Electric bikes have exploded in popularity this year.You don’t have to take our word for it – you can see that electric bike sales numbers are off the charts.
Consumer interest in e-bikes continues to grow, with more riders running on pavement and dirt.Electric alone has brought tens of millions of views to e-bike news stories this year, further demonstrating the fascination of the industry.Now we take a look back at the biggest e-bike news stories of the year.
When launched its vision  e-bike, it knew full well that a fast e-bike would not meet any current legal definition of an e-bike.
The powerful motor enables it to reach a top speed of 60 km/h (37 mph), which far exceeds the typical legal limit of electric bikes in almost every country in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania.
The top speed is technically modifiable via a smartphone app, allowing it to be lowered anywhere from 25-45 km/h (15-28 mph) to suit various local speed regulations. even came up with the idea of ​​using geofencing to adjust the speed limit in real-time, meaning you can go full speed on private roads and trails, and then let the bike automatically drop back to the local speed limit when you enter public roads.Alternatively, the speed limit might be lower in the city center, and then automatically increase the speed when the rider hops onto the bigger, faster road.
But is well aware of what it’s doing, and says the e-bike concept is more about encouraging conversations about updating e-bike regulations to include higher speeds and a more powerful product.As the company explains:
“In the absence of any existing legal framework for such vehicles with a modular speed concept,   Vehicles set out to facilitate the introduction of such legislation, and therefore the development of this nature.”
The high-speed and geo-fencing capabilities of e-bikes aren’t the only things that stand out.also equips the e-bike with a 2,000 Wh battery, which is about 3-4 times the capacity of the average battery in today’s e-bikes.
The company claims the e-bike will have a pedal-assisted range of 300 kilometers (186 miles) in the lowest power mode.
If you don’t already know, I’m writing a weekly column called You pretty much either love it or hate it.
The series is largely a witty column where I found a funny, silly or outrageous electric car on China’s biggest shopping site.It’s always great, weird, or both.
This time I found a particularly interesting electric bike designed for three riders.Despite the very odd design, a big driver of interest could be the $750 price tag, plus free shipping.
This is for the “low capacity battery” option, which is only 384 Wh.But you can choose from options including 720 Wh, 840 Wh, or the ridiculous 960 Wh package, all without pushing the price over $1,000.That in itself is remarkable.
But the practicality of this thing really brings it home.Three seats, full suspension, a pet cage (which I think should probably never be used for real pets), and more make this thing functional.
There’s even a motor lock to prevent someone from stealing the bike, rear pedals, front folding pedals, folding pedals (basically lots of places for three people to put their feet) and more!
In fact, after writing about this weird little electric bike, I was so obsessed with it that I went ahead and bought one.It turned out to be a roller coaster after spending months navigating through the cargo ship backlog in Long Beach, California.When it finally landed, the container it was in was “broken” and my bike was “undeliverable”.
I have a replacement bike on the road right now and hope this one actually delivers so I can share with you how this bike performs in real life.
Sometimes the biggest news stories are not about a specific vehicle at all, but about bold new technology.
That was the case when Schaeffler presented its new electric bike drive-by-wire system called Freedrive.It completely removes any chain or belt from the e-bike drivetrain.
The pedals don’t have any sort of mechanical connection to the rear wheel, but simply power a generator that transmits power to the e-bike’s hub motors.
This is a very fascinating system that opens the door to very creative e-bike designs.One of the first e-bikes that worked best was cargo e-bikes, which were often hampered by the need to connect the pedal drive via a mechanical linkage to a rear drive wheel that was located far away and disconnected from the pedal multiple times.
We saw this drive mounted on a particularly large cargo e-bike at Eurobike 2021 and it worked very well, although the team is still tweaking it to improve performance across the gear range.
It seems that people really like high-speed electric bikes, or at least they do like reading about them.The top five e-bike news stories for 2021 include two high-speed e-bikes.
Not to be outdone, Dutch e-bike manufacturer VanMoof has announced a high-speed superbike called the that will hit speeds of 31 mph (50 km/h) or 37 mph (60 km/h), depending on Depends on which company you read the rep or press release.
A full-suspension e-bike is more than just a concept, though.While hasn’t said it plans to make an extremely fast e-bike,says it will actually bring its own superbike to market.
Taking a page from  book,  also claims its goal is to advance discussions on e-bike regulations.
“The is our first superbike, an e-bike dedicated to higher speeds and longer distances. I believe this new high-speed e-bike can completely replace scooters and cars in cities by 2025.
We call for people-centred policies that rethink how public spaces are used if they are not occupied by cars.I’m excited to think about what a city will look like in the near future, and we’re proud to be part of the change by building the right transition tools.”
The electric bike federal tax credit, similar to the electric vehicle tax credit, has been the big news this year since it was first proposed  in February.
While some see the e-bike tax credit as a long shot, the proposal received a huge vote of confidence when it passed the actual vote in the . House of  as part of the Build Back Better Act.
The tax credit is capped at $900, down from the original planned $15,000 limit.It only works with e-bikes under $4,000.The original plan limited the tax credit to e-bikes priced under $8,000.The lower bound rules out some of the more expensive e-bike options that come with price tags tied to their ability to spend years replacing their daily commuter cars.
While there are still several models of e-bikes priced under $1,000, most of the popular e-bikes cost thousands of dollars and still fit a pending frame.
The inclusion of e-bikes in the federal  tax credit follows extensive support and lobbying from the public and groups such as PeopleForBikes.
“The latest vote on the Build Back Better ​​Act includes bicycles as part of the climate solution, thanks to new financial incentives for bicycles and e-bikes and grants to infrastructure improvements focused on climate and equity We urge the Senate to activate the  by the end of the year, so we can begin our efforts to reduce transportation emissions while keeping everyone mobile, no matter how they travel or where they live.”
We’re seeing a lot of exciting new e-bikes in 2021, as well as new technology and pushing the question of re-building legal e-bikes.
Now, 2022 could be an even more exciting year as manufacturers begin to recover from severe supply chain shortages, allowing them to bring new ideas and models to market.
What do you think we will see in the e-bike industry in 2022?Let us hear your thoughts in the comments section below.For a nostalgic trip back in time (12-24 months), check out last year’s top e-bike news coverage of 2020.