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Lime will take on London's Boris Bikes with e-bike launch
US dockless e-scooter and e-bike service Lime is bringing its electric-assisted bicycles to London, following their launch in Milton Keynes just over a week earlier. A fleet of 1,000 bright green e-bikes -- equipped with a 250-watt motor boasting a maximum assisted speed of 14.8 miles per hour -- will be available in the London boroughs of Brent and Ealing initially, starting tomorrow. The dockless bikes cost £1 ($1.30) to unlock and an additional 15 pence (19 cents) per minute of riding time.
Lime begins its UK push with dockless e-bikes
While dockless bike and scooter startups tussle with state regulators here in the US, they're making inroads overseas. So it goes with Lime, which just launched in the UK by bringing a fleet of its electric-assisted bicycles to Milton Keynes: a city located in South-East England that's proving itself somewhat of a tech hotbed with autonomous car trials and AI-controlled traffic lights. That may have made the region more welcoming to Lime than, say, London -- which fellow scooter startup Bird described as "the most highly regulated and restrictive market for this kind of product, globally."
Paris launches world's biggest e-bike fleet to curb pollution
Residents of Paris and its suburbs may soon have access to up to 20,000 electric bicycles. Public transit company Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) is launching an e-bike renting scheme called Véligo with 10,000 e-bikes to start with. If that works out, IDFM will expand to 20,000, which would make it the world's largest electric bike rental system.
VanMoof's Electrified S2 is a seriously smart commuter bike
VanMoof is almost ready to ship its next generation of electric bicycles. The Electrified S2 and X2 are vast improvements over their predecessors, with bigger batteries, nippier motors and smarter locking mechanisms. If you live in a city and fancy commuting on a bicycle, but fear conniving thieves and the potentially sweaty exercise required to reach the office, this could be your savior. During a two-hour test-ride in London, I was impressed with the S2's stylish frame, pedal-assisted power and integrated 'stealth lock.' It's not a cheap purchase, but few electric bicycles are at the moment.
VanMoof's Electrified X cured my fear of bike thieves
Five years ago I lost my bike. A few months prior, I had moved into a half-finished block of flats in southeast London. The apartment was complete, but construction workers were still beavering away at the stairwell. Progress was slow, though, and I was keen to commute on two wheels every morning. So I started cycling to work and, at night, chaining my beloved mountain bike to the banister at the bottom of our apartment block, long after the construction team had gone home. Until, one morning, I woke up and discovered that it had vanished. The stairwell, coated in white paint, had a black scorch mark where my lock used to reside. I can only presume that construction workers returned in the night and took a blowtorch to the chain. I haven't owned a bike since.
Scoot adds a bike-sharing service as it expands to Barcelona
Scoot is getting into bicycles. The company known in San Francisco for its red electric scooters populated by riders with lightning bolt-emblazoned black helmets is adding bikes to its lineup. But not in San Francisco. Instead, the company is opening its first international location in Barcelona where it'll drop 1,000 electric bikes and 500 scooters on the streets of the Spanish city.
Uber’s latest venture is a bike-sharing service in San Francisco
Uber's piloting a new service in San Francisco alongside dockless bike-sharing startup Jump. Uber Bike will let users rent one of Jump's 250 bikes, charging $2 for the first 30 minutes and an additional per-minute fee thereafter. Jump was granted a permit by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency earlier this month, which made it the first company to operate a dockless bike-sharing program in the city. Jump's 250 bikes should launch around the city between now and March and the SFMTA may allow the company to release 250 more after nine months, depending on how things go. The permit was issued for 18 months, during which the SFMTA will evaluate the program and the public's response.
Rimac's electric bike can go 150 miles on a single charge
Rimac has revealed a new electric bicycle that is just as impressive as its LaFerrari-killing, million-dollar Concept One supercar, in its own way. With a massive 3kWh battery, the Greyp G12H can go up to 240 km (150 miles) on a single charge, making it the longest-range e-bicycle out there. If you have a 10 mile round trip to work, each would cost 2.3 cents, making it one of the cheapest powered transportation options, too.
Xiaomi's foldable electric bicycle costs just $460
Xiaomi may not yet have a drone that can carry people, but at least it has an electric bicycle now, and it'll only cost you 2,999 yuan or about $460/£307. The Mi Qicycle is the second product from the Xiaomi-backed startup, iRiding, who released the premium 19,999 yuan (about $3,000/£2045) Qicycle R1 just back in March. This time round, iRiding is able to slap Xiaomi's "Mi" brand on its latest ride to target the mass market. While the Mi Qicycle weighs a total of 14.5kg (almost twice that of the carbon fiber-made R1), it can be folded into half its size for easier storage. It comes with a 3-speed hub plus a 250W motor which offers pedal assist, and that's good for up to 45km (about 28 miles) on a single charge.
