ebikes

If a proposed new bill eventually becomes law, higher-speed electric bicycles may soon have a tougher row to hoe in California.

I recently had the chance to attend Micromobility Europe 2024, the latest industry tradeshow promoting the proliferation of right-sized personal electric vehicles. For two days, the show took to Amsterdam to showcase many of the newest innovations and companies pushing the envelope on what micromobility vehicles can offer to urban residents.

Here is a smattering of many of the most interesting things I saw (and test rode) while exploring the show.

The ‘One simple trick’ trope has long become a running joke among journalists, usually signifying the beginning of a scam. But every once in a while, it’s exactly right. Such is the case with how Paris was able to transform its air quality and thus the quality of life in the city in the run-up to the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics.

So what was the trick? Kicking out cars.

At the Micromobility Europe conference in Amsterdam last week, I got my first look at (and first ride on) the new folding electric bike known as FLIT. As it turns out, there’s a new ultra-compact British folding e-bike in town.

In what could likely be a sign of continued overstocking issues in the North American electric bike industry, Ride1Up has drastically reduced the price of its much acclaimed Prodigy electric bike. Now just $1,495, this marks the lowest-priced Brose-powered electric bicycle ever from a major retailer.

There’s a good chance that when you were a teenager, getting your driver’s license was seen as a rite of passage, and you probably couldn’t wait for the freedom promised by that shiny new card in your credit card-less wallet. At least, that’s unless you’re a teenager today, and then the picture might not be so cut and dry. Unlike when I got my learner’s permit 20 years ago, today’s teenagers have already been enjoying a new form of affordable and effective transportation freedom: electric bikes.

And it’s changing the way they view getting a driver’s license.

This past week, I attended the Micromobility Europe event in Amsterdam, where I saw many familiar company faces and several new ones in the broader micromobility world. One of the most fascinating new startups I saw at the show was Hydroride Europe AG, which showed off several hydrogen-powered bicycles and a small at-home hydrogen generator for “recharging” the bike by producing small bottles of hydrogen gas.

Los Angeles-based electric bike brand Hi-Power Cycles has announced the opening of a new “defense division” known as HPC Defense. To kick things off, they’ve unveiled an 80 mph (130 km/h) military electric bike as one of the division’s first products.

In a world where electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular, it’s no surprise that the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 are the best-selling EVs in the United States. But what if I told you that the third best-selling electric vehicle in America isn’t a car at all? It’s actually an electric bike!

In what should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody, Lectric Ebikes has done it again. North America’s leading value e-bike brand has just unveiled another doozy, this time upgrading the popular XP Lite model with some serious value-added features. Meet the new Lectric XP Lite 2.0, complete with Gates carbon belt drive and hydraulic disc brakes.

Micromobility Europe, the euro-focused sister show of the Micromobility America conference, is one of the main industry-focused trade shows concentrating on a wide variety of small-format vehicles designed for personal mobility. That includes everything from e-bikes and e-scooters to golf carts and micro-cars. If it rolls, moves a few people, and doesn’t look like something you’d never want to park in a crowded city, it will probably be there.

For the next two days, June 5-6, the show is hitting Amsterdam to feature a range of new vehicles, a curated list of industry speakers, and more. It’s a veritable who’s who of industry titans from micromobility company CEOs to policy makers and industry analysts. And somehow they agreed to let me in, too!

New York City is on the brink of implementing congestion pricing, a bold move aimed at reducing traffic in Manhattan’s most congested areas. While this initiative promises to alleviate gridlock and generate funds for public transportation, it also means drivers will face additional costs to navigate through certain parts of the city. But what if I told you there’s a way to avoid these fees entirely?

On a recent trip to China, I visited a wide range of companies and factories in the micromobility industry. Many had big names and bigger reputations, but one company surprised me as a silent, relatively unheard-of force behind many of the biggest e-bike companies in the world.

Meet Lishui, the company you’ve probably never heard of but have almost certainly used their products.

MOD Bikes, the Austin, Texas-based e-bike maker with a flair for the unconventional, has just announced the newest addition to its electric bike lineup. The new MOD Black is the brand’s newly updated full-suspension electric bike, designed with adventures in mind.

Swytch, makers of the self-proclaimed “most affordable” electric bike conversion kits out there, announced its newest model this morning. The UK-based company’s new Swytch GO kit comes with a super low pre-order price of just £299 (or US $349 for North American customers), though there’s a bit of a catch.

McLaren, better known for its high-performance sports cars, has just announced a series of new electric bikes, including what the company calls the “World’s most powerful trail-legal” electric mountain bike.

I’ve been riding Ride1Up e-bikes since just about their first model. Over the many years since I first threw a leg over that bike, I’ve watched the company roll out an ever-increasing lineup of diverse e-bikes that all shared one common trend: great bang for your buck.

So when I was recently touring Asia to visit micromobility factories for a peek behind the curtain, I knew Ride1Up’s factory would be high on my list. They invited me out to join the company’s founder, Kevin Dugger, on a tour of the factory so I could see just how Ride1Up goes about ensuring they can keep the quality high and the prices low.

The Biden Administration announced sweeping new tariffs on imported goods from China, including increasing tariffs on electric vehicles from China. But will electric bicycles be impacted?

On a recent trip to China where I met with several micromobility companies, I was fortunate enough to spend an afternoon with the electric motorcycle maker Tromox. The team gave me the chance to be one of the first Westerners to ever take a test ride on Tromox’s new MC10 TrailX.

Ahead of the bike’s upcoming US market release, I can already tell you that this thing is a blast to ride and is likely to send shockwaves through the Sur Ron and Talaria communities for its combination of performance and packaging, offering high power riding in a small-format bike.

Ride1Up announced the launch of its original Revv1 electric moped-style bike back in early 2023, spearheading the brand’s expansion into a wider range of e-bike models. The powerful bike was a shot across the bow of major brands like SUPER73, offering high-performance riding and moto-inspired styling for a more affordable price. Now the company is back with the first major redesign to the bike, offering the Revv1 DRT for off-road adventures.

It’s true: cargo e-bikes are replacing trucks and vans for city deliveries like we’ve never seen before. With an ever-increasing push towards removing those heavy vehicles from our roads, larger electric cargo bikes are starting to pop up, offering to handle more of the loads typically seen carried by trucks. The new Cityshuttle ePack4 is the latest, and perhaps the biggest, to grace the streets.