Bankruptcy Shocker: Electric Bike Company Collapses + Safer Battery Tech Emerges TWR Ep 52

Bankruptcy Shocker: Electric Bike Company Collapses + Safer Battery Tech Emerges TWR Ep 52

Hello everybody and welcome into episode 52 of the weekly recharge. I’m Griffin and I’m John. And we have a lot to cover with you today, including some sad news with the closure of an ebike icon. We’ll be talking about electric bike company. That’s right. They were the quintessential maker of uh Beach Cruiser ebikes. You really were. Also going to cover some really cool battery technology from a brand called Battery IQ. You’re definitely going to want to see what their new tech offers. And then we’ll have a larger conversation in general about custom ebikes and modifications. All that and more on this week’s episode of the weekly recharge. All right, jumping into this week’s news. Let’s go ahead and talk about Electric Bike Company. So, uh, that company has officially filed bankruptcy, unfortunately. Um, so the company originally had two locations in Newport Beach, California. There was a showroom/asssembly facility and then a separate paint shop. Uh but last year uh they downsized to a single location. And uh you know the filing of bankruptcy here, this development comes after what seemed to be like an encouraging start to the year. Uh the brand partnered with Integral Electrics, which was a uh female focused maker of cargo bikes. That happened back in February. Uh but then there was also some discussion of a potential partnership with Pedigo and their you know brickandmortar stores. Uh but then we saw things kind of slowly start to wayne down. So earlier this year electric bike company uh tried to raise some funds by allowing investors to buy into the company through a campaign at start engine.com. And uh when that ended they had 94 backers that invested $171,400.50 I believe. Uh so yeah, at as of the beginning of the week when we are filming this episode, uh the brand’s ebikes are all out of stock and their social media channels have either shut down or transitioned to something a little bit different, which appears to be like an ebike safety and information resource. Uh but then there was a Reddit user that actually tracked down the company’s bankruptcy filing. And then uh there was another post that we saw on Reddit from someone who claimed to be a former employee just kind of mentioning how the company had been losing money and kind of struggling to get supplies or parts over the recent months. So, you know, we’ve talked a lot on this show about the impact of tariffs and that effect on ebike prices. Uh so, you know, electric bike company, one of their uh sources of pride was the fact that they assembled ebikes here in the US, but uh many of their components were still imported. So, it’s possible that tariffs played a role in this. Uh, we did see their prices increase over this year along with those of most other brands. So, you know, bottom line here is that it is a very sad story. Um, we don’t know exactly how things are going to shake out here, but just considering the fact that they are iconic, there’s a good likelihood of the fact that somebody will buy the company and maybe revitalize it down the road. Um, but you know, just one of the things that we really loved about Electric Pike Company was the fact that they offered so many customization options. There’s just really not a whole lot out there that do, you know, that does things in similar fashion. So, yeah, absolutely. It’s definitely a sad day for the eBike community because the brand, I mean, iconic really is the right word and just the way they went about doing things. You know, a lot of people ask for more customization. We’re going to jump into a user question about that later on. And it just kind of feels like whatever people ask for, they were trying to give custom paint jobs, different ways to set up the drivetrain, the comfort. There’s so many different even the battery capacity, things like that. Um, so it is really sad to see that the company was not able to make it ultimately. I was actually able to tour their facilities a while back. We have a whole video about that. I was going to say a whole video about it. It was a really cool experience and I’m really going to miss the woodworking, too. That was always one of my favorite details, like custom like fenders and chain guards and things like that. Um, again, it’s really sad to see it play out this way and, you know, hopefully in the future someone steps up to fill the void that will be left behind cuz I know a lot of people like customization is doing some really cool things and unfortunate to not see him make it. But yeah, I agree. I wonder if, you know, if the company does get purchased and restarted later, a lot of options on the table for what bankruptcy means ultimately. Yeah, for sure. But, you know, if that happens, then I’m curious to know if uh, you know, they would offer fewer customization options to just maybe streamline things. I don’t know. Yeah, I’m not sure either. But anyway, all right. So, moving on to our next news topic. Battery IQ’s new funding to realize battery management technology. So, Battery IQ branched off from Boost Bikes, uh, which makes ebike conversion kits. Now, the company is developing a BMS software that can monitor all of the cells and send notifications if cell conditions become concerning. That’s pretty cool. So, the data can be read on a software dashboard by any interested party. So, possibly like, you know, the owner of the bike or like a fleet managing like some stuff, things like that. Um, ebike battery fires have been a little bit overblown. We’ve reported on that at length. However, many landlords, property managers prohibit them based on some of the, you know, like headlines that they’ve been seeing and also some businesses involving ebikes have lost insurance coverage as a result. So, BIQ software works across a multitude of metrics. Um, according to a quote here, the chip set being able to uh detect increased humidity among other suspicious cell behaviors yet likely in advance of major issues and the AIdriven algorithm also live records the voltage of every cell in a battery plus the temperature. So basically if problems arise, the software can sound the alarm well in advance, which is fantastic. So the company’s goal is to produce a chip with the software that can be integrated into BMS software by battery pack manufacturers and it reached a funding goal that will enable this. So BIQ’s website suggests that its tech is ideal for rental fleets of EVs and the founder Nick Bailey also says it has some aerospace applications as well. So uh one of the things that we have as a central goal here at electric bike report is to increase safety and awareness really get excited to see advancements kind of like this if there is some technology that can let people know well in advance before you know things combust or batteries have any issues then we are all for it and hopefully this you know start see this roll out and doing some good. Definitely. It’s all about peace of mind and this seems like a good step towards