Tariffs, Rad, and the E-Bike Industry: What’s Really Going On? TWR Ep 61

Tariffs, Rad, and the E-Bike Industry: What’s Really Going On? TWR Ep 61

Welcome to Electric Bike Report. My name’s John >> and I’m Griffin. >> We have a ton to cover this week, including an update on the Rad Powerbike situation through a Washington Post article that we actually contributed to. >> That’s right. We’ve got more color to add to that story. >> We’ve also got a counterfeit bust to report on, and that was uh Specialized Products worth $1.5 million. >> It’s a bad day to be a counterfeitter. >> Sure is. And then we’re going to help you with your buying decision through a whole bunch of ebike comparisons. What more could you ask for on this episode of the weekly recharge? All right, so before we get into the news, we actually have a quick update on the t-shirt front. So, we’re going to have t-shirts going out to writers of the week and those that have purchased on our pre-order um starting next week. We were hoping uh we will do a dedicated video to show you all uh when they are ready to ship. So stay tuned on that front. Also, if you haven’t yet put in for your free t-shirt, if you have been a past rider of the week, make sure to fill out the form down in the description so that you can get you your free t-shirt. >> Go shirts. >> It’s very exciting. It >> is very exciting. >> But anyway, diving into the actual news stories this week. Uh first thing on the docket is a story about Bosch eBike Systems. They completed their acquisition of a separate company called Mura Parts and Services. Um so this separate company was sort of jointly owned uh by both Bosch and Mura which is also known as Gustav Menworth GmbH and company KG. >> That’s a bit of a mouthful. >> It’s a mouthful. Um so each of them had a 50% stake and this separate company Mura Bosch parts and services or MBPS uh basically dealt in aftermarket components for bikes and ebikes as well as they their service. Uh so MEPS has a dealer network in in Europe. They are very well established over there. They have 30,000 plus locations. Uh and then we’ve got a quote here from Armen Hartig, the head of sales and service at Bosch Bike Systems who said, “Excellent service and close contact with specialist dealers are crucial to the success of Bosch eBike Systems. We are now investing further in this foundation. With the acquisition of MBPS, we are ideally positioned to respond rapidly to diverse market requirements and at the same time strengthen our service business in Europe in the long term. So, uh, MBPS is going to continue to service and provide replacement parts for Mura products while Mura itself will focus on its core brake part business. Uh, and then MBPS is also operating officially now as a subsidiary of Bosch. uh but its workforce that is about 170 people is going to remain in place at its current headquarters and that is in uh Ningan Germany something like that. >> Nice accent on that one. >> I don’t know if that’s accurate or not but [laughter] anyway >> it was a good attempt nonetheless. I like Bosch. I like my girl. A little synergy maybe between the companies down the line. Yeah, I’m not mad about it. >> I thought it was pretty cool to see like these two kind of titans in the industry working together and kind of continuing to do so even after, you know, a sort of buyout situation. So >> I’m all for it. So for our next headline here, we actually have specialized AliExpress and Chinese law enforcement teaming up to take down counterfeit busts worth $1.5 million. So the three groups shut down two different counterfeit manufacturers in China. And the counterfeits made fake specialized frames and Roval handlebars and wheels along with other products branded under Trek, Cannondale, Surveo, and Pinorello um brands. the uh in a statement from AliExpress said that this was the biggest bust in Specialized history and pointed out that the counterfeit products often ba bypass quality and safety standards and can fail catastrophically, which is bad. John, >> that sounds bad. >> There’s your new. >> So, Specialized Global Brand Protection Manager Andrew Love said, “Specialized is unwavering in its commitment to protecting its riders and upholding a zero tolerance policy against dangerous counterfeit products. These illicit operations not only exploit uh consumers but also undermine trust in authentic goods. We are fully dedicated to safeguarding our customers and combating organized crime in a global scale. The success of this largest counterfeit bust in the cycling industry highlights the profound impact of collaboration between brands like ours and techdriven platforms like AliExpress. Um happy to see this because it’s not ever a good thing when you’re, you know, trying to sneak by shoddy products under premium names. People are going to get hurt if they think they’ve stumbled across like the deal of a lifetime. Oh, I’m getting some cheap specialized gear and then it’s falling apart. That’s just bad for everybody involved. So, I’m glad to see they were able to crack down. >> Totally. Yeah. I you know, that’s unclear how long this these counterfeiters have been producing counterfeit parts. It’s unclear how many items actually did make their way into the hands of consumers. So, hopefully nobody gets hurt >> by these products out there. So, >> uh but next story is about Ducati. They are going to release a new line of electric road, gravel, and mountain bikes in spring of 2026. So, of course, Ducati is best known for its motorcycles, uh, but they actually started developing ebikes way back in 2018. They worked with a company called Thbike, and uh, they released their first line through their dealers in the US in 2020. Uh, so now Ducati is actually partnering with an Italian holding company that is called Groupo Zaketto, and they’re working with a group of professional cyclists to develop these new ebikes. Um, but this Groupo Zaketto is pretty interesting. It actually owns the uh component manufacturer Diamont Compositi which makes uh carbon and composite uh components and frames. So um the Italian road cyclists Aaliyah Vivani and Vincenzone Nibali are helping to develop the road and gravel bikes, but then there’s another rider named Lorenzan Suding and a few other cyclists who are working on the EMTB side of things. So the company CEO whose name is Clauddio Dominicali stated uh with this new product we aim to strengthen our presence in the cycling sector. The collaboration with Diamont together with the contribution of Italian cycling champions such as Vincenzo Nibali, Ellia Vivani and Lorenzo Suding allows us to develop high performance bicycles designed to offer enthusiasts a level of quality and excitement comparable to that of our motorcycles. The step comes after a journey built with THC whom I wish to thank for the valuable work done together over the years. Uh so at this point in time it is not public whether the bikes will be available in the US through the dealers like they were before or direct to consumer sale or maybe both. Um but we hope to uh get more details on this in the spring. And then the bikes are also going to be paired with a new line of performance apparel apparel and accessories that are designed specifically to work with these bikes. I mean, really looking forward to seeing like what comes to fruition from all of this. I’m curious if anyone in our audience is actually a Ducati rider and their thoughts about them moving over into the ebike space. But, you know, either way, looking forward to seeing what the products uh when they roll off the line. >> Yeah, it’s always interesting to see. I mean, we we tested the Mercedes bike recently. So, it’s kind of interesting to see these partnerships. And >> there’s even like, you know, uh Harley-Davidson’s like serial one from a few years back and stuff. Those bikes were like pretty like interesting and stuff, but um again, we’ll see what rolls off the line here shortly. >> Pretty stoked. And for our next headline, we have turns New York City delivery fleet of cargo bikes past the 1 million mile milestone. That’s pretty cool accomplishment. So, the company’s urban cargo ebikes are being used for commercial delivery work with riders wearing safety vests and riding turn bikes pulling Carla cargo trailers. The brand said that its bikes have been in use since 2021, sometimes up to 16 or even 20 hours per day. Altogether, they’re making over 13 million deliveries per year across the city, with some fleets averaging 22 deliveries per hour for a total of around 360 deliveries per day. Some individual bikes have covered more than 30,000 m with no frame or fork failures. And their Bosch motors and batteries have held up well with motors rarely having issues and batteries often exceeding their expected lifespan. And when there have been problems, Bosch service network has taken care of the problems quickly and effectively. Uh, these bikes are UL2849 certified and have gone through hundreds of thousands of charge cycles with no incident of thermal runaway or fire. Always a big thing worth talking about in New York City. Uh, the bikes have also performed consistently in New York City’s uh, fluctuating