6 high-tech bikes that bring cycling to a new level
By Cat DiStasio For cyclists who want to go farther, ride faster and look cooler doing it, there are a lot of options on the market when it comes to high-end bikes. This week we're gawking over a few of the world's most technologically enhanced cycles. Some are electric hybrids; some transform for better ergonomics; and some take the notion of a bicycle and darn near throw it out the window. From the innovative to the chic to the out of this world, here are six of the world's most incredible (and expensive) rides on two wheels.
Specialized Turbo e-bike reaches the US, offers a speed boost for $5,900
When Specialized's Turbo e-bike launched last year, it was almost too fast for its own good when it couldn't legally be sold in Europe and the US. The American riders, at least, won't be held back now that the Turbo is on sale in their country. The US version costs an eye-watering $5,900, but it can reach the same 27.9MPH peak speed through its combination of pedal power and the 250W of typical output from the electric motor. With that kind of performance, it could almost pay for itself -- who wouldn't want to blow past rush hour traffic in the bike lane?
Engadget takes a ride on the Faraday Porteur e-bike
We've watched as Faraday Bicycles' first offering, the Porteur electric bike, went from award-winning concept to a fully-fledged consumer product courtesy of Kickstarter. Recently, company founder Adam Vollmer offered us the chance to ride one, and naturally, we couldn't wait see it for ourselves and put feet to pedals.%Gallery-161281% First impressions are important, a fact of which the folks at Faraday are clearly aware. The Porteur's white frame, wood fenders, and sea foam green trim pieces and rims provide a pleasing visual counterpart to the leatherwork adorning the seat, frame and handlebars. Add in the yesteryear script of the logo and vermilion detailing work, and it's retro done right -- visually arresting without being gaudy. As is often the case, the coolest bits of the bike reveal themselves upon close inspection. We're fans of the leather pouch (for holding smartphones or other sundries) nestled between the parallel top tubes and chain stay guard embossed with the Faraday name. And, the addition of the company slogan claiming it's "the ultimate electric propelled utility bicycle" along with each bike's production number is a nice touch. But enough about its good looks, how's the thing ride?
Audi e-bike Wörthersee lets you pop wheelies eco-style, plays nice with your smartphone
We're no stranger to e-bikes here, but most of the examples we've seen so far have very much been meant for A-to-B rides. Audi's aiming to fix that with its e-bike Wörthersee prototype. The carbon fiber transport not only has a strong 2.3kW motor -- the most powerful ever in a bike, so says Audi -- but can use that power for tricks. You can flick the Wörthersee into a wheelie mode and either shift your weight around or leave it fully automatic, depending on the fierceness of your stunt skills. Not that it'll be a timid ride if you prefer to keep both wheels on the ground, as a motor-assisted pedaling mode will take you up to 50MPH, and you can still ride at 31MPH if you're not keen on using your legs. That's faster than the already speedy Grace One City we tried, folks. The vorsprung durch technik also comes through a smartphone tie-in, although in a much more stunt-savvy way than the app- and tuning-focused Ford E-Bike Concept: it tracks video and trick runs, both for its own game system and for bragging rights on Facebook. With a very light 3.5-pound carbon fiber frame and a quick 2.5-hour charge-up time, the e-bike Wörthersee sounds like a wild ride that will charge quickly enough for a spin on your lunch break, but we wouldn't rush to put down a deposit. Audi is calling the prototype a "show bike," which is a sign than the design as-is won't show up at the local sports store. We'll let you know if the Wörthersee or a more pragmatic descendant makes the leap to a dealer.
San Francisco gearing up for electric bike sharing program
Anyone who's ever attempted to ride a bike in San Francisco can attest to just how rough the city's numerous hills can be on the lower body. Thankfully, government dollars are set to go a ways toward making electric bicycles a tiny bit more prevalent amongst the local populace. The city by the bay's CarShare program will be getting funding to bring some 90 e-bikes to 25 locations in SF and nearby Berkeley, beginning with 45 bikes in the second half of this year. Forty-five more will be coming in 2013.
BOXX electric bike: two wheels, four corners, all-electric transport for one
Has bicycle design reached its pinnacle? Or are electric bike manufacturers just not trying hard enough? The YikeBike begs to differ, and here joining it is BOXX Corporation's diminutive BOXX. Coming in at just under a meter (or 36-inch inches) long, the 120 pound aluminum "bike" has a top speed of 35 miles per hour and can even haul up to 300 pounds of heft. Yet, despite that compact footprint, the company hasn't skimped on tech, as it boasts traction control, anti-lock brakes and yes, even LED lights. Available in one of ten colors, $3,995 nets you a base 40-mile range model, which can optionally be doubled to 80 by ticking the $599 CORE 2 box. And for those willing to spruce even further, there's a $149 heated seat and $349 1-hour charger on offer. Ready to literally hunker down on electric mobility? Go on, peep the source links below -- do it, we've even linked the configurator.