towards that%. But moving on, I’ve got uh the depressing stories of the week. There’s a another Sorry, you got all the sad news. No, no, no. That’s that’s okay. It’s important to cover here. So, let’s talk about CSS Composits, which is a US-based uh manufacturer of carbon rims. They are unfortunately closing their doors as well. Uh, so they have in the past made rims for Bond Trager, Revel bikes, Evil Bikes, and Chris King precision components, but they also have their own or had I guess their own label called Forge Bond. Uh so the company has lawyers at a uh business called Dorsey and Whitney LLP and they sent a letter to the company’s business partners uh advising them of the closure and stating that it’s basically happening because of uh quote enduring economic challenges facing the bike industry. And um the founder of Revelikes, whose name is Adam Miller, he said that the uh company’s customers have had trouble getting warranty service uh especially, you know, in relation to CSS’s uh wheels or rims that they produce. And so that was kind of like an early sign of the company having some trouble. But then uh as of right now, CSS is liquidating its assets to pay back its creditors. Uh customers unfortunately aren’t going to be so lucky here. So the uh letter from the lawyers there also stated that quote if you previously submitted requests for a service repair or replacement that has not been fulfilled unfortunately that service will not be able to be provided. So sorry John, sad news for you. Sad news for anybody out there who has CSS composits. Yeah, we we definitely hate to see this. They’re also a Utah based company I believe. So here in our own home state um you know always sad to talk about closures uh this way and you know for the customers again who are affected be aware of that with your warranty coverage. Now it’s no promise but I know sometimes brands when they seek out a new supplier sometimes they can work with a supplier to kind of like help them with warranty coverage on bikes they’ve already sold from somebody else. That is not a promise or guarantee. It is just an bit of advice and something you can look into. Um but you know again just sad news coverage here and hopefully we have fewer closures to talk about in the future. Yeah, agreed. Yeah, that’s uh it’s been a theme of this year for sure. Uh but moving on to happier news. Let’s talk about some new products from Urban Arrow who just launched an affordable longtail cargo ebike. Now this is actually pretty exciting news because the brand has dabbled I believe exclusively in just the front loading like the basket style uh bikes and very much on the high end for sure. So, the new bike is called the Breeze, and its goal is to be smaller, easier to maneuver, and more affordable. So, highlights include a closer to standard wheelbase. Also has some 26-in wheels. It’s running off the Bosch Cargo line mid drive motor. Now, battery options. You get three different pack choices here, a 400, 545, or 800 W battery. Some of the accessories include an MK compatible rack with capacity for up to two child seats. There’s also a chain lock storage and an integrated front cafe lock. It can carry up to 440 lbs. Front and rear racks are included, as well as a Sunour Mobi 34 suspension fork. Equipment options include a handrail, seat pads, footboards, small or large veneers, and more. The starting price is at €5,499 over in Europe, which is around $6,400 here, though the bike is not currently available in the North American market. Um, so Urban Arrow is definitely one of those brands with a reputation that is welld deserved. They made really awesome uh you know front loading cargo basket style bikes up to now. Very curious to see how they do joining the more conventional longtail u cargo space. Yeah, I’m curious about that too. Um I’m also a little bit curious about uh 10ways. We saw them launch you know a a competitive uh front loading cargo bike over there. So I’m wondering if you know they’ll do something now that Urban Arrow is kind of coming out with this. So I was going to say it’ll be interesting to see kind of how that all plays out. But that’s going to do it for this week’s news stories. All right, now let’s talk about some of the bikes we’ve gotten in and videos that have gone live recently. We just about an hour or so before shooting got a new Trek rail into test out. Now, I am personally very interested in this one as a Trek rail owner of the last generation. This new one, of course, has Bosch’s latest mid drive motor on the new Gen 5 uh one. So, I’m just know I’m going to ride it and want to turn in my old bike for the new one. But that’s okay. You can’t keep it, Griffin. You can’t keep it. I know. You have to send it back. Have to send that one back. But maybe I can swap them out. Who knows? Maybe they won’t even notice, John. Just, you know, like, oh, we send the trek rail back. All right. Not if we publish this section of the show. Gonna cut this later on. But in other things that we had go live. Um, so the Momentum Vita E we actually got live a few days ago. That is a new refresh model for Momentum, they actually swept swapped swapped swapped. That’s the word I wanted. They swapped out a bunch of different things, including the drivetrain and the motor. They went from a mid drive to a hub drive. Uh, very nice. the Sync drive motor, 500 watt, 60 N meters of torque with a really good torque sensor to it as well. It’s a cruiser commuter uh type of vibe, but very fun overall ride. And then John had one go live as well with the Avel Omega. That’s right. That one has a nice powerful mid drive with the uh NVLO automatique systems that automatically shifts for you while you ride. And just generally a nice top-end uh cruiser style ebike, which you know, now that Electric Bike Company is no longer with us, might want to take a closer look at that if you’re looking for a cruiser style bike. Definitely. And then I also had the Urtopia Carbon Fusion Pro go live. So, this is a pretty interesting bike. It is affordable carbon fiber. It’s only $2,000, which uh usually that frame material is like on 3,000 or higher rides. Uh really cool and interesting design to the frame, too. I keep joking that it looks kind of like a emoji of a saxophone, especially the yellow color way. We had the blue, but I’m sticking by that like assessment of how the frame looks. But it’s actually a really good and fun ride overall with a lot of utility. And then finally, I also had the Scott Voltage go live as well. So, that one is a really awesome lightweight EMTB with one of the most natural feeling motors you will ever pedal with the TQ uh HPR50 system. Really good ride. Almost you can almost convince yourself it’s not electric, but it definitely is because you’re going a little bit uh farther and faster. So, lots of good reviews to check out if you aren’t already. Make sure to subscribe to see all of these as they roll out. All right, for anyone looking for a new place to explore with their ebikes, we have this section of the show where we highlight a trail system or a city with some great ebike friendly infrastructure. Griffin, where