temperatures and both extreme cold and intense summer heat being a strain on electrical systems. Turn pointed out that its commercial bikes are the same ones sold to consumers. So families and individuals aren’t likely to put their bikes through such extreme conditions. But this is just like a really cool confidence packing. Like hearing just how capable these things are going like tens of thousands of miles, no hiccups, no failures, no issues, just riding, riding, riding. Like that’s freaking awesome. >> Yeah. 16 hours, 20 hours a day. Like that’s wild. >> Hopefully like by different drivers. I assume they’re by different drivers, but that was my first I was like, >> I would hope so too. I mean, you never know the holiday season, you know, there tons of packages to deliver. Uh but anyway, let’s wrap things up with our update on the Rad Power Bike situation, which also ties in with the tariff stuff. So, uh this Washington Post article that we contributed to uh kind of dives into both those stories and how tariffs affected Rad Power Bikes as well as the industry as a whole. Um now, really interestingly here, it touches back on the sort of first round of tariffs that came into place last year, the section 301 tariffs. Uh so that was an exemption that ebikes uh ebikes were not subject to tariffs prior to that exemption expiring back in June 2024 under the Biden administration. Um, and so at that point when the exemption was set to expire, People for Bikes requested an extension for it, but actually Sean Lupton Lupton Smith, who’s the former owner of the now defunct electric bike company, >> actually pushed for that exemption to expire. Uh, which is >> surprising. Uh so he claimed basically that his business which imported individual components and assembled ebikes here uh had to unfairly pay 25% tariffs on parts while other ebike brands that imported complete bikes didn’t have to pay those tariffs. And so we strongly pushed back against his stance at that time. We encouraged him to reverse that thought and lobby for an exemption uh for bikes that were assembled in the USA. So that would be applies you know strictly to him but unfortunately he continued to push and lobby for that exemption to expire. Um so in again this article there’s a senior council for international trade at Cra and Moing whose name I hope I can pronounce Xiwei Chen said that basically the push from electric bike company likely caused the United States trade representative to allow the exemption to expire. and he said that the quote the USR made clear that where there are opposing comments generally they won’t approve the extension. >> So yeah, since then imported ebikes and parts have also been subject to additional tariffs. So the Trump administration’s reciprocal and fentinel tariffs uh right now the total on ebikes is right around 45%. But then we have a couple things kind of on the horizon that could even add to that more. The section 232 material tariffs and an additional battery tariff beginning next year. So, you know, it’s very unfortunate. These tariffs are what caused electric bike company to close their doors and file for bankruptcy. Uh, and you know, we’re seeing that impact other brands as well. But even more unfortunate about the electric bike company situation is that while they were suffering, they tried to raise capital from individuals, people like you and I, from uh a platform called Start Engine. So what from what we see on that page, it’s really clear that the electric bike company team didn’t understand the impact of tariffs and they even went so far as to claim that their business was tariff resilient which was clearly false and they ended up most likely hurting a lot of individuals and brands as well. So yeah, I mean we have we have a lot of thoughts about this matter. I was going to say there’s a lot to unpack there, but we’re really highlighting this specific part of the article from the Washington Post because it shows a few key points that we want all of our readers to understand. So, first of all, tariffs hurt both consumers and American companies and the people who are employed there. That is pretty evident over you’ve watched episodes over the last year plus with us. That’s >> it’s a consistent theme. >> It’s a consistent theme. Um, no bikes or bike parts are fully being manufactured here. You can find people doing parts of it, but nothing fully done here in the United States. Even one errant voice from the industry can negatively impact all of us as we kind of saw with that particular case of electric bike company. We continue to ask our viewers and readers to reach out to their representatives and voice your concerns over the current tariffs on ebikes. As John illustrated, 45% still in effect, potentially more coming down the pipe. It’s just asking an industry to weather a whole lot that they really just >> sort of can’t like, >> right? I mean, we’ve seen prices rise by hundreds of dollars in the last year. just pretty stark stuff. And then we also recommend that you don’t support any companies who are pushing for higher tariffs. Uh such as right now, Guardian Bikes. Um we didn’t realize how much a single voice could like influence an entire industry. Um but a small company like electric bike company could have such a huge impact on legislation and we just don’t want to see that happening again. So right now they are actually trying to push to impose more tariffs on steel and aluminum. I believe >> that is correct >> because they feel insulated from it. But as we’ve seen in the past, one company might not be insulated from it and it’s going to do damages to an entire, you know, sector, >> right? We’ve seen, you know, multiple bike companies and component companies shut down or, you know, at least pull back from the US market because of all all of these things. >> And the and the final point we want our readers to understand here is that you need to be very careful, especially with a reggg CF filing, which is similar to what electric buying company did on Start Engine. Um, that thing can have serious implications for anyone looking to invest in a company in that way. So, finally, you notice that the article that we’re mentioning here was predominantly about Rad Power Bikes. And while we don’t have any official update on their situation, we have been trying to find any kind of evidence or verifiable reports that would back up the claim that there have been 31 fires from RAD’s external battery packs, especially in the last 1 to 2 years. We to be clear, we have not been able to find anything. So, if you have seen any local news stories that point to specific fires with RAD batteries, please let us know. We would love to follow up as we’ve been getting a lot of questions on that ourselves. And then again, we find it just a bit weird that the CPSC has not actually shared any of that data to the information with the public. And we think it’s a bit unfair to RAD to and not helpful to RAD ebike owners to share that information. There’s like 700,000 RAD riders out there and we don’t have any like concrete details or specifics. Again, I’m getting text messages. We’re getting comments across like our our channels and website. People are wanting to know more and we don’t have any specifics because they’re not being shared with us. It just seems a little bit weird that there’s, you know, not more. Yeah, >> information available from the CPSC. >> If you have any info on those reported fires or any other additional details about this, you can let us know down in the comments section or email us at a or sorry, an email address that we’re going to repeat a whole lot during this episode that is questions electricbikereport.com. But that does it for this week’s news. All right, folks. It is trivia time where we test our knowledge on ebikes, our testing database, the industry, all sorts of stuff. Unfortunately, we’re on two straight weeks of tying. We got to put an end to that nonsense. So, John, don’t worry. I’ll go ahead and win this week, so we don’t have any more ties to deal with. >> Haha. Funny. >> Yay. [laughter] Uh, >> you can follow along at home, though. >> That’s right. You can play along at home and let us know how you did. Let’s go ahead and get to the questions. Uh, Christina will be reading those off. Everybody say, “Hi, Christina.” >> Hi, Christina. >> Hello, everyone. >> All right. Question number one. What do we got? >> All right. Number one. A class 2 ebike in the US must have what feature to be legal? A. No throttle. B. Throttle capped at 20 miles per hour. C. Mid drive motor only. D. Regenerative braking. >> This marker isn’t super. Yep. Anyway, >> it’s probably a disqualification. >> Correct. To be the throttle capped at 20. Your marker isn’t markering. >> Uh, yeah. It’s fine. We’ll we’ll roll with it. >> We’ll make it work in the process. It’s all good though. >> All right. Tied. Moving on. Number two. Bosch smart system uses what wireless protocol for apptoike communication? A. NFC. B. Bluetooth LE. Three C 3 or C whatever you want to choose. Ant plus D. Wi-Fi Direct. One, two, three. >> Uh, Griffin takes a lead with B. >> Dang it. >> Bluetooth LE. >> Okay. >> Boss, >> you