E-Bike News: Full E-Folder, Special E-Gravel and much more!

The British company Sonder is launching its first e-bike

The British special channel had just started the El Camino e-gravel bike It uses Kynamic’s BC250 rear hub drive system, a 250Wh battery and delivers 250W and 45Nm of torque at the same time. It features an aluminum frame and a carbon fork.

Prices range from £2,699 to £3,399 – all models use the same Kynamic drive system, but gearboxes, brakes and wheel sets vary depending on the model. Delivery is scheduled for the end of January 2024.

The bike brand Sonder is available through renowned chain of Alpkit retailers – known for manufacturing many of its outdoor products in the UK. They are not to be confused Sondors – the US company that has been instrumental in boosting the low-cost e-bike scene in the US, but has recently run into trouble with its attempt to bring a range of electric motorcycles to market.

Second Life for old e-bike batteries

The The British ebiketips reports “Raleigh’s parent company Accell Group and Dutch company Refurb Battery want to reduce carbon emissions by giving discarded e-bike batteries a second life, following a successful pilot project that reused 5,000 used e-bike batteries. “

Refurb Battery is a Dutch company developing circular energy storage systems. Recently, more than 5,000 used e-bike batteries with a total weight of more than 16 tons were evaluated, of which more than 100,000 battery cells could be reused.

China’s TAILG uses sodium-ion battery in e-bikes

We’ll admit that TAILG is a new name to us here at Electric Bike Report – although they appear to be the only e-mobility manufacturer we know of to start using sodium-ion batteries PRN Asia Calls “Luxury e-bikes” – from the looks of it on the TAILG website, these seem to come from the pedal moped school of e-bike design.

The report states that TAILG cites the following benefits:

• Super long range, even in temperatures below 0°C, 70 miles can be achieved while maintaining a speed of 16 miles per hour (author’s note – despite the fact that sodium ion chemistry has a lower power density than lithium ions traditionally used in the used as an electrolyte in most cases). current e-bike batteries).
• Life cycle over 2,000 cycles
• Even in extreme cold temperatures of -20 °C, the battery retains around 93% of its capacity, making it ideal for winter use.
• In addition, the battery’s safety performance exceeds industry standards thanks to IPX7 waterproof technology that covers the entire battery.

New York landlord takes action against e-bikes

Gothamist reports:

“More and more landlords and management companies are prohibiting residents from storing e-bikes in apartments and bike rooms, even if they meet international safety standards.”

Illegal or dangerous lithium batteries used in some e-bikes, scooters and mopeds have sparked 243 fires this year, killing 17 people, according to the city’s fire department. This is an increase from 30 battery fires and zero related deaths in 2019.”

The pressure on e-bike renters appears to be coming from landlords such as real estate companies who fear that their insurance coverage will be invalidated if they rent to tenants who keep e-bikes in the property.

All this despite the fact that the city hall passed a law a few months ago in September that bans non-UL certified e-bikes and e-scooters. According to the article, this new UL law prompted the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to begin surprise inspections of bike shops in September.

Since then, the agency has issued 81 citations for selling, leasing or renting uncertified lithium-ion batteries, including against 14 online retailers. The city also wrote 34 cease-and-desist letters to online retailers for selling non-compliant batteries.

The article also cites sources that say e-bike sales have been hit and that it is becoming increasingly difficult to own and use e-bikes, which are an economic lifeline for many New Yorkers, especially delivery workers.

Class plaintiff against Rad Power Bikes drops lawsuit