are we heading today? Today I’m going to once again celebrate our great state of Utah and talk about a well pretty noteworthy trail system as it was nominated for one of the trails of the year for the trail hall of fame on the Rails to Trails Conservancy. So, let’s talk a little bit about the Murdoch Canal trail system in Utah County. So, this one is just a really cool like regional best. Like I said, up for Hall of Fame awards here. It opened back in 2013, but the corridor itself actually dates back more than a century. So, the original Murdoch Canal was built in the early 1900s to deliver irrigation water from the Provo River to northern Utah County. Then in 2011 2012 around there, the Provo River Waters Users Association enclosed the canal inside with a 10 and 1/2 ft diameter steel pipe. That project made it possible to safely build a paved trail above it. So, while the water still flows below, a whole lot more people can now enjoy the route above. So, it’s been such a success. Again, it was one of the three finalists this year for the Rails of Trails Hall of Fame. Um, I actually teased this a few weeks back, said we’d get back to it, and here we are delivering on my word. But in terms of some of the route information and where it connects, so the trail runs roughly 20 miles along the north and east sides of Utah Lake, cutting through seven different cities, including Orum, Lynen, Pleasant Grove, American Fork, Island, Cedar Hills, and Lehi. Now, that’s just how dense Utah County can be. We’re touching seven different cities over the course of just seven miles. Metropolitan area. Yeah, exactly. But, you know, this is actually part of a larger 100 plus mile network of paved pathways that connect all the way from Ogden down to Salt Lake and then into the Provo area. So, at the southern end, it connects directly to the Provo River Parkway, which follows uh the river into Provo Canyon. And at the north end, it meets the Jordan River Parkway Trail near Thanksgiving Point, which has some really cool gardens, farmland, and even a dinosaur museum to check out. You’ll see me there. Definitely. So, a few other things about what the trail is like. So, it is paved and mostly flat with a dirt path alongside it for horseback riders. It is open year round for walking, jogging, cycling, skateboarding, and of course, the equestrian use. Um, it’s very ebike friendly for class one rides, though some neighborhoods do actually restrict things down to 15 mph to slow it up a little bit. Um, amenities are pretty solid as well. Water and bathrooms every 3 m, which makes it perfect for family rides or even longer training runs. Uh, scenically, you get a nice mix of some like mountain views, especially of Mount Tempenogus. some open valley vistas and some stretches of farmland in between suburban areas. Um, you can even pass at least one of like the LDS temples which adds some pretty cool architecture to the skyline view. Um, pretty interesting buildings there. So, the reason I wanted to pick this trail a little bit. It’s not epic. It’s not anything like too crazy. Like there’s some pretty good views to it overall, I’d say. But to me, it’s kind of like a really good example of you can leave the car at home where this connects so many different cities and it’s kind of like, you know, taking like the backdoor route to get around Utah County. I think it’s just a great way to kind of get out of the traffic jam that Utah County is notorious for. Provo in particular gets really busy, rush hour traffic and then, you know, outlying cities around it. Um, I’ll just be super blunt. I live here. I drive through Utah County a lot. I really hate driving through Utah. So, more trail systems that kind of encourage you to leave the car at home, take the bike instead. I’m all for. And it has definitely been a hit. They actually have some counters on the trail which have estimated nearly a million users use it per year. Jeez. 997,000 to be exact according to the source I found. So again, just kind of like kudos to everyone involved turning this canal into something bikable, walkable, and just a different way to kind of get around these different cities and into other trail heads taking you wherever it is you need to go. Looking at the photos here, I’m just kind of thinking, yep, that looks like Utah for sure. That’s definitely Utah. Y it’s nice and pretty. Good mountain views and just Yeah, I mean, as far as uh connecting all those cities and being used by that many people, it makes a lot of sense why this is nominated for such an award. I was going to say sometimes the section’s all about like the epic, really cool, really pretty, but sometimes just celebrating infrastructure. I love how the say canal that they still use but made it into something else, something a little bit more. So, good find, you know, uh, good just and shout out to city planners, people who like put this stuff together. You can always make your cities a little bit more accessible via bike, which is something we heavily encourage people do. But that’s going to do it for the trail system of the week. All right, welcome to our Q&A section. This is where we dive into questions and comments that we’ve received either on our website, on our video reviews here on YouTube, or on previous episodes of the show. Uh, so jumping right in here, we’ve got a comment from the Killer Man 3333, uh, who says, “I want an ebike company to focus on customization. I want to be able to go to their website and use a tool to pick out parts from their selection. I then want specs on the ebike to give me an idea of range and cost. There are lots of parts, and I want to make sure my ebike fits my needs.” So, all right. Well, you’re mostly in luck. A valid, you know, want there. I definitely want those things as well. So, we’ll talk a little bit about some of the experience we have with brands that do offer this customization. So, some that we have worked with include Electric Bike Company, sadly, who we talked about closing already, but there’s also out there Bitrix, um, Orbea, Borealis, and some others that we haven’t worked with quite yet. Now, every custom step in the process of customizing usually adds cost. So, know that going in. Reasons being things like painting and assembly process will add time and materials. um custom pay time for a tech together, install the parts, etc. Now, on a non-custom bike put together in an assembly line where all the parts are the same, that doesn’t apply. It’s why it’s a little bit cheaper to have just the streamlined thing. Yep. Now, this could be why some companies like Orba typically stick to and target higherend markets and why perhaps electric bike company ultimately didn’t make it. It is a harder thing to kind of like manage. Now, if your budget is more limited, you’d probably be better off buying a bike with a good motor and a battery and then upgrading other components yourself over time. Just be aware that bikes with internally routed cables do require more time and effort to replace parts on. So, just know that going in. Now, we kind of thought about this in two different um segments that you can look at making