know, last week Griffin was ahead quite a long time and then you closed it at the end. >> Let’s not jinx me again. [laughter] >> Oh, please, please keep those drinks going. >> All right, number three. Which motor type generally has the least maintenance? A, gear hub. B, belt drive hub. C, direct drive hub. Or D, mid drive. We should have some Jeopardy music. Correct. C. Direct drive hub. That’s why I’m back out. >> Did you guess, John? >> I What >> did you guess? >> Uh, I did. Yes. >> You looked You looked like you were unsure. You looked hesitant. >> It was either that or mid drive. [laughter] All [snorts] right, number four. Which company originally developed the Involo Planetary CVT used in many ebikes? A Gates, B New Vinci Technologies, C Shran, or D Pinion. >> One more time. >> A, >> that means he doesn’t know. >> A doesn’t know. >> B, Newinci Technologies. C, ShraMM, or D, Pinion. B New Vinci is a new Vinci rebranded to Nvolo in 2017 2018. >> That’s correct. Good to know. >> That is correct. [laughter] >> It’s a It’s an Adam serious movie. Sorry. [laughter] >> Tell that to yourself. You’re the one who’s losing. Maybe you should start taking it more seriously, John. >> All right. Number five. >> One point. >> Griffin’s still up one. All right. Number five. Which braking compound provides the best heat resistance on high-speed ebikes? A resin pads, B semi- metallic pads, C full metallic pads, or D ceramic pads? >> Can you read the question one more time? >> Yeah. Which braking compound provides the best heat resistance on high-speed ebikes? >> Okay. Gear marker is awful. That is so [laughter] like nails on a chalkboard. >> You are both wrong. >> It is C. Full metallic brakes. >> Is a full metallic. >> They maintain performance longer under heat. >> That’s surprising cuz heat is a conductor. I mean, metal is a conductor. >> Heat is a conductor. Yeah. >> Science. >> Science. [laughter] >> All right, number six. So, Griffin’s still up one, right? >> Just one. Number six. >> Just one. What is I just need? >> That’s all he needs. >> You don’t get bonus points for winning by two. >> I’m coming back. I got this. >> All right. Number six. What is the main advantage of internal cable routing on ebikes? A. Cheaper frames. B. Higher power output. C. Cleaner look and cable protection. Or D. Faster charging. >> John just wrote D. D. John. P >> correct. C. Cleaner look and cable protection. >> All right, John. >> I know. >> Are you sweating? >> Everything’s riding on this one. >> I’m sweating. I’m nervous for you. >> I need a little extra mile. We’re good. Okay. >> Okay. Number seven. What is our average PAS5 pedal speed across all bikes tested thus far on the Devil’s Backbone? >> Oo. >> A. 13.2 mph. B, 17.6 miles per hour, C 15.8 miles per hour or D 14.9 miles hour. >> I can’t confirm it is one of those. >> I >> That’s a good question. >> have an unfair advantage. >> What? >> Oh, snap. >> I actually didn’t calculate this earlier. >> No. 14.9 miles. Thank you so much for for outing yourself there and saying you had an unfair advantage. [laughter] Last question doesn’t count. Clearly the winner and it’s okay. Fine. We tie yet again. Five to five. >> We do need to have like tiebreers or >> if I was not stuck back here, I would have totally gave you a high five. I wouldn’t have let you hang in there. >> That’s okay. That’s Yeah, >> that’s okay. So it goes. Let us know how you guys did down in the comments and if you beat John or I and ran the table. All right, let’s take a quick look at new stuff we have in testing and things that have gone live. So, we did get one bike in. What? >> Sort of. Take a look. >> Well, yeah, sort. Yeah, good point. Yes, we did get one bike in. Unfortunately, it is under embargo, so we can’t give you details on it, but I can tell you that it is pretty lightweight and it is the latest in a line of ebikes that’s pretty popular. So, >> that’s true. We figured we make we’ll make a game out of this since we can’t tell you full details. Let’s start a guessing game. lightweight and you know latest edition. >> Sound off with your guesses down below. >> All right, but there are a couple things we can talk about that went live at least. So that concludes my review of the IMA Key West. So this one was a really nice lightweight city cruiser eBike. John was really impressed with the first IMA bike that we reviewed. >> Santa Monica. >> Santa Monica. That’s right. And this one kind of continued the trend. So positive early returns on this brand. Um like I said, it’s lightweight. It is very like comfortable. It’s got like, you know, moves. The handling on it is just really, really nice. Having that lightweight frame, still comfortable like a cruiser. It’s got just like nice little touches throughout. So, check out that review if you want more details on that. Ebikes are great, but they’re not all that useful unless you have some cool places to ride them. So, we like to highlight a different place every week in this show. So, Griffin, where are we heading today? >> Um, so today we’re actually heading to the Shannandoa Valley in the Virginia area. So, this was actually a suggestion from someone who wrote in, Michael Ryson. Uh we’re going to actually talk about him a little bit later in the show as well, but thank you so much for the uh you know suggestion here. And also just a huge huge thank you to two different websites, bike the valley.org and the sv svbcoalition.org for having just such detailed websites for this whole area. It really helped me put this together. The cycling community out there is seriously just on the ball. I’ll be stitching together some of the best bits of information from those sites. Um but basically this area, it’s Virginia’s again Virginia’s Shannandoa Valley. It’s nestled between the Blue Ridge and Alagany Mountains. Uh running almost 150 miles from Rock East Coast. Are you >> definitely not? Did I say a bunch of stuff wrong? >> Yeah, a little bit. That’s okay. >> Um well, you know, I am from Utah, born and raised, so forgive me for whatever it is I butcher here. I’m trying my best. But uh anyways, runs almost 150 miles from Rockbridge County to Frederick County. I’m confident on those ones, John. Dotted >> easy. [laughter] >> And it’s just dotted with college town surrounded by thousands of acres of agricultural lands and national forests. Um, this is just a hugely cycling friendly area from all the details that I was able to find about it. There’s a mixed bag of greenways and paths, road and gravel routes and mountain biking as well. Thought we’d break down a couple of the trails I looked into that looked great from each category. So, as far as like greenways, easy stuff you can hop on probably with like kids and whatnot. There was the Grotto Painter Park and Grand Caverns Greenway in Rockingham County. It’s 6 and a half miles of shared trail, but awesome awesome views of the valley and surrounding forests and mountains. Um, for the roadies out there, there was a pretty cool looking 43 mile loop in Walkers Creek or the Newport area of Augusta County. Now, this includes one of the oldest towns of Middlebrook, which was settled in 1799, and you can traverse old paths used by Native Americans and European settlers as well. >> Cool. >> Uh, for gravel riders, there’s the Harrisonenberg Dayton gravel grinder. 36 miles, goes south, then west toward the >> Alagany. >> Alagany. Thank you. Alagany Mountains. It passes from the old order Menanite family. So, you can actually pass like a horse and buggy along the way. It’s pretty cool. Um, and then for the mountain bikers out there, there is just tons and tons of options. A couple that I wanted to highlight, the Bryce Trails Park looks pretty awesome if you head to the resort and want to get into a proper bike park. Or you can also go to the uh Dow Hat, I believe is how you pronounce it. I don’t know. People in the comments will let me know. Yep. Where there is 4,500 acres of to explore. And if you kind of hop on something like Trail Forks or one of those other um apps that kind of like details all the uh places to mountain bike, there’s just trails running everywhere in this section of the valley. So um like I mentioned before, the bike coalition of Shannondoa Valley is just very active from all the things I was able to find. There are tons of events in the valley has a very active board that seems to be pushing for more protected bike lanes and they are providing updates on trails and maintenance and things of that sort. Um also this whole area just seems really cool. I know I’m a bit of a broken record. We highlight these places for a reason. They all look awesome every week. This one just like really like really had me thinking like I want to take a trip to Virginia. All this looks awesome. There are so many things to stop and see along the way. Um I was going to highlight some of them, but there was just too many. I felt I would left stuff out, but you can find your coffee shops, your breweries, your local eeries, your vineyards, your lakes, museums, historic buildings galore. And you explore across just numerous counties that it all covers in this region. Um, as our writer here, Michael Ryson, suggested, hit