Grace One City e-motorbike review
There comes a time in nearly every person's life when they need to get up, get out the door and get to work. Some drive, some walk, some take one form of public transportation or another -- but a noble few do something different. Those people ride their bikes, holding on to the passion gained in a childhood of racing around the neighborhood on Huffys and Schwinns, skinning knees or elbows when the latest attempt at a sweet jump turned a little sour. Sure, those people may say they're saving money or the environment by riding a bike into work, but we all know they do it for fun. As is the case with most wheeled pursuits, the fun factor increases with the speed, and with that idea we welcome to you to the Grace One. It's a German electric bike that offers more high-tech trappings than your average economy car -- a good thing, because it costs nearly as much as one. What does this $6,000 bike offer? Speed. Sweet, effortless speed (up to 25MPH without you burning a single calorie), and we recently had the chance to put one through its paces. Read on to see how we fared. %Gallery-136083%
Silverback's Starke city bikes charge your gadgets, firm your thighs
Cyclists have a lot to be proud of -- what with their terrific gams, above average lung capacity and eco-friendly locomotive choice. But tech isn't exactly an area that falls under their outdoors-y province, unless they're sporting one of Silverback's Starke bicycles. The line of city bikes offers up four models for the two-wheel enthusiast, but it's the Starke 1 and 2 that's caught our gadget-obsessed attention. Included in the head tube of either bike's frame is a USB port powered by a hub dynamo that'll play nicely with any of your low-voltage devices. If you're looking for an electric motor-assisted cruise, you'll have to opt for the Starke 1, but otherwise both nine-speeders share the same nickel alloy frame and weigh in at roughly 30lbs. Sound like your kind of 21st century ride? Then hit the source link below for your personal Tour de high-tech bikes.
Third generation Smart Fortwo ditches Tesla powertrain, gains two wheeled cousin
Time and tide wait for no man, folks. Nearly nine months after delivering the first electric Fortwos to snuggie-toting yanks, Daimler's gone and announced its faster and longer-lasting successor. It's not an entirely new car mind you, rather an extensive under the hood nip and tuck that replaces the Tesla powertrain with a more potent unit sourced from EM-motive. Up 34 horses from the previous model, the 74 horsepower EV now scoots from 0-60 in a "lively" 13 seconds -- a vast improvement over the 23.4 second (!) time of its predecessor. It's got a larger 17.6kWh battery pack too, which increases range a smidge to 87 miles. And this isn't another EV trial: it'll be produced in volume and sold (not leased) in 30 countries at an undisclosed price. Joining the revised city dweller is the matching Smart Ebike. The electrically assisted bicycle gives meat bags a choice of four levels of laziness as it propels them 60 miles between charges. At €2,900 (or around $4,000) it's no bargain, but you didn't think transportational color coordination came cheap, did you? Expect more on both come September when they are officially unveiled at IAA Frankfurt, but our friends at Autoblog Green have plenty of pics for your perusal at the source below.
YikeBike unveils less-expensive folding electric bike, Jackie Chan dons celebratory tuxedo
Our main complaint with the folding electric YikeBike -- besides the not-quite-catchy name – was the $3,795 price tag. The company's trying to ease the price pain with the Fusion, a new model that'll cost you $1,995. The savings come from replacing the carbon fiber body with aluminum and composites, which does, unfortunately, add about 6.6 pounds, pushing the total weight over 30 pounds. But that shouldn't hamper portability, and you'll still get six miles of travel on a single charge (or 12 miles with an optional battery backpack). YikeBike will sell the cheaper model through a network of distributors, allowing it to expand its customer base beyond the 250 bikes sold so far, to, among others, Google and Jackie Chan. So if you previously couldn't afford to follow in the kung fu master's tracks, well, now you have one less excuse. [Thanks, Dan]
Yamaha doubles down on PAS CITY electric bicycle battery longevity
The biggest problem with electric bicycles? All of that pesky pedaling. Thankfully, some of the world's top engineering minds are innovating all sorts of ways to lighten that load. Like Yamaha Motors, whose new PAS CITY-X, PAS CITY-C, and PAS Compact feature amped up batteries that can be charged twice as many times as their predecessors. You'll get somewhere from 10 to 15 miles on a charge, depending on the setting -- unfortunately not quite far enough for us to ride one back home to the States. The models will hit their native country on May 20th, at ¥106,800 ($1,299) for the CITY-X and ¥103,800 ($1,262) for the City-C and City-Compact models. Between the improved battery life and all of that artificial intelligence though, these things clearly won't have much use for us in the near future. %Gallery-122379%