. The firm is building an interesting futuristic-looking electric motorcycle: the Johammer J1. They launched the vehicle last year, but they recently ramp-up production and we are now seeing more of the vehicle reminiscent of a Star Wars pod racer with chopper-like handles. expand full story

Electric bike maker Zero Motorcycles filmed an interesting live tour of its Scotts Valley factory in California yesterday. You can watch the full video below. expand full story