up an old country store for some ice cream or a cinnamon apple bearclaw. Sounds delicious. Now, obviously, it’s probably a little bit cold and snowy, so maybe put this on your spring destination list, but overall, if you’re going through some of the photos here, I mean, just looks absolutely phenomenal out in this uh part of the country. And then this was just again just really cool thing to stumble across for ebikers. The usual things apply. They likely class one, wear a helmet and check your specific trails to know any specifics on ebikes. But overall, looks like a safe fun area to check out. And so, yeah, let us know if you have been there before or just how badly I butchered some of the names of these places. [laughter] Keep in mind, too, that this is uh like one of the oldest areas in America. There’s a lot of good American history here. Pretty pretty cool stuff. And then I I had a little tick in my brain that reminded me that uh if you’re not aware, the Appalachian Mountains are like absolutely ancient. So, I had to Google it. They’re like they formed over a billion years ago. So that’s pretty wild. >> That’s pretty nuts. Awesome. You probably get that tick out of your brain. Doesn’t sound good for your long-term health. >> That’s That’s true. Yeah. [laughter] >> But as always, if you have been to this uh area before, please let us know your firsthand experience down in the comments below. Or if you want to suggest a trail that we check out next week, we love getting audience feedback for this section. You can let us know again down in the comments or at questions electricbikereport.com. All right, now time for the section that John and I look forward to the most. That is questions and comments from you, our audience. Thank you so much for, you know, hanging out with us once a week and letting us know your thoughts and the questions that you have. So, let’s jump straight in, shall we, John? For sure. >> So, starting things off, this comes to us from the killer man 333 from the Cicada Touring video on YouTube, who says, Yeah, that’s right. He says, “My experience is limited when having hands-on experience with ebikes, but this bike is just a Hib boy EX6 in specs. Why does it cost more than two times the price? >> Okay, so yeah, you know, there are a few similarities here, but there are definitely way more differences than, you know, than it might might seem. Uh especially differences that do justify the price. So, uh the Cicada Touring is priced right around $2,300 while the High Boy EX6 is right around 840. And uh as far as the similarities go, yeah, both bikes are rated for up to about 75 miles of range. They have similar size batteries. Get into that a little bit more. But outside of that, they are pretty different. Um, so looking closer at the High Boy EX6, just to put this out there up front, we have not tested or reviewed that bike. So, I’m just kind of going off of specs here. Um, but judging by those this bike and and judging by its price, this bike just seems extremely entry- level. And there are some, I would say, even some red flags there on its product page. There are almost no details on the standard components that it includes and it’s also not advertised to meet any UL safety standards. Um, but just to kind of illustrate the differences here. So on this bike we have an unbranded 500 watt rear hub motor uh with uh oh an unbranded tires and an unbranded suspension fork as well. We have no detail provided on the cells that are used in the battery pack and that is listed differently in two places on the product page. either as 696 or 720 watt hours. This bike has mechanical disc brakes. It has a single frame size for riders from 5T to 5’9. It has a very basic seven-speed Shimano Turney drivetrain. Uh I would assume with the rear hub and the price that this is likely a cadence sensor. And then I’m not sure of the cargo capacity of this bike, but the rack looks relatively short. And then it has a 300lb total payload capacity. Uh [music] now in stark contrast, the Cicada Touring has a ton of name brand parts and the actual the company that owns Cicada is the same that owns Soul Fitness. That’s one of the prominent names in in fitness. Um so this bike has a midrive motor that is a 350 watt from Buffang, which is again a name brand. We have Kenda tires and then a Zoom suspension fork. Um so parts that we are very familiar with. We have a UL2271 certified battery that is made with LG cells. They’re very clear in in the uh construction and standard. This the battery is also certified uh or sorry the bike itself is also certified to meet EL2849 standards. We have Star Union hydraulic disc brakes here. Um a familiar name. We have two frame sizes for this bike. A wider height range uh from 5’2 to 6’4. And then we have an 8-speed micro shift drivetrain. Uh we have a torque sensor here. We have a realworld range test results of over 100 miles. even though it has the advertised 75 mile uh limit. And then we have an extended cargo rack on this bike with 77 lbs of capacity. That’s way above normal or average, I would say. And uh the payload capacity is just a little bit higher at 309 lb total. So, you know, just laying all those things out side by side, the Cicada definitely comes out on top in terms of both quality name brand parts, safety certifications. It is a clear winner. And you know, we do feel that the price is definitely justified there. Um, [music] and you know, just touching back on the high boy, again, we have not tested it, but it is just generally below the threshold that we usually recommend when buying an ebike. So, >> yeah. >> Yeah, >> I’ll add on that one. Uh, maybe the things look kind of similar up front, but you take a closer look and you definitely start to see where they, you know, diverge. And things are usually priced where they’re at for a reason. Let’s just put it that way. >> For sure. And and I think this is a good example of, you know, there’s a lot of sort of technical >> details that go into shopping for an ebike. And we look at this stuff all day, so it is probably more familiar to us than it may be for you. So, we’re always happy to help guide you in the event of these things. But, uh, moving on, we have a question from the Rad Powerbikes Rad Expand 5 Plus review on YouTube from Barbara L9W, I believe. Uh, so, is it true that you shouldn’t use throttle all the time? I was told in a bike store that if you use throttle all the time, you can burn out your motor pretty quick. She said throttle is only for going up hills and starting out on your bike. >> Um, I wouldn’t say it’s only for those things, but to the point of the question though, um, it’s true that using the throttle for long strenuous periods such as climbing hills can tax the motor and create heat buildup. However, good motors like those used on RAD ebikes, for example, um or other reputable brands for that uh matter will include a protective shutdown feature that does prevent motor burnout. So, there will be a point where it’s like, okay, that’s too hot. That’s going to potentially start damaging the motor. We’re going to turn this off for your own protection and safety. So, um when that does happen, it’s a not a bad thing. That’s a feature, not a bug on most ebikes when the motor shuts off if things are getting too hot. Totally. And then, you know, we actually did a little bit of testing for this back in the day where we took um Rad and a couple other bikes up through one of the most challenging hills that we have here, um called Everest. [music] Great name. I love the names of things. Um but actually, we had a Rad power bike on. I believe it was the Rad Rover 5, maybe the six. I can’t remember. It was a while back, but we actually did a type of hill test where we wanted to see like motor burnout point um of those three different bikes be put up there. her rad went a couple of times and then it did reach a point where it was too warm. So, it did uh >> put the bike into a, you know, a protective mode, not allowing it to ride until it was able to cool back down again. Then it was perfectly operable. There was a different bike in that test group that actually just kept going, kept going, kept going, and finally like burnt itself out because it didn’t have those same protections in place. So, yes, um using the throttle can kind of increase that temperature because you are just letting the motor do literally all the work. Um, it does help if you pedal, but again, good motors on rad bikes, on some other um, reputable brands and reputable motors out there almost all have that cut off point where it’ll shut things down. >> It’s, you know, if you do have a bike uh, with that feature, it it definitely can be a little bit annoying when that kicks in if you’re not expecting it to. I’ve been out on range tests where that has happened and found myself just kind of hanging out until the bike turned back on. But, it’s definitely better off than not. For those of you unfamiliar with southwest Utah, we can hit 112 degrees or something like we can get really >> 117. You know, sometimes [clears throat] >> 117 we can get really really hot and in those instances, yes, we do have a lot of bikes