ebikes

Royal Dutch Gazelle, the Netherlands-based bicycle manufacturer so acclaimed that the company has been granted Royal status by the Dutch monarchy, has just released its newest e-bike. The Gazelle Eclipse intends to set new standards for comfortable, accessible long-range e-biking far outside of the city.

Have you ever tried flying with an electric bike? It’s surprisingly hard since those big lithium-ion batteries are usually not allowed in your checked luggage or in your carry-on. But that just made me even more determined to figure out a way to do it.

At Electrek, we cover plenty of new electric cars and other EVs as part of an overarching goal of shifting transportation towards a more sustainable future. But it’s important to keep in mind that electric cars aren’t the only answer – sometimes a vehicle much smaller than a car is an even better tool for the job.

But to use that tool to its fullest, it can help to have a few other tools along the way. As someone who gets around almost entirely on two-wheels, here’s my list of the coolest gear I’ve tested on my e-bikes so far this year.

In a not entirely unforeseen turn of events, Dutch electric bike brand VanMoof has just found a buyer to scoop up the bankrupt e-bike maker. McClaren Applied’s scooter brand Lavoie purchased the company and looks set to try and roll it into its micromobility portfolio.

Anyone that’s into e-bikes is almost certainly already aware of Super73. And if you aren’t into e-bikes, then you’ve probably at least seen some Super73s riding around your town. They’re the admittedly motorcycle-looking electric bikes that haven proven extremely popular with young riders in the US. And perhaps that’s the first clue as to why Super73 seems to get more hate than anyone when it comes to criticizing e-bikes.

That always seemed a bit strange to me since I’ve only had positive interactions with the brand. I’ve enjoyed joining on organized Super73 group rides in Los Angeles and even rode a Super73 across Germany with my publisher. So to learn more, I sat down with the company’s CEO LeGrand Crewse to discuss e-bikes, riding culture and why Super73 seems to have such a big target on its back.

Much of the media is at it again, hyping up a manufactured fear of electric bikes. (Side note: I know that sentence makes me sound all MAGA, but even as a card-carrying liberal, I can call out media bias). The issue this time centers around American teenagers on e-bikes and the manufactured choice between supposed “freedom or danger.”

Specialized’s dedicated value-oriented utility bike brand Globe has just launched its second model, a fast and powerful long tail cargo e-bike known as the Globe Haul LT.

Propella has long been known for its lightweight, slick-looking electric bikes at reasonable prices. The company’s minimalistic design has been praised for keeping things simple and affordable for the masses. And it seems they’ve done it again now that we’re getting our first look at the Propella 9S Pro V2, the company’s new flagship electric bike model.

Students around the US are now heading back to college, but there’s one thing many of them won’t be able to bring with them: electric bikes and e-scooters. Several campuses are joining a growing movement in higher education, banning these efficient transportation alternatives.

Campers are a popular way to travel with the family, and smaller versions for bike camping have popped up too. But what if you want to go cabin camping with your dog in areas that don’t have car access – or cabins? If you’re handy, you could just build a wooden cabin to bring along with you on an electric bike.

Electric car charging stations are becoming ubiquitous across many cities in the US. But with electric bikes vastly outnumbering electric cars, should we be considering charging stations for these more popular light EVs? In China, e-bike charging stations are already commonplace. Perhaps we can learn something from them.

One of the major advantages of riding electric bikes is that the extra electric assist means you don’t have to worry about weight penalties as much. Pedal bike designers have to minimize weight to make the bike less grueling to ride, but e-bike manufacturers can add in more comfort features without making the bike harder to use. That often means more suspension and larger tires. Or in the case of the Engwe X26 electric bike, the company opted for an extra helping of both.

The Royal Dutch Touring Club (ANWB), the largest cycling association in the Netherlands, has announced that it will no longer insure fat tire bikes due to their extremely high chance of theft.

It’s no secret that most electric bikes come from China. Sure, there are high-quality e-bikes built in Europe and even a few in the US. But not the ones with the price tags that make you go, “Honey, how can we afford not to?!” And that’s exactly the story of my latest weird little e-bike purchase. Say hello to the Mihogo Mini, an ultra-low-cost electric bike direct from China.

A recent string of anti-e-bike articles in the New York Times has attempted to spread fear around the increasingly popular transportation method of electric bicycles. But it’s not just the typical e-bikes you see students riding to class or adults cruising to work on. One of the main e-bike targets of late has become electric balance bikes, or what the NYT referred to as “motorcycles for children.”

However, instead of fearing these rider training tools, we’d be better advised to embrace them and encourage more parents to put their kids on one.

If you’ve only ever heard of one electric bike brand in the US, it’s probably Rad Power Bikes. There are more Rads on American roads than any other e-bike out there. And now the company is announcing a major new milestone: hitting 600,000 e-bikes sold.

Yamaha has been around longer than just about anyone in the electric bike space. In fact, they just celebrated the 30-year anniversary since launching the first production electric bike in the world. But don’t think that an old dog can’t learn new bike tricks. Because just like how Yamaha Power Assist Bicycles keeps pumping out innovative new e-bikes and drivetrains, now the company is launching an entirely new sales model bringing direct-to-consumer selling into its operations.

VanMoof’s fall from grace has turned into a downhill rolling dumpster fire as the fallout continues to spread. The latest episode in the saga is seeing VanMoof give its customers a final warning to come get their broken e-bikes that were in for service at the time that the company declared bankruptcy last month.

A proposed rule update in New York will pave the way for four-wheeled electric cargo bikes, which look like small delivery vans with bicycle pedals, to share the bike lanes and roads.

One of the coolest things about electric cargo bikes is their ability to carry a passenger. Or two passengers. Or in the case of my testing with the Velotric Packer 1, three passengers in addition to myself. The bike is brimming with cool features, but its heavy hauling ability and reasonable price are what really make this thing shine!

Right to Repair laws are common in many countries and are designed to prevent manufacturers from maintaining a monopoly with costly repair services to fix a device. But electric bike makers are pushing lawmakers to exclude e-bikes from these laws.