Hooray, it’s Friday! And we’re here to slide you into your weekend with the biggest news from the world of e-bikes, including Westminster Council’s astonishing e-bike fine stats, new things from Aventon, a mind-boggling bike frame on Kickstarter, plus more.
Westminster collects £300,000 in e-bike fines, and is nowhere near done
Westminster City Council has issued more than 5,000 fixed-penalty notices to e-bike hire operators since the start of the 2026/2027 financial year, up from the 1,259 issued the prior year, and on course to hit an epic 10,000 by March of next year. The central London borough council has levied over £300,000 in notices and seizure fees, and more than 1,000 bikes have been impounded this year.
“Sometimes hundreds of bikes are really seriously blocking the road, going into the road”, Cabinet Member for Enforcement, Caroline Sargent, told The Standard’s Local Democracy Reporter. “So that is where the main seizure action is taking place, but the enforcement action is taking place in every ward. The issuing of FPNs is taking place everywhere. And there have been seizures that have taken place outside of those 20 hotspots too, but that is where most of it has been focused to date”.
According to The Standard, all Westminster City Council inspectors now have the powers to issue fines for poor parking. In addition, two inspectors have been specifically trained to target hire e-bikes.
Meanwhile, in West London, Ealing Council has approved immediate removal of dangerous or obstructive e-bikes, as reported by Ealing Today. Operators will be given two hours (down from four) to remove poorly parked bikes, and forced to reimburse recovery and storage costs for seized vehicles. In a more measured approach than Westminster, Ealing has also agreed to create more dedicated physical e-bike parking locations, instead of virtual in-app zones.
“The challenge is not e-bikes themselves”, Council Leader Peter Mason said in his weekly notes. “The challenge is making sure they are used responsibly and managed properly. We are putting in place arrangements that will enable the council to remove bikes that present a danger or obstruction and recover costs from operators. This is about getting the balance right”.
London truly is the Mos Eisley of e-bikes, and Westminster City Council’s £300,000 revenue thanks to fines suggests that there’s a reluctance to get on top of the very lucrative problem. The Mayor of London’s much-delayed city-wide scheme cannot come soon enough.
Lime bikes land in Walsall, and rack up 10.5m journeys in Seattle
Despite epic clampdowns in London, e-bikes are thriving elsewhere. Operator Lime has expanded into the market town of Walsall in the West Midlands, joining neighbouring Birmingham, Coventry, Sandwell, Solihull, and Wolverhampton, where riders have already clocked up one million journeys.
“It’s fantastic to welcome Lime to Walsall and great to see the bikes in the flesh”, said Councillor Nicky Barker, deputy leader of Walsall Council. “This will provide a real boost to active travel across the borough and a huge improvement on the existing cycle hire offer. The introduction of these new state-of-the-art e-bikes is a great step forward for Walsall, giving people a convenient, affordable and sustainable way to travel.”
Much further west, Lime riders have hit 10.5 million journeys in the US city of Seattle so far this year — hitting 2025’s record two months before the end of the year. Trips in Frasier’s home city were boosted by the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which caused an epic single-day high of 83,000 rides on 19 June as fans went to see the USA trounce Australia 2-0 at the Seattle Stadium.
Aventon releases fast charger and limited edition e-MTB
US e-bike brand Aventon has launched a 510W fast charger for its e-bikes. The new power block is said to power up your e-bike battery from 0-80% in less than 90 minutes, while utilising app controls to ensure your cells don’t get stressed by the rapid injection of electricity. The $259 (£194) 1.15kg charger is fully UL-certified with temperature and overload protection, and probably a safer bet than buying some unbranded brick from Aliexpress that produces a funny smell…
In even more exciting news from Aventon, the probably-soon-to-be big-in-the-UK company has also announced a high-spec limited run of its Current e-MTB. Just 99 units of the $7,999 (£6,000) Current LTD will be manufactured, with the bike including a snazzy orange paint scheme, plus upgraded components including a Rockshox Lyrik Ultimate 150mm fork, RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate shock, and SRAM X0 Eagle AXS T-Type 12-speed groupset.
Curious angle-free e-bike to launch on Kickstarter
This week in crazy-looking contraptions on Kickstarter: the Novbyx. Discarding conventional things like welds and angles, this e-bike frame simplifies the design into what it describes as “continuous structural profiles connected through precision-engineered mechanical interfaces.”
By removing welded joints, creator Tadeusz Lacny’s frame apparently creates a ‘cleaner’ load path while reducing manufacturing complexity and improving serviceability. The full e-bike will feature a 250 watt P160 hub motor with 35 Nm direct torque, plus an integrated 10Ah battery, and Shimano CUES drive train. The company’s suspiciously vibe-coded site lists an initial batch of 77 units available for $1,999 (£1,500) when the Kickstarter launches.
We’ve seen similar weld-free e-bikes in the adhesive-bonded Flit M2, but the Novbyx is even more minimalist. It could be a revolution in bike design, or it could be a recipe for rear-axle shearing…
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