After getting the hard news over with first as we interviewed Forest about its viral social media clip featuring none other than One Pound Fish Man (he also DM’d us on Instagram afterwards which made our year), it’s time to wind down with the rest of this week’s e-bike news as we pedal towards Easter Sunday…
Also achieves unicorn status
Are we entering an e-bike renaissance? While companies such as Rad Power Bikes flounder, Also is hitting new highs. A spin-off of US electric auto maker Rivian, Also has a $1 billion valuation in a new $200 million funding round, according to the Daily Upside. Not bad for a company that hasn’t even launched its e-bike.
Its $3,500 TM-B bike, due for initial deliveries in the US in “late spring,” boasts a 100-mile battery range, 28 mph assist, swappable batteries, a high-res touch display, GPS tracking, in a playful modular design with suspension and chunky tyres for off-road adventures. Also’s TM-Q, meanwhile, takes the tech and design language into a four-wheeled vehicle for deliveries.
The company’s success comes as higher fuel prices make drivers become e-bike riders. A survey by Veo Micromobility — which operates e-bike and e-scooter hire schemes in 50 cities across the US — revealed that 68% of surveyed riders said they’d replaced car trips with shared scooter or bike rides, and 34% had done so frequently.
“Easier to use a bike for price, parking, and dependability … plus it’s more fun too,” said one of the survey respondents.
London underground: Microhub Alliance Launches
A new scheme in London is aiming to make 1 million deliveries via e-bikes in 2026. Uniting e-mobility provider Port with companies including Deliveroo, Apcoa, Q-Park, Saba, and NCP, the Urban Microhub Alliance is repurposing unused London spaces such as car parks to house e-bikes that can be rented by delivery riders.
As reported by Zag, the alliance’s network includes 22 sites across London, covering 92% of the Congestion Charge zone within one mile. These “microhubs” include rentable e-bikes for cargo and food delivery, with the noble aim of ridding the capital’s streets of unnecessarily large white vans and dodgily duct-taped e-bikes.
YouTube donates gnarly e-bikes to LA Fire Department
YouTube, a video hosting website you may have heard of, is donating 30 high-performance, customised electric motorbikes to the Los Angeles and Arcadia Fire Departments.
“These specialized ‘First Responder’ units are built to access rugged, mountainous terrain where traditional fire and emergency response can’t reach,” said Adam Stewart, Google’s Video President of Sales.
The 1000W mid-drive motor-equipped bikes will allow firefighters to reach hard-to-access areas and find flare-ups before they begin. They’re also equipped with flashing lights, sirens, and rack systems for carrying gear. If I was 10 this would be the single greatest thing I’d ever seen.
Mirider Monoposto announced…
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UK e-bike company Mirider has announced the Monoposto, which brings e-bike tech to the unicycle sector.
“We are delighted to be bringing such a fresh and ambitious concept to market, demonstrating both the strength of our vision and our appetite for innovation,” said Martin Higginson, Mirider’s Marketing Director.
Yes, we get that it’s an April Fool’s joke … but it’s not actually that bad as a concept, is it?
7 thoughts on “Are rising fuel prices driving more people to e-bikes? Plus the London Microhub Alliance plans to hit 1m e-bike deliveries in 2026, and YouTube funds e-bikes for LA first responders”
Given the current London fuel prices it’s highly likely that many Londoners are turning to bikes generally, not just e-bikes. For all the vilification he’s had Sadiq Khan’s efforts at congestion control and cycle lane provision will have encouraged a lot of commuters onto bikes.
…Bloomberg is predicting that we’ll be paying £2.00 a litre before this current mess is over, so I think more people will be “on their bikes” soon.
It might have been the improvement in the weather, but on Wednesday there were lots more riders (non e bikes) on the section of canal on my morning commute.
Heavy motor traffic on the 2 miles of main road coming into Garstang this morning, without a single bike apart from mine. No sign whatsoever of this mode switch – time for the return of the Fuel Price Escalator!
Time for fuel rationing before too long! Either that or the petrol will simply run out!
@60somethingcyclist no, no, NO! Didn’t you get the populist message? That will only increase the price, which in turn will make people use even less … meaning less profits and NO GROWTH!
Obviously what we need to be doing is mandating everyone drive more, which will create more demand and that will help us sweep away bothersome politicians and their regulations and get fracking and drilling. (Plus AI and the crypto folks will need loads more power also, far quicker than we can build nukes).
And silly nonsense like spending money on historic indulgences like cycling that nobody wants to do, and pointless questions like “what about the future”? We need to get ours now – as everyone else will be doing so! Anyway, it might never happen, at least not before I retire!
Many years ago, when the UK was (sensibly) in the EU, I was contacted by the Swedish Embassy in London (Sweden held the Presidency at the time) and asked to help organise a ride for EU ambassadors in London.
For the ride, they imported some e-bikes from Austria. The manufacturer was Puch. They were modern for the time. The battery was large and seated behind the seat post. The motor was mid mounted and the gear was a Shimano 3 speed hub.
Anyway, at the end of the event, the embassy said I could take one of the e-bikes as they were not planning on returning them to Austria. No thanks I replied, I’m good. A few months passed and they called me again. Look, we still have one e-bike in storage are you sure you don’t want it? Alright, I replied, and I went and picked it up. I have to say it was a real life changer. I discovered that e-bikes really do open up the whole city in a way that non e-bikes did not. I could wear a suit on an e-bike. I took the children to school on the e-bike. I bought a cargo bike and sold the car. I carry loads of stuff on the TERN; including a teenage daughter on occasion. I still use my ‘normal’ bikes and there is nothing like riding an analogue bike – but for every day urban mobility the e-bike is top.