upgrades. One being performance and the other being comfort. So, let’s start with performance. Um one of the upgrades that you can make is a drivetrain. So, ebikes often have entry-le drivetrains with less crisp shifting and limited gear ranges. So, upgrades you can make um shifting feel fast and snappy while expanding gearing for various types of terrain. Uh, you could look at upgrading brakes as well. So, ebikes usually have adequate brakes, but performance can be improved with a four piston system over a two piston and larger and or thicker rotors if your bike is able to accommodate larger sizing. Sure. Um, the suspension. So, ebikes often come with basic coil suspensions that function well on relatively smooth surfaces, but obviously it’s a little bit trickier with some of the off-roading stuff there as well. So, upgrades can make the suspension more durable and adjustable, giving you more comfort and just more optionality. An air fork can also reduce weight significantly as well. Um, talking about tires and wheels, another thing you can look to upgrade for comfort. Uh, bikes usually come with basic aluminum wheels and functional but not, you know, particularly long-lasting tires. Now, what you can do here is upgrade and reduce weight, improve traction and handling, add puncture resistance, improve longevity, and allow for tubeless setups with, you know, compatible like wheels and rims. Sure. On the comfort upgrade side of things, you can always look at getting a different saddle. That’s a very easy uh thing to swap out. There are different shapes and materials and thicknesses, which work better for different weights and body types and styles of riding as well. Finding what works for you can make a world of difference on an ebike. Trust us, we have ridden some saddles that we absolutely hated and swapped them out for range testing. Totally. And then suddenly we liked the bike a lot more. Go figure. Um so the grips are another really easy thing to swap out. Um similar to the saddle, it’ll take you just a few minutes. You can find something that’s more to your preference. Again, materials play play a part, shape, design, things like that. And then finally, handlebars and stems. So, depending on your size, weight, and riding style, handlebars can improve comfort by uh changing your posture, improving your steering control, or dampening vibrations. There’s a lot of things out there. So, um again, just to summarize, if you don’t find a brand that is giving you all the customization that you want, just look for a good frame, motor, battery. Those are the three things you can’t really change much of. And if you have that as a base, you can do these upgrades yourself over time. Yeah, I think it’s I think it’s just good to reiterate the fact that like you’re again, we kind of talked about this last week on the show, but you’re not stuck with the box, the bike that you get out of the box. Nope. You can change, you know, 80 to 90% of the things on the bike and really make it your own. And that I think is where a lot of riders actually really dive in and and love their bike because then it becomes like this personalized thing is very cool. And YouTube is just one of the greatest gifts to the world because if you’re a little bit afraid or hesitant, usually you can just type into YouTube the thing you want to do or change on your bike. There’s probably a video already out there for it. That’ll give you a good tutorial and walkthrough. So again, don’t be afraid to do it yourself. Um, just got to figure out what it is you want. Definitely. All right, so next one comes to us from Harsh Cigarettes Jr. Junior. Junior, who knows? Yeah. So, hey man, I’m having trouble deciding what I should get. I’m a 62 63 teen who just learned how to ride a bike. I want something that’s way faster than a normal bike and will hold my weight and will still fit in 2 years when I grow. I off the cigarettes so you won’t be growing too much. Just going to warn you that now. But um we can definitely look into this and help you out. Yeah. All right, Junior. Let’s let’s chat here. Uh so I guess first things first uh something that I think is just good to mention is like if you are new to biking, just take it easy. Be careful out there. Make sure you have proper protection and everything. Uh a good helmet and all that. But, um, you know, in general, I think it’s pretty easy to find something along the lines of what you’re looking for. Um, but do keep in mind that, uh, ebike laws vary from place to place. So, the type of bike that you’re, you know, going to, uh, have access to as far as at least meeting legal limits may vary depending on where you live. Um, and just, you know, we advise being aware of your local laws and sticking to those. So, I guess before we get into actual recommendations, let’s first just do a little basic run through of the class system. I think this is a good reminder to everyone. Um, so class one ebikes pedal to 20 mph and do not have throttles. Class 2 ebikes have throttles that can take you to 20 mph and class 3 ebikes can pedal to 28 mph. Now, in most places in the country, you can have bikes that have multiple classes. So, a class 2 and 3 ebike would have throttle to 20, pedal to 28. Um, but specifically like the state of California changed that recently where if you have a class 3 ebike, you cannot also have a class 2 ebike. It has to just be kind of one or the other. Uh, which makes it a little tricky for brands, uh, and can make it, you know, difficult to sort through if if you’re shopping for one to know what is legal there. Um, but, you know, yeah, when it comes to you looking for kind of high speeds, I would say, you know, 20 mph isn’t as fast as 28. you definitely notice a difference there, but it is pretty quick. Uh, so that that is, you know, meeting the criteria of way faster than a regular bike. But, you know, if you do want the fastest legal possible thing, then you might want to look for a class 3. Um, now there are ebikes out there that have, you know, either more powerful motors or higher speeds or both. Uh, than the bikes that fall into that threeclass system that we just talked about. But depending on where you live, you may need to register that bike. uh especially if you want to ride it on uh you know local roads or paths and then just uh yeah especially shared use paths you know where you’re with uh pedestrians and whatever else you may have lower speed restrictions there so again just keep that in mind but uh so that’s a lot of background info there diving into some actual recommendations here you did comment on the best under a thousand video so we’re kind of trying to stay around that $1,000 price point here there were a couple of bikes in that video and on our web page uh still under that that uh we would recommend or at least you know give you a starting point. So the electric XP4 is a fantastic option. It is class 3 capable. It just generally has some of the best bang for the buck at that,000 price point. Um electric did a fantastic job on that bike and you know you can also upgrade to the higher power 750 water watt model uh for a few hundred more if