Join us as we rake through the ashes of the e-bike news bonfire to find the smouldering embers of interesting stories. This week, a councillor is under fire for his role at Lime, Litespeed and Aurum both released ultralight e-bikes, plus there’s a new e-bike hire scheme in Anglia.
Lime-affiliated councillor faces calls to step down in City of London
City of London councillor Shravan Joshi has been scrutinised for his role at Lime after he took an anti-Voi stance earlier this year. In July, the City of London Corporation revised its e-bike Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lime and Forest to introduce stricter rules on parking compliance, as well as adding Voi to the providers in the area.
However, Cllr Joshi spoke against adding Voi to the roster. While he didn’t give a reason for his anti-Voi inclination, Local Democracy Reporter Ben Lynch found that Joshi took a position as a Board Advisor for Lime in September. Cllr Joshi accepting the role does not constitute a breach of the Corporation’s Code of Conduct, but he’s still facing calls to step down.
A source told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that Cllr Joshi should resign from his position in Planning and Transportation and Streets and Walkways.
“Regardless of whether he’s just taken up his position, I think to the public they would rightly have concerns that his position was in discussion up to and during the MoU discussions, and he was at the meeting that took the decision voting in favour”, the source said.
Voi, who forever seem to be the underdogs in e-bike hire schemes, did end up joining Lime and Forest on the streets of the Square Mile when the MoU came into effect. However, as new sheriff in town Andy Burnham promises to bring order to the Wild West of e-bike regulations, potential conflicts of interest could also be in the spotlight.
Electric Litespeed: Titanium specialist adds Mahle motors
Litespeed’s gorgeous titanium bikes are the most secretly coveted by riders on endurance and gravel rides — and they’re finally going electric. The Tennessee-based manufacturer has developed four e-bikes (two road, two gravel) that are powered by lightweight Mahle X20 rear-hub motor systems with 250 Wh batteries that lower the overall weight and — crucially — keep those downtubes slim.
The range, aptly named after electric guitar effects pedals, begins with the Distortion (gravel) and Harmonizer (road) e-bikes, which both retail from £7,565, and works up to the Sustain (road) and Overdrive (gravel) e-bikes, which begin at £9,532. The gravel models include clearance for chunkier tyres, with the Distortion accepting up to 54mm of rubber, while the Sustain, designed for “for long road days and big climbs”, is the lightest model, tipping the scales at just 12kg.
… and Aurum goes lighter than Litespeed
Fancy a lightweight and stealthy road e-bike, but want to spend fewer pennies? Spanish manufacturer Aurum has also announced its first road/all-road e-bike: the Nova. Like Litespeed’s e-bikes, it’s powered by a Mahle X20 rear-hub motor, but combining this with a carbon frame brings the overall weight to a Litespeed-beating 11.5kg.
The bike is priced from €5,999 (£5,005), and it’s a available in road and all-road configurations, with the latter switching from 32mm to 35mm tyres and from a 2x to 1x drivetrain. Shimano 105 Di2 is the base groupset, but Ultegra, Dura-Ace, and SRAM RED E1 builds are also available.
E-bikes link Anglian ferry terminals and rail stations
Dutch residents catching the ferry to Blighty won’t feel the pangs of e-bike withdrawal thanks to a new scheme from rail operator Greater Anglia. Five new e-bike docking and charging pods from Eezybike will be installed at ferry terminals and railway stations across Felixstowe, Harwich, and the Shotley Peninsula thanks to a £25,600 grant from Greater Anglia’s Customer and Community Improvement Fund.
“This project makes it easier for our customers to continue their journeys beyond the railway by creating convenient links between rail services, the Harwich Harbour Ferry and local destinations”, Scott Dolling, Greater Anglia’s Partnerships Manager, said. “This is a great opportunity for people to discover some of the hidden gems East Anglia has to offer, while keeping their carbon footprint low.”
