Fossil Free Friday: E-Bikes &Cargo Bike Updates Summer 2017

Yep, it's summer time and there's a lot of bike activity from some of the Mesquite-Hugger-favorite electric and cargo bike builders. Enjoy!

Just an appetizer image

Juiced Bikes

You got it, there's another (mostly) new Juiced - the CrossCurrent S. This one is the standard CrossCurrent with some nifty upgrades, so now there're three Crosscurrents to drool over. (Me, I'd be happy with the $1100 CrossCurrent Air for my daily commute.)

Karmic Bikes

Koben V2 with fatter tires

Karmic hasn't really put out new bikes - but they do have significantly updated versions of the Koben and Koben S on the way. The Version 2 models see some distinct changes. The most noticeable on the $2000 Koben is fatter tires. The most noticeable on the $2500 Koben S is the Gates belt drive. Much like the CrossCurrents, these two bikes offer a whole lot for the money. I want a Koben S, snagit!

Xtracycle Cargo Bikes

Ross Evans and the crew continue to expand and evolve their cargo bike offerings.

Find the EdgeRunners here

The EdgeRunner Swoop is a new evolution of the EdgeRunner, and I like it! Be sure to check out their $1800 folding cargo bike and their $600 DIY cargo bike!

Yuba Cargo Bikes

Interesting things are happening over at Yuba. With the recent introduction of the front-loader Supermarché you can see cargo-hauling wheels in motion. They've put out a more impressive version of the Spicy Curry (Bosch motor) and just introduced a non-electric (Sweet Curry) version too. I can't help but think that the writing is on the wall for the Yuba Mundo, especially the bottom of the line Mundo V7 Classic that stays high on the MH list of desirable and attainable cargo bikes. (Where else are you gonna find a $1000 bike with a 400 pound hauling capacity?)

Sondors Electric Bikes

Since our most-recent Sondors posts, Sondors hasn't announced any new products, but I have to give them a high five for their email marketing. Check it out!

Find them here and here

Now, if Sondors will put out a more eco-friendly lawnmower for young entrepreneurs like Zechariah and his brother (not pictured), I will give them a high ten! (Maybe someone needs to put out lawn equipment that can swap batteries with an electric bike. Daymak, it sounds like a job for the Beast!)

RadPower Bikes

Nothing really new at RadPower that I know of, but they still have free shipping and now that we are a single-car household, more than ever, I want a $1600 Radwagon, so I had to throw them in the mix.

May you have happy pedaling, happy hauling, and happy giving up the gas!

PS. If I missed any of your favorite updates to electric or cargo bikes, feel free to comment or shoot us an email!

Three Low-Cost Electric Roadster Bikes

For all you electric bike fans who are not cargo bike fans, I decided today was a day to veer away from my heavily laden single-track mind and offer up some bikes for normal people.

 

Roadster? Roaster? Donuts! (Dave Palmer Art)

 

Are you looking for an electric bike that is just a bike? You know - not a dedicated road bike, not a dedicated mountain bike,  not a cruiser, not a cargo bike, but a bike that could do a little bit of each? Well, it's a category I have been watching closely for a few years now. Keep in mind, that I am very cheap, so I have not been watching the Stromers and HaiBikes and Felts and such. I have been keeping it in the sub-$2000 range, and I am trying to stay out of the Kickstarterisms for this group so that you can keep these stewing and not have to make an impulse buy to get in on the deal. (Two of these, however, are only available for pre-order right now.)

So let's jump into it. The first bike on the list is no stranger to those who have poked around Mesquite Hugger in the past. It's the GenZe e-bike. It's technically one model that is available in a few different frame configurations. It's a solid bike with a few very cool features and it comes in at a very reasonable $1499. A few basic stats: 36 volt removable battery pack (integrated into the frame!), 250 watt hub motor, throttle/pedelec/human power/walking and stair climber modes, cool digital readout, it weighs only 46 lbs (not bad in this price range), disc brakes, and a 7-speed Shimano derailleur. It also comes in three frame sizes for the sport model and two sizes for the step-through model. Lots of good stuff. I hope silver is your favorite color - the GenZe comes in silver, silver, or silver. The frame is aluminum.