that will shut down on us and like in the moment it’s a little aggravating, but again, it’s protecting the investment of ebikes. So, it’s a good thing. >> All right, but good question. Moving on to our next one. Comes to us from Ken Davis on the Specialized Turbo Vado SL2 carbon review on the website from one Mr. John because it’s even addressed to you. John says, “Hello, John. I I’m trying to decide on the Turbo SL2 6.0 or the Trek FX7S. Can you please let me know your recommendation based on your view? Thanks. >> Yeah, this was good. I actually uh responded to Ken, but I wanted to pull this over uh into the show here so that we can dive into a little bit deeper uh detail. So, these bikes are definitely very similar uh made by some of the most, you know, prominent names in the industry. Uh but they do have quite a few differences. So, I’m basically going to stick to some rough highlights and maybe some recommendations based on like where the bike excels. Um, so in terms of the Turbo SL2 and just to clarify, yeah, this is the uh Carbon 6.0 EQ model that came decked out with everything. Um, but anyway, this is just a little bit of a slightly sportier, more aggressive feel and it has a bit more of a forwardleaning riding position. >> Not a huge difference. We’re we’re kind of splitting hairs here, but uh then it also has just a little bit more power there with easier hill climbing. So, the motor and pedal assist system uh is customtuned by Specialized. It’s extremely natural and responsive. Um and it’s just a little bit more rewarding because it tops out at 320 watts of peak power versus 300 on the FX Plus 7. Um this bike is going to be best for your long range needs. It has a larger battery, uh, 540 W hours, and, uh, just based on our testing, we included a range extender in our maximum range test, but taking out the extra battery capacity, we would estimate uh, around 103 mi of range using the lowest power level, again, without the range extender. U,, but then this one is equipped with knobbyby tires for some light off-roading, maybe some gravel riding. Uh, and then it also has an MIKHD cargo rack that’s even capable of carrying a child seat, believe it or not. Um, and it is the more expensive of the two models. It starts at $6,400 again for the carbon frame. You can also get the alloy frame. Uh, but you know, if you’re okay with that cost, then it really does deliver a step up in performance across the board. Um, but the FX Plus 7S is definitely still very worthwhile. Uh especially if you know you like something that’s just you know maybe slightly more relaxed and upright. It is remarkably quiet that’s got the uh TQ motor. >> That’s right. That’s one >> man. That is just one of the most quiet, subtle, smooth motors that I think we’ve ever experienced here at Electric Bike Report. Um it is almost indistinguishable from riding an analog bike, except that of course you’re going faster and you’re not pedaling as hard. So uh there’s similar tech here with the FX Plus 7S. Uh, but it does have a couple extra features like a quad lock phone mount uh that actually allows you to charge your phone if you have the compatible case for that. Um, it’s char charging wirelessly. The Tre Central app uh offers navigation and it’s also compatible with tire pressure sensors. Both of the bikes do have like motor tuning features and some other technical stuff in the app that is pretty cool. Uh, and then the FX Plus 7S is, you know, a little bit less expensive, uh, starting at around $4,000, but, you know, as a trade-off for that cost difference. It’s a little bit more limited in its range and power output. >> Yeah, I think that’s actually a really good comparison. I loved both of those bikes and they’re like just very fitting I think for their price tags is the best way to sum it up which is they’re both a little bit more of a premium experience but the difference between the two you can actually like find reasons of like ah yeah I see why this one’s got you know a little bit more cost here but either one of them as always when we usually pick these comparisons you’re not going wrong one way or the other find the one that you’re more comfortable with u payment wise yep and you’re going to enjoy either of those bags I promise you that >> it is also worth pointing out uh I didn’t add in my notes here but the FX X plus 7S is also compatible with a range extender. So if you preferred most of the things about that bike, but you wanted a little boost in range, you could add that for, you know, a nominal fee later on. But uh anyway, moving on to another question from the AMA Santa Monica review that I did. This is from Capcom Forever, another gamer, I assume. Uh Veltric Breeze versus Veltric Discover 2 versus this again, the AMA Santa Monica for maximum ride comfort. for maximum ride comfort. Um, this is like a good comparison. I think two of them are going to be a little bit more on the comfortable side. One’s very comfortable for what it is. So, let’s kind of just jump into everything here. Um, I do think that the these are all pretty top-notch. There are some marginal differences, though. >> Um, all of them, let’s go over their similarities first. All of them feature an upright riding position, cruiser style saddle, swept back handlebars, and an adjustable stem. Now, uh, let’s go over some of the ways that they deviate. Let’s start with um the Discover 2, which likes like likely takes the top spot here to get straight to your point. Um largely because it’s got a bit of a larger build. It’s got wide handlebars, ergonomic rubber grips, an 80 mil suspension fork. It’s got an exceptionally wide recommended uh height range as well from 411 up to 6’4. And it does come in two frame sizes. The IMA Santa Monica is a very close second. It also features a very large sturdy frame, some wide handlebars, two frame sizes, but a hexagonal faux leather grips on it. Um, slightly lower height range, 51 to 63, and a 75 mm suspension fork. I know we’re splitting hairs here, 80 or 75, but um, so again, for for me, I’d probably put the Discover 2 like a smidge, >> a smidge above. It’s a little bit more affordably priced, too, which is also kind of helpful. Um, but either of those are fantastic rides. Now, the Breeze one is in third place if we’re just talking purely comfort for what it is. Actually, it’s a highly comfortable bike. It just doesn’t have some of those same features that the other ones have. Um, but let’s talk about some of its positives. So, it is lighter uh than either of the other two bikes by a noticeable amount. >> Yep. >> So, that kind of translates to a more nimble riding experience. Also, it’s got slightly narrower handlebars, which is going to be better for some like shorter or more petite riders. Um, it’s also got ergonomic rubber grips, two frame sizes with the same height range as the Discover 2. However, and then this is, of course, the big factor here. There is no suspension, so it is a fully rigid fork. Um, you can still ride it nice and upright and things like that. And again, for a lightweight cruiser with no suspension, I do think it is actually one of the more comfortable options you’re going to find, but just lacks the comfort features of the other ones. However, it’s the most affordable. So, um, full recap, full summary, tiny tiny slight edge to Discover 2. Maybe the value kind of like pushes it to number one for us. I’m uh fantastic. And then the Breeze is great in its own right, but Pure Comfort maybe third place there. A >> as we often say in these comparisons, like if you choose any of these bikes, you’re going to be very happy. But like >> I’ve yet to see anyone ride any of those and not have smiles on their faces. That’s best way to start. >> Exactly. [laughter] Yes. Yeah. >> All right. So, our next one comes to us from Michael Richardson 7286 from the Ride OneUp Vorsa review on YouTube, who said uh he said on the hill test that he was in class 2. Did he mean class three? If he was really in class 2, then wouldn’t he get a better time by switching to class 3? He being Justin our hill tester. >> Good clarification there. Thank you. Um, so you we’ll run through a few things before I get to that answer directly, but um, just to explain how we test our ebikes. >> These days, most ebikes come as class 2s. Many of them you can increase their top speed to 28 mph to make them class 3s. Um, but we do typically test everything in their class 2 settings. Uh, and unless they do show up and they can reach 28 miles per hour right out of the box. That’s kind of the only exception. But, um, doing this does make comparison pretty easy just because everything’s kind of on an even playing field. Um, and in this case with the red one up Vorsa, it is possible that switching to class 3 mode would yield a faster result, but that does depend on whether the bike would even be able to reach 20 mph with the speed cap removed. Um, so kind of talking about all bikes here, but um, a bike’s ability to hit 20 mph during that test is determined by its motor power, its programming, its weight, and also how our test rider Justin pedals. Um, so pedaling is typically faster than throttling when we’re doing this test. Um, and