Ebike Industry Updates

Should the bill (A.4389C) be signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, sales of used e-bikes could be expected to all but halt. Owners of e-bikes—even those from reputable manufacturers—would be forced to replace the battery in order to sell it. If the e-bike manufacturer has yet to offer a UL-certified replacement, then they would be prohibited from selling the e-bike in the state.

Some Assembly members voted against the bill. Assemblyman Andrew Goodell (R—Jamestown) noted that there are 65,000 e-bikes being used for deliveries in New York City and most of those batteries would need to be replaced to sell those e-bikes.

Should someone be found to be selling an e-bike with an uncertified battery, they would be fined $500—roughly the cost of a new battery. Should they repeat the violation within two years, the fine would jump to $1000.

The Assembly has also passed a bill (A.6811) that would require the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) to create a program that would provide new UL-certified e-bike batteries to current e-bike owners whose e-bikes lack a UL-certified battery. The program would provide the new batteries at no cost or at a reduced cost.

Orbea offers the Diem in six different builds, running from a bit less than $4000 to not quite $6000, depending on the rider’s needs, and budget.

What makes the Diem unusual is its “Diamond Glide” frame design. This is an aluminum frame that features a shortened seat tube and chainstays that take a downward turn after reaching the seat tube and continue to the down tube. Think of it as an inverted suspension bridge design, the idea being that the frame will offer the rider a small degree of flex to soften the ride.

Orbea’s six configurations of the Diem include both Class 1 (20 mph max assist) and Class 3 (28 mph max assist) versions based on either Shimano’s EP6 or EP8 motors and with several different drivetrain options, including one version with an Enviolo internally geared hub combined with a Gates belt.

As a gravel e-bike, the Grizl:ON looks like a road e-bike, just with big tires. It has the drop bar and forward-slung rider position of a road e-bike and comes in five sizes (XS through XL). Where it differs is in handling, tire width, drivetrain and suspension.

The Grizl:ON is built with a lightweight carbon fiber frame and Bosch Performance Line SX mid-drive motor, which provides 250W of power and 55Nm of torque. The 400Wh battery will provide hours of riding.

Gravel e-bikes tend to have calmer handling that road e-bikes so that they ease into turns more and are more likely to track straight if the riding surface is soft. And where a road e-bike might have a tire that’s 1-1.25 in. wide, the Grizl:ON has a tire that’s 1.8 in. wide, which will offer a more comfortable ride and better traction on unpaved surfaces. The drivetrain also features a wider gear range because the places that gravel e-bikes go often feature hills steeper than are typically paved. And, where road e-bikes almost never have suspension, the Canyon Grizl:ON comes with a RockShox Rudy suspension fork with 40mm of travel—enough to take the sting out of the roughest roads.

Most of the parts come from Shimano’s GRX group, which is made specifically for gravel e-bikes. It’s durable and precise stuff, reliable in a way you need if you’re 50 mi. from home and in the woods. In a move that’s unusual for gravel and road e-bikes alike, Canyon worked with Lupine to include lights integrated into the front and rear of the Grizl:ON.

Thanks to a bench-style seat and both front and rear suspension, this will give riders a smooth ride even on rough roads. We will explain why in our Himiway C5 review.

Providing the muscle for the Himiway C5 is a 750W brushless, geared hub motor, which is powered by a whopping 960Wh battery. Considering most riders are likely to spend their time using the throttle instead of the pedals, that was a terrific choice.

Let’s have a look at the Himiway C5’s other details.

Orbic is an electronics manufacturer that makes smartphones, laptops, tablets and wearables, and now e-bikes.

The Orbic 5G e-bike is equipped with a forward-facing and rear-racing cameras. The 2MP rear-facing camera has a 140-degree view and its feed is both recorded and sent to an AI-powered object detection system that will alert riders with both audio and visual signals to increase their safety. The 64MP front-facing camera’s feed is recorded so riders can play back their adventures after the fact.

The government is forming a consultancy of which the Department of Transportation will be a member. Reports indicate that e-bike makers will be solicited for input as well. In addition to the current 250W limit, e-bikes in the U.K. does not permit e-bikes to be equipped with throttles. New legislation could potentially see wattage doubled and throttles normalized.

In a move that may seem surprising, the Bicycle Association, a U.K. e-bike trade group made up of suppliers and retailers, has previously lobbied against increasing the power in e-bikes. Their concern stemmed from a fear that more powerful e-bikes would result in the government reclassifying them as something other than bicycles. A change in the classification of e-bikes could see them required to be registered, carry insurance and banned from bike paths and the bike industry is concerned that reclassification could hurt further adoption of e-bikes.

So while the bike industry worries that more powerful e-bikes could result in new legal constraints that could hurt e-bike sales, the government worries that a 15.5 mph maximum assist speed may be an underwhelming speed to drivers who might be more interested in e-bikes … if only they went faster.

