Electric bicycles are bikes with a battery-powered motor that kicks in when you pedal or use a throttle. E-bike sales have been growing steadily over the years, but they still only represent a small portion of the overall bike market in the US. That’s expected to change dramatically over the next decade, with brands like VanMoof, Rad Power Bikes, and legacy bike makers like Specialized, Trek, and others introducing new and more powerful models. The Verge brings you reviews of the latest models, trend reports, and buying guides to help you find the right e-bike for your life.
After launching cheaper chain-driven configurations, Cowboy CEO Adrien Roose explains why his e-bike company won’t meet the same fate, despite all the similarities.
After several rounds of layoffs and a number of high-profile lawsuits, Rad Power Bikes’ new CEO is determined to get costs and safety under control
Belt drive, removable battery, smooth automatic shifting, and built to be serviced anywhere. This Dutch e-bike checks all the boxes.
Electric bike maker Cowboy is in an intellectual property dispute over the new AdaptivePower feature it released in March via a free software update. Seems the company was originally developing the tech to automatically overcome resistance like wind and hills through a partnership with eBikeLabs before terminating the contract sometime last year. Unsurprisingly, eBikeLabs feels cheated. Coincidence? Decide for yourself after reading TechCrunch’s excellent explainer.
The full-size S4 and smaller X4 (pictured) cost $2,498 / £2,198 / €2,198 and start shipping in August. They arrive after the company said they’d skip the 4-series of e-bikes because the 5-series was such a major advancement.
More simple, more accessible, more reliable, less money.
Less than half the price of a Super73-ZX but with more inattention to detail.
Specialized shocked the bike world when it announced it would resurrect its defunct Globe brand for an all-new lineup of e-bikes. Here’s how the company went about designing an e-bike for maximum cargo-carrying capabilities.
After a year-long struggle, the boutique maker of stealthy electric bikes finally gets it right.
The four-year, $65 million project has everything — and nothing — to do with the automobile.
It took four years to build, but Amsterdam’s underwater bike shed in front of Central Station is set to open on January 26th with space for 6,300 privately-owned bikes and 700 more spaces for bike-shares. Parking is free for 24 hours, then €1.35 (about $1.46) for each additional day.
Rad Power Bikes, the number one seller of e-bikes in North America, discovers that when it comes to power, stability, and fun, three is the magic number.
47 percent of Europeans surveyed by Shimano now cite cost-of-living as the primary reason to use an e-bike in 2022, compared to 2021 when the primary motivator (39 percent) was avoiding covid on public transport. Government subsidies and increasing environmental concerns are also helping to spur the adoption of e-bikes, which already outsell regular bikes in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Cargo bikes can save our cities from the pollution and snarled traffic created by delivery vans, and replace the family car to get the kids to school on time. They can also host a rave.
The Lectric XP 3.0 is a thorough update to the XP 2.0 with improved motor, brakes, and suspension to accommodate a second rider up to 150lbs. Introductory pricing starts at $999, but jumps by $75 for the comfy passenger package, and another $200 if you want the long-range battery. It’ll even accommodate a pet trailer for an extra $170.
52 percent of all new bicycles sold in the Netherlands are now electric, followed by Austria (45%), Germany (43%), Belgium (39%), and Switzerland (38%), with numbers expected to continue to rise, according to Bike Europe. Subsidizing the purchase price has helped spur adoption in some countries like France.