that interests you. Uh but then another one from electric is the express. So of course the XB4 is a you know you know relatively smaller sized folding ebike. The express is a full-size non-folding model uh more commuter styled. There’s also the cruiser style as well. But I would imagine that you’d probably look at the uh the high-step model, but possibly. But the benefit of the cruiser one has that adjustable stem. So if you do feel you’re going to be growing some more or something like that, maybe that’s the bike that grows with you. Just something to to consider on that. Valid point for sure. Uh but anyway, similar in value there, just a little bit of a lighter frame and then also has upgrade options with the motor and battery. Uh the Ride OneUp Porta is another option in that video. At this point in time, especially with the XP4 coming out, that bike is a little bit dated. Um and it is sized a little better for shorter to average riders. You’re definitely on the taller side. Um but it is still pretty good value and uh it’s a good-looking bike and it’s class 3 capable as well. All three of those are class 3 capable. But then uh a few higher priced options that exceed that $1,000 price point. One that came to my mind right away was the EYike S4. That’s a moped style ebike that we tested a couple years ago. Um that is unrestricted. I think that has a 1000 watt motor if I remember correctly. We got it up to about 32 m per hour right out of the box. And that bike is kind of a steal honestly. It’s uh right around $1,200. The Ride OneUp Roadster V3 may be another good option as well. So, that is a class 2 and three ebike with throttle and pedal assist up to 28. Uh, that one’s nice and light and li uh nimble, and that one is priced right around $1,400. Also, there’s the new $1,500 version that has a suspension fork, which is very cool. Uh, so that would be definitely on the higher end, but uh then another good option if you’re, you know, not opposed to the folding style would be the Hey Bike Mars 3.0. Uh that one is a full suspension fat tire folding ebike that is also class 3 capable and honestly can exceed that a little bit and that one is priced right around 1300 bucks but also we really liked the uh torque sensor there. So yeah, that’s some options. I hope that helps. But you know if you want us to help you narrow down things a little bit further, feel free to reach back out with any questions, tell us a little bit more about what you’re looking for. Uh but yeah, this goes to anyone else listening. Always happy to give you some ideas and help steer you towards a good bike. Yeah. and let us know which way you’re leaning with those options. Yep. Uh but moving on to an episode from last or a question from last week’s episode of the show. This comes to us from Charlie Smith 9310 who said, “I watch the weekly recharge regularly. We appreciate you and I appreciate your positive attitudes also. Thank you. But I would like to see more consumer advocacy, specifically identify companies with a bad reputation. In other news, do you have a recommendation for a good ebike rain cover?” And specifically targeted Griffin here. How can someone who seems so nice be an Eagles fan? Go Giants. Uh, fair question. Uh, chalk it up to my Utah upbringing, I suppose. Um, and before I get into the answer, just just a note on the Giants. Number one, thank you for Saquon Barkley who helped get us the championship. And hey, you know, we’re the only two teams that stopped Tom Brady from winning Super Bowls. We’re the only ones who were able to knock him off. John has no idea what I’m talking about. I don’t know ever football sports guys, good sports teams, but uh, you know, good luck to your boys in blue this week. So um jumping back into the main question though about consumer advocacy. So we definitely do that and we do it in our way when we do our reviews and things like that. We are mainly there to just reveal what the bike is capable of and try to explain who it is best for and it talk about its strengths and weaknesses. Yeah. And talk about the strengths and weaknesses, things to know, things like that. Um we do try to keep overall positive attitudes. Now we do work with brands behind the scenes and this is where we do a lot of our consumer advocacy actually. Um because behind closed doors and in personal conversations with brands, we have found this more effective way of really getting brands to change something and improve their products and customer service etc. Um just kind of like having that relationship with them. We’ve tested their bikes and we just sometimes we’ll speak with them candidly of like these are things we really think you need to change. Now I understand that you know with YouTube with videos online culture things like that it can be very I don’t know popular. I don’t know if that’s the right word to try to put a company on blast or something like that and say this is what we hate about things. We can get very dramatic things like that. That’s just not our style. It’s not who we are, not what we want to do. We kind of just keep that positive outlook and again just try to show you what it is and it is not capable of and let people make their own choices from there. Um and always bear in mind we are very very selective in which brands uh we work with and ultimately which ones end up on our best lists. Um, we do not recommend uh bikes on those lists from brands that we do not trust and would not recommend to our own family, siblings, parents, friends, neighbors, things like that. If I couldn’t recommend it to them, they would never qualify to go on that list. No matter how fun the bike is or how good the value is, yada yada yada. If we don’t believe in the company or where they’re at yet, haven’t had enough time to prove themselves, they won’t go on that list. And in the rare occasions where we have found something out about a brand that was on one of those lists, we take them down immediately. That becomes priority one of the day to remove them from there. So again to plug our best list, we have numerous ones of those back on our website. You can always check those out for our recommendations of brands that we have full confidence in. Now if um now again there if any of you have purchased something based on our recommendations and that for whatever reason you’re having an issue with the bike or the brand or something like that, you can always reach out to us. We do have direct lines of communication with the brand. We are always happy to kind of like reach out to them on your behalf and hopefully get things, you know, rectified if there are any issues. And then while we again do not necessarily like operate in that space, there are other people out there who do try and do some of that. Um, electric electrified Latina actually had a video not too long ago where she kind of explained that she’s going to try to be the watchdog. Um, and I she actually published a video not too long ago related to this topic a little bit. She talked about reviewers that do a good job with this and some that don’t. Uh we actually ranked number one and number two with our sister site, Electric