not all bikes have throttles, but uh, so if we’re looking at the average pedal time, actually we covered this earlier in the trivia section of the show. >> I’m still not over it, John. Let’s not bring it up again. >> The average speed for all ebikes we’ve tested at the Devil’s Backbone is 14.9 mph. Um, and the Vora’s average was actually significantly higher than that. It was about 18.5 mph. So that means that at times it went faster than 18 1/2 and at times it was slower. Um a few bikes have faster average times, but there are really only a handful that are as powerful as the Vorsa or or more more so. Um so again, this could be a difference where an instance where the difference in speed limits could make a difference in results. Uh and that is pretty uncommon just kind of based on all of that data. Uh but it is you know worth noting as well that testing ebikes with class 3 capability uh in that only that mode would just limit the number of bikes we can compare its results to. >> Yes. Well said. So hopefully that helps kind of clarify some of those things for you. But um >> always good to add add some more data. >> Yeah, I agree. >> Um but this last one for this week, we’re actually going to jump back uh to some questions from our writer of the week last week, Vox Mobius. Um, so I’m gonna read some of the uh of the comment and question here. I cut out kind of a block because there’s a little bit here, but um, Vox Mobia said, “Another, which would you choose and why?” So, I think I’ve come down to two candidates, maybe a third. Bell Breeze 1, which is at one of my local bike shops, the Priority Current Plus, which is a on sale at Costco, and the 10ways Wayfairer if or when it comes in at another local bike shop. Um, so there are kind of three questions here that we’ll kind of run through, but number one, how would you compare these three bikes? Are there any upfront and long range ride as well as ownership considerations? Uh, I live in the hilly suburbs of Alama County in the San Francisco Bay area where the hills can be rolling to outright steep. I used to road bike when I was a young adult and that’s in my muscle memory as well as my idea of a good ride, but I’m now in my 60s and not that kid anymore. Question number two is one of these bikes better than the others for biking with a dog as part of their daily exercise routine. I have a 2-year-old Dalmatian. And then question number three, finally, what hitch rack is best for each of these ebikes? >> Um, so a lot to go through there. Um, we’ll just dive straight on in. So I’ll start things off and John will probably have you answer some of the later things, but um, normally on comparisons we would compare the bikes that we have tested. In this instance, we’ve only tested one of those three. That of course being the Velri Breeze we discussed a little earlier. So obviously we can’t go into full testing breakdown of data. However, we you know can look at some of their similarities on paper and just give you some of our insights there. Um all three of these are equipped with throttles and are class 2 or three capable. Um and then yeah just take a look. So starting things off. The Veltric Breeze 1 currently uh retails for $1799. This is a step through city cruiser with curved Dutch style handlebars and an adjustable stem. It has a 750 watt hub motor with 65 Newton meters of torque and is both torques and cadence sensor uh modes. There are 15 total assist levels possible. A 720 watt hour battery rated for 70 mi which we got up to actually 86 mph range testing. Now it is a fully rigid bike. No suspension for this one. And usually there’s no fenders or racks included. Um as we are recording this one, it is actually currently being packaged together for the holidays. Um this is lightweight around 50 lbs and extremely nimble. It’s got 27 1/2 by a 2.2 in street tires and it has two sizes for riders between 411 up to 6’4. Moving over to the 10ways WFairer. This goes for just a little bit more at $1899. It’s also >> and to clarify that is on pre-order right now, so that bike hasn’t even been released yet. >> True. We’ve covered it a little bit just looking at the specs, but have not gotten our hands on this one either. It’s still in pre-order. Um, so this one is $1899. It’s also a step through city cruiser with Dutch style handlebars and an adjustable stem. It’s got a 750 W peak hub motor with 65 Nm of torque and has both torque and cadence sensing modes, a 720watth battery rated up to 85 mi, which seems feasible. It’s got both a suspension fork and a suspension seat post. It includes fenders and an MIK cargo rack. Um, it is the heaviest of the three bikes here advertised at 66 lb. And it has slightly wider 27 1/2x 2.6 in. And these are knobby tires on that one. and has one size for riders between 5’4 up to 6’3. John, I’ll let you jump in on the Priority Current if you would. >> Yeah, for sure. So, uh, again, we have not tested this bike. We did test the, uh, Priority Skyline, but not the Current Plus here. The Current Plus is priced, uh, well, there are two price points. Either $32.99 or $34.99. And both of them are midstep commuters with a little flatter handlebars than the previous styles. And it also has an adjustable stem. Uh, this bike has a 500 watt mid drive with 140 new m of torque. It has a 720watth battery that’s also rated for up to 75 mi. So, right in line with the others. Um, but here’s where the price difference comes in. It has a lowmaintenance belt drive and a gear hub. So, you have either a 5-speed Shimano hub option or an NVLO CVT. Uh, with the CVT being the higher priced option. There is no suspension on this bike. Uh it does come with fenders but no cargo rack. And then it has 650b by 50 millimeter tires which are basically the equivalent of 27 and a half by two. Um they are kind of a street tread pattern. And then we’ve got kind of in the middle in terms of weight right around 57 lbs at least by the advertised weight. And then uh there are actually three frame sizes for riders between 5t and 6′ three. So, uh, just kind of rounding all of that out with positives and negatives for your specific situation here. The Breeze one is likely going to be the most nimble of the three just due to its weight. >> It is the most affordable of the three. It’s the most powerful of the three, assuming that the Wayfairer has maybe like a 500 watt hub motor. Um, the it’s the most customizable, especially it has both torque and cadence sensing modes. Uh but again it doesn’t have the suspension as we mentioned. The Wayfairer is likely going to be the smoothest ride just because it has both the suspension fork and seat post and it is going to give you the off-road versatility with those tires. Uh it also has those two sensor mode options which is nice but it is relatively heavy and it only has one frame size. And then the current plus is likely going to be the most natural feeling uh just because of the mid drive motor. also the most low maintenance due to the belt drive and likely the closest to what you’re used to to riding with a road bike um versus the two cruiser options, but it is also the most expensive option and does not include a suspension. So, >> yeah, things to point out. >> Yeah. >> And then moving back to your second and third questions on that one. So, either the Breeze One or Wayfair are likely going to be the best for riding with a dog. Just assuming that the Wayfairer also has speed limit options when in cadence sensing mode. Um, and you know, we’d probably recommend the Breeze one overall just due to the affordability, handling, range potential, two sensor modes and hill climbing power. Maybe that’s biased because it’s the one we’ve tested, but again, it’s really good, solid bike. We think it would work work well for you there. And then finally, as for what hitch rack to take, the Hollywood Rack Sport Rider is a great go-to option for its affordability and just like a no frills nature. It’s honestly just tried and true and tested beyond like anything. It’s one of the most popular racks out there on the market. Super affordable, but super adaptable. So regardless of which bike you get, it’s probably going to work for it just fine. For some of the more cruiser oriented ones, depending on if you’re carrying two bikes, you might need to get the step through bar adapter, but outside of that, it’s a reliable pick with a really high weight capacity. So, uh, you know, hopefully that, uh, helps and thanks for hanging in there as we, you know, told you we’d get to it this week instead of last week. I did want to jump back in because I I feel like I didn’t include in the show notes here. Uh, you asked if there were any upfront or long range considerations as far as, you know, the ride or ownership. I did want to just kind of mention some additional thoughts there. All three of these bikes are from, you know, good brands that we have at least some experience with. Um, they are all very well speced. I would not expect any upfront problems at all or really down the road in in any case. Um, I will point out though that the, you know, again, Priority Current Plus, like that drivetrain setup is just naturally lower maintenance than