Notably absent from the current proposals is any reconsideration of that 15.5 mph maximum assist speed, though. Practically speaking, moving from a 250W nominal limit to 500W would result in e-bikes that simply accelerate more quickly. It would likely also result in an increased presence of e-bikes with hub motors. An e-bike with a 250W mid-drive motor is plenty powerful, but a 250W hub motor is decidedly underpowered. A jump to a maximum nominal rating of 500W would make hub motors more practical and could aid adoption of e-bikes by bringing more affordable e-bikes to the market in the U.K.

From 2017 to 2022, the number of fires caused by e-mobility devices in San Francisco rose each year, culminating in a high for the city of 58 fires in 2022. During that time period, the city has seen eight injuries and one fatality caused by those fires.

Beginning in March, new rules will go into effect that will specify how e-mobility devices can be charged in multi-unit housing.

Multi-unit buildings will now be limited to a maximum of four lithium-ion-battery-powered e-mobility devices per household. Additionally, there must be at least three feet between each device when they are charging. Also, each charger must be plugged into its own outlet, not a power strip.

The Frey Dopamine 2.0 offers riders hoping to knock out long rides as quickly as possible a novel option. With a 500W mid-drive motor from Bafang, the Frey Dopamine 2.0 has the muscle necessary to go a full 28 mph. This Class 3 eMTB (28 mph maximum assist speed plus a throttle) is powered by a 720Wh battery.

One novel feature of the Frey Dopamine 2.0 is its ability to run several different wheel setups, depending on the size of frame the rider needs. It comes in three sizes: medium, large and XL. Frey says that the Dopamine 2.0 can be run with 29-in. wheels front and rear, or 27.5-in. wheels front and rear or as a mullet setup with 29 front and 27.5 rear. The medium can be set up with a 27.5 wheel in front and a 26-in. wheel in the rear to serve as a small size.

Wheel size affects the suspension options; with 29-in. wheels or configured as a mullet, it has 160mm of travel front and rear, while with 27.5-in. wheels it sports 180mm front and 170mm rear. If there was any doubt about how aggressive a rider for whom Frey made Dopamine 2.0, the 63.5-degree head tube angle is half a degree (or more) slacker than what we see in many eMTBs.

The station is public more in concept than function. Its use will be limited to 100 e-bike delivery workers and they will be able to charge batteries at no cost to them.

Poorly made and illegally repaired lithium-ion batteries were responsible fires that injured 150 people and killed 18 in 2023 alone.

The charging station is located in Cooper Square in the East Village. In the coming weeks, New York officials plan to open four additional stations in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Unfortunately, as e-bike use has climbed, helmet use hasn’t kept pace with their adoption. While it makes sense that if more people are riding e-bikes there will be more injuries even if the rate of injury per 100,00 people stays the same. That stinks, but what is worse is that helmet use hasn’t kept pace with rising e-bike use. As a result, we’re seeing an increase in the number of head injuries.

A new study published by JAMA Surgery examined helmet use from 2017 to 2022, finding that helmet use fell by 6 percent over that five-year span. That’s not the worst part of the study, though. It found that the number of e-bike riders who went to the hospital with head trauma rose 49 fold. That’s not 49 percent; it’s 49 times, resulting in some 8,000 visits in 2022 alone.

The bad news doesn’t end there. The study revealed that 44 percent of the injured riders were wearing helmets.

Injury severity rose

Researchers examined 1,038 cases of head injuries e-bike riders suffered and calculated that 46,000 adults and children visited emergency rooms between 2017 and 2022. Not only was there a 49-fold rise in hospital visits, there was a 43-fold rise in hospitalizations. That is, the number of people who went to the emergency room and then were admitted to the hospital rather than being discharged home that day rose 43 times.

The basics for the Himiway C3 are attractive. It features a step-thru design, suspension fork, 750W hub motor, 960Wh battery, 7-speed drivetrain and hydraulic disc brakes. This is a well-equipped e-bike. It also features a cowling that fits around the frame and battery that gives the C3 a look that evokes an e-moped.

Safe Shield is different from other batteries in that each cell within the battery is surrounded by a heat-absorbing resin. Batteries made this way are called “potted,” and this is a product design that is already in use in EVs, where the risks posed by a fire are far greater.

The heat-absorbing resin is designed to prevent the spread of heat in the event that one cell is compromised. By drawing heat away from the cells, the resin used in Safe Shield is meant to prevent thermal runaway from taking place.

Rad Power Bikes still specs top-shelf cells. Safe Shield batteries will feature either Samsung or LG cells. This is a 48V, 720Wh (15Ah) battery, and it is certified to UL’s 2271 standard for e-bike batteries.

The new cargo e-bikes aren’t e-bikes, exactly. They feature four wheels, give the driver a semi-enclosed cab (front windshield and roof to protect from weather), will be able to carry a load of up to 375 lbs (170kg) for up to 45 mi. per charge and will use three-pin plugs for charging so that FedEx won’t need to install custom chargers.

FedEx worked with Electric Asssited Vehicles, Ltd. (EAV) on the design of the cargo e-bikes. The U.K.’s Department for Transport awarded EAV £150,000 to develop and test the cargo e-bikes from its Freight Innovation Fund.