 

[GenZe sidebar: GenZe also offers an electric scooter that seems to be doing very well. I have been watching an electric scooter sharing company in San Francisco (Scoot Networks) that has adopted the GenZe 2.0 and is having great success with these low-cost ($2999) workhorses.] 

 

Genze e101 Sport

What's that? You're allergic to aluminum? You don't want to be seen riding around on recycled beverage cans? Well, maybe this next one will be more to your liking. Its frame is not metal at all. It's carbon fiber (or "fibre" for those of you from across the pond and whatnot). And it comes in a very stealthy matte black. It is from our old Canadian Beast-maker buddies, Daymak.

 

Daymak EC1 (Electric Carbon 1)

 

There are three versions available that cost $1899, $2399, and $3499. And they weigh 34, 32, and 28 pounds respectively. That's right - the cheapest version is 12 pounds lighter than the GenZe. I'll focus on that less expensive version - it's a 21-speed, has a removable 24 volt battery pack (the more expensive ones have 36 volts), has a 250 watt motor, disc brakes, and front suspension. But the big deal here is the carbon fiber frame - you just don't see that stuff in this price range - and 34 pounds is nothing to sneeze at. The bad news? If you want one next week, you are out of luck - this one is only available through pre-order at this time. But it is a cool machine.

This next one is for you speed junkies. The GenZe and the Daymak are both limited to 20 miles per hour, but the Cross Current has no such limitation - it'll do 28 miles per hour. If you are accustomed to riding around in a car, that may not sound like much, but if you are used to bicycle speeds, 28 mph is flying! 20 mph on a bike is actually impressively fast for us mere mortals. 28 will make you feel like a two-wheeled Chuck Yeager.
 

Juiced Rider Cross Current - One Bad Mamma Jamma!

The Cross Current is a product of Juiced Rider or Juiced Bikes, a small but very well thought of e-bike company best known for their rather sweet cargo bikes that have up to a 100 mile range.

[Okay, I'll be honest here. This one is my fave by far.]

Just like the GenZe, it costs $1499, but it is very impressive in features and hardware: Kenda e-bike tires (!), Samsung removable 48 volt (!) battery pack, 500 watt (!) motor, Tektro hydraulic (holy moly!) disc brakes, and an honest-to-goodness torque-sensing pedelec. Almost all e-bikes in this price range have cadence sensors - not the vastly superior torque sensors. This means that the Cross Current responds to how hard you pedal, not just to the fact that you are pedaling. Sweet!

And, it comes in sexy red or matte black. (For those of you who are worried about such things.) It also comes in three frame sizes, you can get a bigger battery for $200 more, and it has mounts for a utility rack (which has this eco-cargo dork all excited.) Sure it weighs the most (49 pounds), but who really cares when you get this much bike for the money!

(While visiting the site, I noticed that they are cross-currently sold out, but expect to have more in stock in late September.)

Add some taller bars, the bigger battery, a rear cargo rack - yep, I want one. Sure, I want a cargo bike, but this thing is cool sexy fast and all kinds of stuff that make the heart beat faster. Oh so cool!

 

May your heart beat faster and your carbon footprint be smaller.

 

Gratuitous Dog Pic with a Scoot Networks GenZe 2.0

 

 

 

Fossil Free Friday: Daymak Beast vs. the Rad Power RadMini

The Battle of the e-bike cattle!

For a while there, the Daymak Beast had the market cornered on oddball off-road e-bikes. (I love oddballs, underdogs, dark horses, and all their ilk.)

But a few weeks ago, Rad Power Bikes announced their new model, the RadMini.

The RadMini

The Beast

Yep, they both have their individual oddballity going on, but they have a lot of similarities too.

The RadMini retains a lot of bicycleishness. The Beast is more off-road scooter with pedals. The Beast has fat scooter tires. The RadMini has fat bicycle tires. They both have some cargo-hauling ability. Both are going to elicit lots of What the !@#$% is that thing? questions. For me though, the question is If I were in the market for an oddball off-road e-bike, which would I choose?

So, let's check them out for price, practicality, capability, daily livability, and oddball fun factor.