Bike Review, uh in her rankings with A+ ratings from her in terms of trustworthiness. Again, we’re trying to work with companies and let you know things about them so that you can make informed decisions for yourselves. So that’s kind of the longer topic there, but let’s jump back over into what you asked about rain covers. So, uh we actually have an article about this on our website talking about Yeah, link down below. So, everything to highlight um things you need to know, materials, type of cover that would be good. Do you need it for stationary use or do you need it for something on the back of your vehicle uh when you’re driving around with it like on a hitch rack for example? So, these are there’s definitely some things to know. Um comes down to materials as well, things that are waterproof, maybe made from nylon or polyurethane, things like that. Now, a few different options we have on that page right now. Um like on the more affordable end, there’s team Obsidian. You can find them on Amazon. We’ll put a link to that down below as well. that goes for about $55. Pretty good light duty cover there. Um, there’s a really fun one. I’m going to shout out the UK side of things called Storm Skin. Uh, they’re a little bit more like mid-tier over there, but I just like them because they actually have fun designs. This is one of those products that everyone’s like, we’ll just make it boring and black, but like they actually came out with some like interesting looking designs, prints and, you know, colors and things. Yeah. And seem to have some decent coverage there. Now, you can even find premium end ones. There is Zeal Pro, which is touted as a universal bike cover that you can put on the back of a vehicle. Should work with a lot of different styles of hitch racks and that one and accommodate all sorts of different bikes from beach cruisers to mountain bikes, things like that. Yeah. So, yeah, that one the Azil Pro uh right now goes for about 500 bucks. And then the Storm Skin over there, you can get that if you are in the US. It just costs a little bit more for shipping and delivery and the prices on that range from about 115 bucks to 130 depending on what model you’re looking at. So, yep. But great question. And hopefully that helps and let us know which rankover we end up going with. All right, so moving on to the next one. This comes to us from the Electric XP4 750 review on YouTube from user JY9 JC 7 QK1Q. I’m pretty sure I just read a barcode. Um, do you have the best folding bike of 2025 video coming soon? Good question, mysterious user person. Uh, barcode. That’s a barcode, man. Yeah, this is a bot. I don’t know. Uh anyway, so yeah, we do actually have four more best videos lined up in the works for this year. Uh and one of them is that best folding ebikes video of 2025. So uh we expect that to be done and launched before Black Friday. Uh especially considering, you know, how big that day is for shopping and ebikes and good deals out there. So we will do our best to get it done. And uh as always, make sure you’re subscribed and stay tuned for new content. I was going to say I think we’re trying to get was it four best videos out over the next coming weeks. Again, we want to help you guys out. We know shopping season’s right around the corner. We’ll do what we can there. Yeah, lots of good bikes this year to talk about, too. But, uh, next question comes to us uh, from Chuck Suarez 8214. Great channel question for you. Isn’t this bike basically the old Prodigy XR? Sorry, this is on the uh, the Ride OneUp Trail Rush review that you did, Griffin. Uh, isn’t this bike basically the old Prodigy XR, which is a great bike? I got one. seems just like what I have now, but adds a dropper post and nicer paint job. Am I right or am I missing something? Um, that is a good question. I think it’s like a pretty like fair one to ask. They do look kind of similar. I He mentioned the XR. It’s possible you’re talking about the old version one XC as well cuz that one was a little bit more trekking. XR is a little bit more commuter. Maybe you’re talking about both. Um, but you know, again, they’re kind of easy to lump together. They do have some similarities. Um, lots of overlap there. The bikes look similar. They also have the Broza Sprinter mid drive motor and the 504watth filion battery, but there are some pretty important differences as well, primarily in geometry. The Prodigy is much more upright, essentially a more comfort focused commuter or trekking style ride, while the Trail Rush is a true EMTB with more dialed in geometry for that type of riding. A little bit more aggressive forward lean, a little bit more single track friendly. So, let’s also look at some of the other differences and components. um comparing the Prodigy which had Tekkro HD M275 two piston brakes upon our review. It does look like that was later upgraded to the Orion system and the Orion system is what comes on the Trail Rush. Now, uh in terms of suspension, the Prodigy had an unbranded 120 mil air fork where the Trail Rush comes with a Rock Shocks Judy Silver TH 120 mil air fork on that one. A little bit more of a known quality thing going with Rock Shocks. The drivetrain, the Prodigy came with a nine-speed Shimano Alivio 42 to chain ring, 11 to 34 to cassette. Um, looks like that may have also changed to a Microshift Advent derailer and shifter after we reviewed it. The Trail Rush comes with a more expanded system, a 10speed Shimano Dior with a 38 to chain ring and 11 to 36 to cassette. Terms of wheels and tires, the Prodigy has 27 1/2 in wheels with Maxis Forecaster 2.4 in tires, whereas the Trail Rush is on two 29iners, Maxis Minion 2.6 six on that one and they are tubeless ready as well. So again, I just I don’t know this for a fact, but I think that we probably kind of had like the Prodigy as a base and then kind of transformed it a little bit into the Trail Rush. Uh however, the Trail Rush definitely much more dialed in for mountain bike riding. And just as a quick plug for that bike, I mean, it’s actually one of the best value EMTBs around. It’s actually a bike that I liked a ton. If you’re looking for something a little bit more kind of XC oriented and you value that like natural pedal like feel that you get off that motor, it is up there with probably a top three to this day in terms of natural engagement. Just feels terrific. Um, so definitely one taking a closer look at there. I I just want to add also that uh the Prodigy V2 is on a continuing sale for right around 2,000 bucks starting off. So if you know the EMTB isn’t your thing and you like a more commuter styled thing, then the Prodigy is still an excellent bike. uh even though it’s a little bit different. Okay, going back to the best list we were talking about before. I think it’s still on like our best value page because it’s on two or three. Yeah, terrific allaround rad. Solid. All right, so let’s see. That takes us into our next one, which is I have placed an order. Oh, sorry. This comes to us from ArtB on the Ride OneUp Roadster V3 uh review on the website, who says, “I have placed an order for a Ride OneUp Roadster V3 based on your