the other options. Um, but again with the price difference there, like it’s I, you know, kind of half dozen of one, six of the other, whatever. >> Yeah, 100%. And that’s a really good point, John. All three of these brands are just brands moving in the right direction in our opinion. So, I think >> I forgive us. We say it all the time, but I don’t think you’re going to go wrong any way you slice it. >> Uh, but as always, let us know and report back which ones you guys end up picking from any of these comparison breakdowns we’ve done. That’s going to do it for questions today. If you want your questions answered, just leave us a comment on any of our videos at our website or at questionsele electric.com. All right, it is still the holiday shopping season and there are tons of great deals out there, but uh it’s really hard to predict if whether these things are, you know, around or not by the time this video goes live. So, we’re going to throw some things out there and hope that they’ll be available for you. >> I was like, this is not John’s first year in the industry. Trust me, things can change a lot this time of year. So, no promises, but we will let you know what we are seeing. And it is important to note that if you are doing some last minute holiday shopping, do pay close attention. Some brands are labeling the like absolute last date you can order to expect to receive it in time for Christmas. Um, so pay close attention to those that they do have that information. I think the latest one that I have seen is December 15th. So, do make sure you’re getting orders in quickly. But, >> good to note. Uh, and then just as a reminder, you can always check our website, electricbikereport.com. We have a ton of best ebikes lists of various styles and for different types of riders. So, you can always check there and see uh you know our recommendations, our highest recommendations and uh you know a lot of those things will continue to be on sale. So, >> but without much further ado, John, should we kick it off officially? >> We should. >> Let’s get into our deals of the week. >> Deals of the week. >> All right. >> Thanks. I almost forgot we had that. >> I was like, something feels off. Something feels a miss. [clears throat] What did we do wrong? Oh, we didn’t actually do our little snap thing. >> We did not. But anyway, we have a long list of things to run through here. Starting off with some deals going on over at Ride OneUp. They are offering free accessories with either the Vorsa or Porola. So, the Vorsa is of course a really nicely powerful cargo ready SUV style commuter that is priced right now at 155 and includes paneer bags worth 160 bucks. And then the Portola is of course a compact, pretty powerful folding ebike on uh priced at $9.95. And that one comes with both paneers and a folding lock that are worth 220 bucks. >> Love freebies with it. I just thought of something too. Um there was that one commenter who’s like, “Quit snapping when you do deals.” And he was probably like, “Finally, they didn’t do it.” And then we just like ruined his day. So I’m [laughter] so sorry to whoever you are. We we >> # sorry not sorry. >> That’s right. So next deal to talk about though. 10 ways has early bird offers $300 off when pre-ordering the wayfairer that we mentioned earlier. That retails for $21.99 regularly, but they’re selling it for $18.99 right now plus a free beneer on top. So, I love freebies. >> Nice. Yeah. And then I’ve got some nice stuff going on at Eupree, their Christmas savings. They’ve got up to $500 off. Uh, so actually all models here are $1,999. The Stellar Falcon, the City Robin X Plus, and the Solar Sparrow. Uh, so the Falcon is just a really well equipped and very comfortable SUV style commuter. >> Not sure if anyone cares, but I saw it at that price. I had a moment of, do I need a Falcon? I might need a ST Falcon. That’s a really good discount on that That bike is spectacular. Uh the City Robin X Plus, that’s one that I’ve, you know, recommended to family members uh looking for a nice refined comfy cruiser. That one is $350 off. And then the Solar Sparrow, which is, you know, lighter weight city cruiser style. Uh that one is 50 bucks off, but all again in that same price range. >> Nice low maintenance belt drive on that one. Got to like it. Um also speaking of things to like, Aventton’s holiday deals also going on right now. You can get $200 off two great rides, including the level three. It is high-tech. It’s a sport commuter. $200 off knocks it down to $16.99. It of course features the ACU or event control unit with all of its fancy security and customization features. Speaking of, the Adventure 3 does that as well. It’s a versatile, natural feeling fat tire eBike and at $200 off making it just $17.99 right now. Really good deal on those two >> for sure. And then on the mountain bike side of things, we’ve covered the Amlow ebikes. Those are up to 16% off. They’re just super powerful, super lightweight, very responsive. uh some incredible performers as well. So the PL Carbon is $1,000 off down to $6,499. And then the PL Carbon Pro, the top tier model, is 1,600 bucks off and that brings it down to $8,599. >> I have a buying problem. I want to get that one, too, when I saw that sale. [laughter] >> Good luck. >> Last but not least, Electric’s holiday sale. Now, this one is very noteworthy. As we often say, Electric usually has the lowest possible prices they can put on ebikes. It’s very rare to find them with models discounted off, but not the case here. They do have some that are already or that are receiving discounts on their already rock bottom prices. Starting things off with the electric XP trike 2, which now starts at $1399. 100 bucks off on that one. The X Peak 2 is down to $13.99. And last but not least, the electric one with the pinion gear tech that we love to geek out about so much is down to $18.99, which is the only time you’re going to find pinion technology on a new bike for under $2,000. Um, all of those, like we said, that does not come around reliably very often. And so I would jump on those while they’re there if you’ve been eyeballing those electric rides >> for sure. >> But that’ll do it for deals of the week. >> All right. In this section, we like to take some time out of the show to highlight one of you, our audience members. So, uh, actually, we mentioned this week’s writer of the week. This is Michael Rab Rabson. >> Ribson is what I something. I’m sorry. I’m this horrible. Anyway, Michael emailed us, uh, with a very nice message here. And uh Griffin, you want to >> say we always love getting messages like this. So just a little like insight into, you know, like Michael and yeah, it led to our uh trailer of the week section, but here is the message in its entirety. Uh Michael said, I look forward to your YouTube show each week. Thank you. We’ve uh bought and later sold seven ebikes total. A lot of it comes down to trust. We trust major brands and we trust both of you and your calm advice. We’re older and can’t hike to overlooks much anymore, but ebikes have given us a fresh wind. My wife’s latest ebike has a throttle to help give her some brakes during our rides. I almost bought an ebike carrier, but stumbled onto a video of a Hawaiian guy who made his own carrier from 2in square steel tubing. My challenge was making ours a double station. Being a metal shop teacher with was a blessing and the students helped a lot. We love rail trails but haven’t learned to make our own ride but have learned to make our own rides in the uh >> Shannondoa >> Shannondoa Valley Menanite farming community. uh stopping by a country store for ice cream or cinnamon apple bear claw doesn’t hurt either. Thank you M andB. Um Michael, sincerely John and I just love hearing like stories of people using their ebikes, going out having a good time. It genuinely makes our day. So thank you so much for sharing that. You’re also you’ll also be added to that list of people getting a free t-shirt. So again, thank you for sharing. And to anyone else watching, this could be you. Just let us know what you’re writing, what you’re up to, things like that, places to check out. We love hearing stories from our audience. It is one of the reasons John and I like doing the show so much. So thank you again, Michael. and hopefully we’ll be talking about you next week. >> And Michael, just as a reminder, we do have that Google form down in the video description. So, be sure to send us your info so we can get you a t-shirt. As always, we really appreciate you guys for hanging out with us. We really love doing the show and spending time with you. It of course is again the holiday season, so we hope you’re enjoying your family time and your shopping experiences. We’re here to help you any way that we can. Um, and as always, you can find the audio version of this on all of your favorite podcasting platforms, Spotify, Apple Music, wherever you’re listening, you can find John and I there. That’s going to do it from everyone here at Electra Back Pork. This has been the weekly recharge. >> What is our average PSA? [music] >> Public service announcement. >> Public service announcement five. [laughter]