A few basic stats:
 

$1499 (+$175 shipping in US)

 

Lots of options on the Beast, but the base model is $800 higher than the RadMini

 

 

So, a few big points for comparison

• The RadMini has the most powerful motor - 750W vs 500W
• The RadMini is less expensive (by at least $800)
• The Beast has a higher voltage battery pack (with a solar charger)
• The Beast has a larger carrying capacity by 75 lbs (350lbs vs 275lbs)

My favorite part of the Beast - 60V solar self-charged battery pack with USB ports

 

My favorite part of the RadMini - it gets tiny for travel

This two-wheeled tractor is a Beast!

 

When it comes down to it, the real question is what do you want to use it for? I would pick the RadMini for urban life. Being relatively light weight and foldable, Rad Power's machine would be more maneuverable, easier to lock up, and easier to store. If you are looking for a bicycle plus benefits, the RadMini is your machine.

 

If you live in the sticks, the Beast looks very useful (and a lot of fun.) Part tractor and part minibike, it's a more substantial machine for backwoods adventuring and heavier yard work. But you are definitely not going to throw it in your trunk and its big-boy scooter looks might draw more attention from law enforcement that may not know quite what niche to put it in.

 

As for me, I'm cheap and I live in town. I'd definitely lean toward the Radmini.

 

(But I'd still rather have a Radwagon.)

 

May your choice fit your needs and your life, and may it help us all to kick this ugly petroleum habit.

Fossil Free Friday: Powered Wheels (for bikes) Overview

This is a weird but very promising category. The hard part is the Copenhagen Wheel.

Have you ever watched a food commercial that made you really hungry for something, but the place advertising was too far away so you went to a closer version of (virtually) the same thing? It's like that. The early videos and Kickstarter and promos for the Copenhagen Wheel had us e-biker and wannabe e-bikers drooling and scrambling to come up with money to send them to reserve our expensive but oh-so-cool Copenhagen Wheels. I was, at the time, broke (for which I am strangely thankful).

So, competitors started developing similar products and the race was on, or so it seemed. The competitors built their products, got them to market, and are now putting out updated versions and spin-off products. And those poor people who ponied up the reservation money a few years ago are starting to see some light at the end of their CW tunnels, but you still can't just order a Copenhagen Wheel, snagit!

So, what it so cool about these products? They are ultrasimple in installation and operation, and shipping for them is relatively cheap.

How simple are they? To be a fully capable powered wheel installer/e-bike rider you have to have two basic skills.

1. Can you fix a flat on a bicycle? (Or can you get your bike to a bike shop?)
2. Can you install and operate an app on a smartphone? (Or, do you know any teenagers who are willing to help?)

If you can answer "yes" to a few of those questions, you are ready for a powered wheel install and operation. There are even how-to youtube videos to show you how in case you have a few struggles with answering "yes".

The concept is simple. Motor, controller, throttle, and batteries are all contained in a wheel. Slap it on your bike, download an app and pair it to your wheel. You're good to go. In some cases, the setup has a dashboard, so you don't even need the smartphone.

Installing a FlyKly Smart Wheel (4-minute video)

 

What's available now: the FlyKly

 

The Flykly Smart Wheel (click here)

 

Yep Flykly got their product to market quickly. Their Smart Wheel will cost you $999, regardless of which size (20", 26", or 28") you choose. It can only be had as a rear wheel, which complicates installation a tiny bit, but many people (like me) prefer the ride characteristics of rear-wheel motors. The Smart Wheel can carry you up to 16 mph for  25-60 miles. And it's pretty stealthy. Most people won't know you are riding an electric bike. By the way, the FlyKly is an assist-only product. If you don't pedal, you don't go.

 

You can also buy a FlyKly Smart Bicycle for $1590 (cool, basic, with 20" wheels) or you can buy one of the coolest folding people movers on the planet, the FlyKly Smart Ped, for $999. I don't even like kick scooters (it's a fat middle-aged guy thing) but I have to admit this thing is a great execution of a phenomenal idea.

 

What's available now: the Evelo Omni Wheel

 

Evelo Omni Wheel - Definitely not stealthy! (install video on site)

 

 

The Evelo Omni Wheel is also available for immediate shipping. While it has similarities to the FlyKly, there are some very big differences. At 350 watts, it is considerably more powerful - so it should be faster and/or capable of carrying larger loads (like me, for instance). It is front-wheel only, it comes with a digital display and an actual throttle - it can go with no pedaling at all. Evelo also offers in-house financing, FREE shipping, and a 7-day trial period. It is also not rare to catch the Omni Wheel on sale. (The Omni Wheel available now is the second-generation model - fewer early adopter kinks.) Evelo also sells complete e-bikes, but not one with the Omni Wheel.

