electric bikes
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An e-bike sharing company co-founded by Usain Bolt appears to have shut down
An e-bike- startup co-founded by Olympian Usain Bolt appears to have shut down operations, highlighting recent problems in the micromobility sector.
Specialized partners with a Tesla co-founder to recycle e-bike batteries
By all accounts, e-bikes are having a bit of a moment: at one point during the pandemic, sales of powered bicycles outpaced all others by a considerable margin. The appealing of easy, socially distanced rides can be hard to ignore, but the resulting boom in sales has led to a pivotal moment for e-bike makers: What do they do with the batteries once they can’t power rides anymore?
Tour de France winner Greg LeMond is making cute carbon e-bikes
Today, his personal company — simply called LeMond — has launched two pedal-assist bicycles built almost entirely from carbon fiber. Both have carbon fiber frames, seat posts and, unusually, barstems.
Zero Motorcycles recalls 2012 models with 'lack of weatherproofing'
If you took Zero Motorcycles up on its offer for 25,000 free miles with the purchase of a bike, you might be turning in those wheels for a fix-up soon. According to Asphalt and Rubber, the electric motorcycle maker is recalling 254 of its 2012 units due to "insufficient weatherproofing." The affected models are at risk for an electrical short inside the battery management system, which could cause the bikes to cut power during in wet weather. Zero says it will notify owners with faulty motorcycles and repair the bikes free of charge. This isn't the company's first recall -- in 2009, it pulled models that were prone to crashing more than usual, and just a few days ago Zero recalled 2011 and 2012 bikes with a faulty brake light switch.
Ego-Kits declares victory over nature, gravity with its E-Powered Downhill Bike Kit
In a move that is sure to excite the outdoorsman (or outdoors-lady, as it were) in us all, German outfit Ego-Kits has unveiled the E-Powered Downhill Bike Kit so you don't have to go through all that pesky exercise getting to the top of the mountain to enjoy the thrill of bombing back down. The kit comes with a 1200-watt aluminum motor that mounts under the down tube of 70 percent of downhill bike models, a battery pack (contained within an included backpack), charger, controller module, crankset, chain, and twist grip throttle with a battery charge indicator. We don't know the price or when the system will officially go on sale, but we do know that when mounted on a mountain bike, it looks cooler than other, more pedestrian electric bikes we've seen previously. Jump after the break to see the Ego-Kit in action.
BlackTrail BT-01 is the $80,000 electric bicycle of your dreams (video)
When Germany's PG-Bikes sets out to build a cruiser, it doesn't mess around -- the contraption above may look like an electric bike, but when it goes on sale in the US this year, you may have to register it as a motorcycle. Constructed of lightweight carbon fiber, aerospace aluminum, titanium and magnesium, the BlackTrail BT-01 travels up to 65MPH with a 1.2 kilowatt motor embedded in its 44 pound frame, and can carry you across 120 miles on a single 2.5-hour charge of the leather-clad 17Ah Li-ion battery pack. Of course, those sorts of numbers don't come cheap -- the company's marketing it to the likes of West Coast Customs, The Sharper Image and a vehicle enthusiast named Jay Leno -- and each of the 667 limited pieces will cost $80,000, the better part of a Tesla Roadster and far beyond a Brammo. Still, if anyone has an offshore bank account they care to donate, we call dibs on 666 -- the number of the beast. Video after the break.
HMK 561 electric bike concept seats you on the battery, makes you significantly more attractive
Most electric bikes are fairly sordid affairs, little more than an ordinary bicycle with a motorized hub, a strap-on battery pack and regenerative braking capabilities (if you're lucky). Not this HMK 561 electric bicycle concept, which took home an iF Design Award for some seriously forward thinking. It's not just the stylish forward rake of this juiced cruiser that's innovative, it's the frame -- composed completely of a conductive carbon fiber weave that allows the bike's body to not just pass electricity to the motors, but actually store it like a giant capacitor. Factor in integrated lights and a pinch of that aforesaid regenerative braking at each axle, and you've just about got the bicycle of our dreams. Oh, and did we mention a prototype has already been built? Yeah. %Gallery-88012%