Welcome back to The Weekly Recharge – Episode 61 ⚡🚴
This week we’ve got a packed episode with major industry news, a wild counterfeit crackdown, and a ton of real-world comparisons to help you make smarter e-bike decisions heading into the holidays.

👕 Merch + Rider of the Week Update
T-shirts for Riders of the Week and pre-orders should be going out soon — and if you haven’t claimed your free shirt yet, fill out the form in the description so we can ship it to you!
👉 Fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/t9o6SHE3aTp7hvmW9
👉 Merch Shop: https://shop.electricbikereport.com/

🔥 In This Episode

Rad Power Bikes update (including new details from a Washington Post article we contributed to) and why tariffs continue to reshape the e-bike market.

A massive counterfeit bust worth $1.5 million involving fake Specialized frames and Roval components — plus what it means for rider safety and how to avoid getting burned by knockoffs.

Holiday e-bike comparisons across premium commuters, city cruisers, and hybrid commuter/cruiser options to help you pick the right ride for your budget and riding style.

📰 News of the Week

Bosch eBike Systems completes acquisition of Magura Parts & Services (MBPS), strengthening Bosch’s service and replacement parts network across Europe.

Ducati announces new electric road, gravel, and mountain bikes targeting Spring 2026 — plus what we know so far about development partners and pro rider involvement.

Tern’s NYC delivery fleet hits the 1 million-mile milestone, with strong performance claims around durability, service support, and UL-certified systems.

💬 Questions We Answer

Can you burn out your motor by using the throttle too much?

What actually justifies the price gap between an $840 e-bike and a $2,000+ option?

How to choose between popular commuter/cruiser-style bikes based on comfort, hills, range, and ownership considerations.

🚴 Trail System Spotlight

We take a look at the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia area — a cycling-friendly region with greenways, road loops, gravel routes, and MTB options (plus plenty of coffee shops, breweries, and local eats).

🔗 Links & Resources

Deals:
Ride1Up – Free accessories with Vorsa or Portola purchase
https://ebrdeals.com/Ride1UpPromos
Tenways – Early Bird Offer ($300 off Wayfarer preorder)
E-Bikes
Euphree – Christmas Savings (up to $500 off)
Electric Bikes
Aventon – Holiday Deals ($200 off select models)
https://ebrdeals.com/AventonPromos
Amflow – Savings up to 16% off eMTBs
https://ebrdeals.com/amflowpromos
Lectric – Holiday Sale
https://ebrdeals.com/LectricPromos

Recent Reviews:
AIMA Key West – https://electricbikereport.com/aima-key-west-review/

Trail System of the Week:
Shenandoah Valley – https://www.bikethevalley.org/
Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition – http://svbcoalition.org

Bikes Discussed:
Cikada Touring – https://ebrdeals.com/CikadaTouring
RadExpand 5 Plus – https://ebrdeals.com/ebrRad-RadExpandPlus
Specialized Turbo Vado SL 2 Carbon – https://ebrdeals.com/SpecializedTurboVadoSL6
Trek FX+ 7S – https://ebrdeals.com/TrekFXPlus7S
AIMA Santa Monica – https://ebrdeals.com/AIMASantaMonica
Velotric Discover 2 – https://ebrdeals.com/ebrdealsVelotricDiscover2
Velotric Breeze 1 – https://ebrdeals.com/VelotricBreeze1
Tenways Wayfarer – https://ebrdeals.com/TenwaysWayfarer
Priority Current Plus – https://ebrdeals.com/PriorityCurrentPlus
Hollywood Racks Sport Rider – https://www.ebrdeals.com/ebrRP_HollywoodRacks_SportRider

📩 Email questions: questions@electricbikereport.com
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#ebikenews #tariffs #cycling #boschebikes

00:00 – Intro
00:39 – News Of The Week
01:15 – Bosch acquires Magura
03:02 – Big bike counterfeit bust!
04:40 – New Ducati E-Bikes!
06:59 – New Tern milestone in NYC
08:49 – Tariffs and how they affect e-bikes
14:51 – Trivia Time!
21:03 – Currently Testing & Recent Reviews
22:07 – E-Bike Trail Systems
27:00 – Questions & Comments
27:10 – Cikada Touring vs Hiboy EX6
31:26 – Is using throttle bad for the motor?
33:56 – Specialized Turbo Vado SL 2 vs Trek FX +7
38:10 – Velotric Breeze vs Velotric Discover 2 vs AIMA Santa Monica
40:53 – Do we ever hill test on class 3?
43:40 – Velotric Breeze 1 vs Priority Current Plus vs Tenways Wayfarer
51:23 – Deals Of The Week
56:07 – Rider Highlight
57:59 – Wrap Up
58:26 – Bloopers