review. I have one technical question. ride one up and your review state that the motor is Miise 500 watt 50 Newton meters of torque. On the Miis web page, they don’t list any models with these specs. Uh, does Mi make a specific model only for Ride OneUp or is Ride OneUp exaggerating the power? Perhaps they are implying peak wattage. Please help. Good, very good question actually. Um, and I can say here that like we don’t know the answer for sure, but we can speculate based on our knowledge of how the industry works as well as our test data that we’ll get into here. Um, so our educated guess is that this is a custom motor made for Miise. It’s definitely not uncommon for brands to work with motor manufacturers and have something either custom made or taken off the shelf and then tweaked and tuned. Um, the we mentioned the Broza motor on the uh, Prodigy and Trail Rush there just a minute ago. Uh, so Broza actually makes motors for Specialized and Specialized goes in and as far as we understand takes kind of an off-the-shelf motor and then works with the folks at Broza to tune that and and you know dial in the performance and power a little bit. Not totally sure on that one. They might actually like have a special motor just for them, but that is what you’re describing as the process process for many brands. That’s that’s fair. I that may be going back to a conversation we had with uh the designer of the Globe Hall ST. That may be what I’m thinking. In any case, uh that again, not uncommon for that to happen. Um so that would be our guess. But as far as you asked about the peak wattage, it’s definitely not likely to be a 500 watt peak motor. Now, it is relatively small for for a 500 watt motor. We kind of doubted that that was its nominal rating when we got the bike, but confirmed that over time. Um, but just going by feel, you know, comparing it to other bikes in that city category that often have 250 watt or 350 watt rear hub motors, it definitely felt more peppy and powerful. Um, it actually has a more functional throttle. So, we’ve only seen a couple of bikes of that style come with a throttle and um, like I’m thinking about the uh, Sulttera.2 two. And that one was a 350 watt motor with a throttle that, you know, worked to give you kind of a break from pedaling, but it definitely really didn’t have that punch to like get you started off the line quickly and through an intersection. Uh whereas the Roadster here definitely has that. And then uh just looking at actual torque ratings of this and similar ebikes, this one had more torque. It was 50 N versus I think 40 to 45 was kind of the highest uh of other motors out there. Um, but then also going by actual specs. So, if you’re looking at a uh the basically the voltage of the bike’s electrical system and the amperage of its controller, in this case it’s uh 36VT and 18 amp controller. Multiply those things together and you should get the peak wattage. So, in this case, that would be 648 watts. And uh then also diving into the actual test data test numbers here. Um so at our well actually at both uh locations for our hill test the throttle test was incomplete which wasn’t really that surprising just considering the fact that it is uh 648 watt peak with 50 new meters of torque. Uh but on the pedal test we had a time of a minute and 32 seconds whereas the category average including again 250 watt and 350 watt motors uh was like over uh 20 seconds longer. That was a minute and 53 seconds for the average and then the results ranged in there from a minute 31 to 2 minutes and 29 seconds just depending on the bike. So, uh yeah, I mean the Roadster is one of our favorite bikes of that style specifically. I mean it feels great to ride. It’s very responsive, but that motor power is it just gives you a little bit more. It’s a very fun bike. Uh you know, especially with that new suspension fork version. I was say we’ve been eyeballing that ever since they came out with the new suspension fork version. We’re really hoping to get one in to try that out because we have been gushing over that bike for the last year and would very much like to try the uh suspension fork out for ourselves. Ride one up if you’re listening. Um but but yeah, just to I guess put a bow on what John mentioned here. Sometimes you might not see if you go to like motor makers website doesn’t line up with what I see on the brand’s website. I would say that for brands that move higher volume, it is very common for them to do some custom things with motors you find on like Mis’s page or Buffang’s page or something like that, tune it, tweak it a little bit to their specifications instead of getting something just straight off the shelf. They might get something a little bit altered better perhaps, if you will. But, um, and in the case of that one, like we said, such a good ride. It really is. So, that’ll do it for this week’s Q&A section, but if you have any questions that you want us to get into in the next episode, which by the way is going to be a pretty cool, fun, and special episode, uh, yeah, definitely leave questions down in the comments section. You can, uh, drop them on our individual reviews over at the website or email us at questions at electricbikereport.com. John, it is time. It is time. It is time for what? Deals of the week. deals of the week. All right. Yeah. Well, jump on in, John. What do we got? How are we saving people money this week? We are saving people money in a few different ways here. We’ve got bikes and clothes to talk about. Uh so, first things first is over Oh, and accessories. Yeah. So, uh first things first is accessories over on Rad Powers website. Their Rad deals lists a couple things. So, we get a free cargo kit, which is $199 worth of value with any purchase of the Radster Road or Trail. Uh both of those are super cool bikes that we’ve reviewed and we can uh link to those. But so both of them are priced at 1999. Uh they have really fantastic uh dialed in pedal assist systems and just a great overall ride feel. But this kit that comes with it includes a front basket, bungee straps, a cargo net, and then a sort of like roll up uh basket liner like bag sort of thing for your cargo. And then they also have a free starter kit which is a $210 value with any purchase of any model of the Rad Runner. And that kit comes with a side mirror, a phone mount, and an AIS folding bike lock. So, very nice. Pretty solid. Yeah, good things to get started with there. Um, Tre is also having a sale. So, the FX Plus2 midstep LT lightweight city bike going for $1,500. Really good value on that one. One of our favorite city bikes we’ve tried. Yep. The Domain Plus uh AL 5 road bike is going for just $3,000. Good discount on that one as well. And last but not least from them, the Verve Plus 4S Gen 2 commuter all the way down to just $2,000. It was priced a lot higher than that when it first came out for sure. These are some steals. Yeah, sure. Got some good clearance going on there. But if you take advantage of those and you pick up a bike, you probably want to get some riding gear as well. So, this is where Club Ride comes in. They sent us some gear