 

Available soon (We Hope): Copenhagen Wheel, Daymak DDS, GeoOrbital

 

 

You can learn more about the Copenhagen Wheel at superpedestrian.com

 

Daymak Shadow

 

Daymak has an interesting place on this list as a once and future provider of powered wheels. Five years ago they offered up a bike with an integrated power wheel - the Shadow. It was a very interesting early approach, but it does not appear to be available now.

 

Daymak DDS (available soon)

 

For about a year now Daymak has been showing off the DDS, a powered wheel that has the novel approach of solar panel charging. They hope to offer it as a wheel or a complete bike. It's a rear wheel setup with a 250 watt motor. You can sign up for email updates on the site.

 

 (You may be more familiar with Daymak as the maker of the Beast.)

 

The GeoOrbital Website

The MH post about it from earlier this week

 

Last up, we have the GeoOrbital Wheel. I think I like this one a lot. It's a very different approach, and (as of today) we will have big news about it 31 days from now. The GeoOrbital idea is to keep the internals stationary while spinning only the rim. It also has the most powerful motor (500 watts!) of the bunch and the 36-volt battery can be upgraded for more range.  (This wheel seems to have more options for those who'd like to do some hot rodding upgrading. Sigh.

 

May the wheels in your head be spinning as you dream of these wheely appealing products! May you be safe and may you travel clean!

Where are they now? The GeoOrbital (Powered Bike) Wheel

It's getting close!

Back in November of 2014, two new powered-wheel protoypes appeared on these pages. One was the Daymak DDS, the other was the GeoOrbital Wheel. Both were pretty cool.

The prototype was much chunkier, but it had primary colors!

 

Occasionally, I like to go back to see how things are going on these projects, so today I popped back over to GeoOrbital's site to see how things are looking. In this case, things are looking good!

 

It takes 2 minutes to install on yer big honking scooter (or bicycle)

You know I love a good wheel pun! And I love to see a plan come together!

 

I am glad to see that GeoOrbital added a bigger motor (500 watts! Big enough for bigger people like me!) I am curious to see how far they have veered from their original goal of keeping it under $500. To be honest, I expect that number to double, but they may surprise me. I would also love to know how it rides on non-inflatable tires.

 

It is a cool approach to the powered wheel, and I like the fact that that it does not hide what it is. People are going to know that your wheel is something different. There's no mistaking the fact that this thing is powered. My armchair verdict? I want one! A 20mph and a 20-50 mile range with a 2 minute install time - that sounds great to me. What's not to like?

 

May your bike take you places easily, cleanly, and wheely quickly!



 

 

A More Beastly Beast - How Did I Miss This?

I have to give it up for Daymak, they keep me on my toes. They keep offering up new stuff and it's very appealing stuff. I have a hard time keeping up with them. Unlike those !@#$% stooges at TransCanada (Ugh!), these are some Canadians who are trying to offer something positive to the world.

This time, it's a bigger, badder Beast - this one is two-wheel drive and runs 30mph! And it's only $300 more than the Beast Ultimate. If the normal Beast was just too citified for your taste, this is the Beast for you - the Beast D!

This 2WD Electric Ruckus Will Take You Anywhere (Gas 2)

 

So, let's look at specs:

• 2WD (You can hang with mountain goats who hang out on 36 degree slopes!)
• removable 60 volt 20 amp-hour lithium battery (with a solar panel built in)
• 2 - 500 watt hub motors
• 2 USB ports for your electronics
• It weighs only four pounds more than your favorite blogger

 

To be honest, I am not in the market for a Beast, but my less practical rugged manly side sure wants one. I want to be able to say things like, "I am going to hop on my eco-friendly Beast and run over your TransCanadian a##, b*****s!" and other macho Captain Planet kind of stuff. I want to be able to get away from it all and know that my transport is sitting in the sun charging itself while I'm off doing manly things like writing poetry and looking at birds through a monocular. When I see a muddy alley, I want to think Hell yeah! Let's see what the neighbors are throwing away! Yes, I want a 2wd 31mph Beast. Now where did I leave that $4300 I had lying around?