to check out uh last spring and it’s been doing great. Uh but they’ve got a whole range of uh clothing here. I just picked out a couple things that jumped out uh just to highlight here. So they have men’s bamboo graphic tees that range from 21 to $24 on sale. There’s women’s sleeveless uh sleeveless in Seattle tank tops for $33 to $44. In Seattle, let’s see what they did. I get it. I get it. Yes. Uh there are men’s mountain surf shorts for 72 bucks and women’s savvy shorts for anywhere between 56 and 64, but again that’s just scratching the surface. So be sure to check those deals out. This show would not be possible without such a great audience such as yourselves, you watching this video right now. And as a way to say thank you, each week we highlight a comment that we received. So John, who are we highlighting this week? Uh, this is one of the most on then uh screen names that I’ve ever seen. It says Joseph in Florida. So, Joseph in Florida, thanks for writing in. This is a little bit of a longer comment here, but we’ll go through this. It was on the best for seniors video on YouTube. Uh, so Joseph says, “I recently purchased an Aventound SR ebike and it is a lifecher for me. I’m a 76-year-old male who has ridden bikes my whole life, but I have Parkinson’s disease which gives me instability and weakness in my legs. Because there are some hills and inclines where I live, I gave up riding my bike 10 years ago. For a few years, I owned an electric scooter to give me some mobility. While the scooter gave me mobility, I got zero exercise riding it around and had to discontinue using it because of stiffness in my legs for sitting without moving. The electric bike gives me mobility and allows me to get some exercise and keep my legs from getting too tight and can handle the hills with ease. I also got the saddle bag attachment, which allows me to go to the grocery store. A cool thing about the saddle bag attachment is that each side fits perfectly. a standard size paper grocery store bag so I can put my things in my grocery store bag and come out and know for sure that they will fit into my bike. I highly recommend ebikes for any senior with a written extensively with with a written extensively before or trying something new weather written. Yeah, whether you have experience or not. I think that’s what he’s getting at. Uh it’s great for couples so they can ride together as well. But uh yeah, Joseph, great great stuff there. This is exactly why ebikes are not only popular but exploding everywhere. I mean, I was going to say the like second life that you can kind of get from an ebike is one of the best things out there because a lot of people that story, not to that all of those specifics, but that experience is something I’ve heard time and time again. I used to ride. I hit an age where I couldn’t anymore and that sucks. And now here I am like back to riding again. Like that is like one of like the cooler things that ebikes do and enable. So, thank you so much Joseph for sharing that. And if you have your own story and you would like to be featured here next week, again, leave us a comment down below in this video or write us at questionsele electric bikereport.com. As always, if you’ve made it this far, we really appreciate you sticking around and hanging out with us. Uh, and again, as a reminder, next week’s episode is going to be a big deal. We are going to be celebrating the one-year anniversary of this show. This is episode 52, so that’s the last one for this year. Pretty excited. That’s right. Returning one. And I’m going to get John a little birthday smash cake that he can eat. I love turning one. That’s right. Um, but again, thank you so much for all the support and helping us reach one year of doing this show. We’ve really loved enjoy doing it. Help keep it going. Share with your friends, family, neighbors, anyone who likes ebikes or just looking for a good podcast to to listen to. That’s right. As a reminder, you can find us on Spotify, Apple Music, wherever you get your podcast for the audio only version. But that’s going to do it for everyone here. This has been the Weekly Recharge.

The biggest story in this week’s e-bike news is the closure of the iconic beach cruiser brand Electric Bike Company. We also dive into the details on a new model from Urban Arrow and discuss new battery monitoring software from BatteryIQ.

Griffin takes us on a tour of a multi-city-spanning trail system here in the state of Utah.

We also address a variety of topics in this week’s Q&A section, including recommendations for a growing teenager, e-bike brands that offer lots of component choices at purchase, upcoming “Best E-Bikes” videos, and more!

Deal Links:
Rad Power Bikes Rad Deals – https://ebrdeals.com/RadPromos
Trek’s Sale – https://ebrdeals.com/TrekPromos
Club Ride’s Clearance Sale – https://ebrdeals.com/ClubRidePromos

Recent Reviews:
Momentum Vida E+ – https://electricbikereport.com/momentum-vida-e-plus-review/
Evelo Omega – https://electricbikereport.com/evelo-omega-review/
Urtopia Carbon Fusion Pro – https://electricbikereport.com/urtopia-carbon-fusion-pro-review/
Scott Voltage – https://electricbikereport.com/scott-voltage-eride-review/

E-Bike Trail System of the Week:
Murdock Canal Trail, Utah – https://www.traillink.com/trail/murdock-canal-trail/#trail-detail-reviews

Bikes Discussed in this Episode:
Urban Arrow Breeze – https://urbanarrow.com/family-bikes/breeze
Biktrix – https://ebrdeals.com/BiktrixPromos
Orbea – https://ebrdeals.com/OrbeaWild
Borealis – https://ebrdeals.com/ebrBorealis-Keystone
Lectric XP4 500 – https://ebrdeals.com/LectricXP4-500
Lectric XPress 500 – https://ebrdeals.com/LectricXPress500
Ride1Up Portola – https://ebrdeals.com/ebrRide1UP-Portola
EUYbike S4 – https://ebrdeals.com/ebrRP-EUY-S4
Ride1Up Roadster V3 – https://ebrdeals.com/Ride1UpRoadsterV3
Heybike Mars 3.0 – https://ebrdeals.com/HeybikeMars3
Rain Cover Article – https://electricbikereport.com/e-bike-covers/
Zeal Pro E-Bike Cover – https://ebrdeals.com/ebrZeal-UniversalEbikeCover
Ride1Up TrailRush – http://ebrdeals.com/Ride1UpTrailRush
Ride1Up Prodigy V2 – https://ebrdeals.com/ebrRP-Ride1Up-ProdigyV2LX

Email questions to: questions@electricbikereport.com (or comment on this video, we love comments)

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/electricbikereport/
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X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/E_BikeReport

00:00 – Intro
00:39 – News Of The Week
00:50 – Electric Bike Company files for bankruptcy
04:24 – BatteryIQ hits funding target
06:23 – CSS Composites is closing
08:32 – New Urban Arrow cargo E-Bike!
10:07 – Currently Testing & Recent Reviews
12:26 – E-Bike Trail Systems
16:52 – Questions & Comments
27:06 – E-Bike brands focused on customization?
21:22 – Fast E-Bike recommendation for a viewer
27:07 – About consumer advocacy and bike rain covers!
32:33 – Do we have best-bikes compilations coming soon?
33:28 – Is the Prodigy XR basically the same bike as the Trailrush?
36:42 – Is the motor on the Roadster V3 actually 500w-50nm?
41:45 – Deals Of The Week
44:16 – Rider Highlight
46:29 – Wrap Up