 

May your Rambo fantasies feature a beast and some quest or another to save our battered world.

Another Look at Daymak Electric Bikes and Scooters and Such

Once in a while I re-post desktop vacation videos. You may have caught one of the Danny Macaskill videos, the ones I sometimes head to for a ten-minute mindsweeper. Sometimes it's all the break I need to prepare me for another couple of hours of work.

Well, my next recommendation is not quite that, but for those of you who are interested in electric bikes and scooters, you might find this one intriguing.

Getting to the video: Just go to daymak.com and don't click on anything. Daymak has a random shuffle going with lots of video of their products. (People keep asking about my dream job, I think I'd like to shoot, edit, and produce Daymak videos for a living.) Enjoy the videos, but don't expect any Danny Macaskill stuff.

[Blogger note: I have never seen a Daymak product in person.]

You see, Daymak intrigues me. I had seen them in the past and discounted them as a distributor of some really mediocre looking Chinese e-bikes and scooters. Then their break-out product hit Kickstarter, and I started paying better attention. It was the Beast. They met their Kickstarter goal and delivered their product in a timely manner.  And people even seem to be happy with them.

So, I did a little more research and found that Daymak had previously created a predecessor to the powered wheels (Flykly, Copenhagen Wheel, Evelo, etc.) that are all the rage these days and put it in a bright yellow bike. And it's actually pretty cool when you check it out.

Daymak Shadow

 

On the heels of the Beast came the Daymak Drive System. Or maybe I used the wrong verb tense since it has still not made it to production. The DDS is very much like the Copenhagen wheel and such with the added bonus of built in solar panels for supplemental charging. And they've hoped to bring it in at considerably less money than those others. Still waiting, but I look forward to seeing what it turns into.

 

Daymak DDS

 

The most recent innovative product from Daymak? Well, it may not be that innovative, but it does look like a game-changer among e-bikes. At first glance it seems a pretty standard machine. A hardtail hybrid, twenty-one speed with a low-powered front hub motor and a removable lithium battery. What makes it exceptional is its really low weight and its really low price and its exotic material list. An e-bike under 35 (or even 28) pounds, under $2000, and made out of carbon fiber. And if you jump on the Kickstarter train, it can be had under $1000. And this from a company that has actually delivered on what seemed like a long-shot Kickstarter - the Beast. (And it's pretty sexy in black suede.)

 

Daymak EC1 Kickstarter

 

Yep, Daymak keeps surprising me, especially for a company that offers things that look like this:

 

 

May Daymak keep surprising us, and may we keep having new and better options for staying away from gasoline while having a very enjoyable ride.



National Drive (Ride) Electric Week: A Moustache on an E-bike and some MH faves

found on pinterest

Generally speaking, NDEW events focus on electric cars, but there are other electric vehicles out there that make a lot of sense, especially to those of us who are hoping to save money while saving the earth - electric bicycles.

If you've spent much time around this blog, you know that the MH staff is pretty crazy about electric bicycles. And we love to list reasons why they make so much sense, but don't take our words for it.  A while back we re-posted a trying-out-an-ebike blog post from Mr. Money Moustache - a blog based on financial wellness and living a better life. Well, MMM has now posted a follow-up to that original post - and it sounds like the verdict is very favorable for electric bikes. Check it out:

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/08/31/electric-bike-reviews/

 

 

Here are some of my favorite e-bikes in the less than and equal to $2000 category:

The Riide e-bike $2000

 

gneZe e101 Sport $1500

 

gneZe e102 Recreational Riser $1500

 

The Radwagon $1700 ($1400 if you act soon) (drool)

The Daymak Beast ($2000 for base model - yes, it's a stretch, but it has pedals. :-)

Do you want to learn more about factory-built e-bikes? Check out Electric Bike Report.

 Do you want to learn more about building your own e-bike(for a lot less money)? Check out the Endless-Sphere forum.

Do you want a low-carbon and inexpensive commuter that won't drench you in your own sweat? Check out an e-bike!

May you find yourself enjoying your commute, saving the earth, and treading lightly!

Bonus link from Mr. Money Moustache: Curing your Clown-like Car Habit (It may make you sputter and blush.)