From the comfort of my home office I attended CES 2024 virtually this week, and collected all the news for cyclists, and it’s mostly all about e-bikes. The total count of e-bike sales now even outnumber EV car sales worldwide, so that growth trend continues. Some 85% of all bikes sold in China are now e-bikes.
e-bikes
This single category continues to grow in revenue and units shipped, so CES is a popular place to show off the latest in bikes with electric motors, powered by batteries to ease some of the manual peddling burden for commuters, mountain bikers, and cargo bikes.
Topsecret
An urban e-bike with no hubs on the wheels.
Vanpowers
They showed two e-bike styles this year, and have features like: hub motor lock, emergency SOS, vibration detector, real-time GPS tracking, and geofencing.
- Gravel – UrbanCross
- Mountain – GrandTeton
Kugoo
An off-road, full suspension e-bike from a vendor that also has e-scooters.
Ultima
From France with have several e-bikes aimed at commuters.
URTOPIA
A CES 2024 Innovation Award honoree offering four models: Carbon 1s, Carbon 1, Chord, Chord X, Fusion. The carbon frames are unique in that the seat tube doesn’t directly connect to the bottom bracket, rather it’s merged with the seat stays. Carbon is used for the belt-drive, instead of a steel chain, and there’s a built-in display in the stem that even works with Google Maps, Apple Health and Strava, wow. ChatGPT works through Bluetooth to your phone, and there’s also WiFi and GPS. Their e-bike is activated by a ring.
Himiway
Plenty of segmentation with eight e-bikes: The C1 (kids), C3 (cargo), C5 (motorbike), D5 Pro (off road), D7 Pro (extreme off road), A7 Pro (commuter), X5 Pro (carbon), and X5 Ultra (carbon mountain bike).
Heybike
New for this year is the Hauler model, a cargo e-bike, adding to their line of over a dozen models to choose from.
Cyrusher
With almost a dozen e-bike models to choose from, one model that stands out is their fat-tire electric bike.
Rictor
Blurring the lines between bike and motorcycle is the K1, as it sports motorcycle tires and shocks, but then adds pedals like an e-bike.
VinFast
With the motor in the rear hub, this DragonFly almost looks like a mini-bike, instead of an e-bike.
Korea Mobility
The KOMO hub-less e-bike from Korea looks like another commuter choice, and they are a 2024 CES Innovation Award honoree.
AIMA
An aluminum frame mountain bike with front suspension and disc brakes was shown.
HYPER Bike Company
One of the few brands that offers both traditional bikes and e-bikes, with 14 models of e-bikes to choose from, mostly commuter and fat-tire e-bikes.
Daewon J&B
This South Korean company has some sketchy plans for a hub-less e-bike, so let’s wait for a real product to emerge. The look reminds me of the movie Tron from years ago.
MileBox
From Canada comes a cargo e-bike for carrying big loads, along with software to manage a fleet of delivery vehicles.
Very cool sustainable tech product called #milebox , a cargo e-bike for commercial last mile delivery #ces #ces2024 pic.twitter.com/KhuPv0quul
— brostocksmedia (@brostocksmedia) January 10, 2024
Movcan
This Chinese company has two off-road e-bikes, the V20 and V30, both looking like a cross between a moped and a motorcycle. Manufactured by Dongguan Shiwei Technology.
Saneagle
With 18 models of e-bikes, this Chinese company has products for: city, commuter, fat cruiser, road, mountain.
Greenworks
This Tennessee-based company produces products in multiple categories, and they field five e-bikes for off-road and commuting.
MileBox
From Canada comes a startup that provides an e-bike for hauling cargo, along with the logistics for fleet management of deliveries.
YeScooter
With eight e-bikes to choose from, this Chinese company also offers scooters.
Owlet
There are no pedals on this e-bike fro California, and the tube design is unlike any other bike on the road.
Kixin
Offering three models of e-bikes, this Chinese company has integrated a display for their bikes.
KingSong
A hub-powered e-bike with mid-frame suspension, and adjustable height stem and seat.
Smilee
Thirteen models of e-bikes are offered by this vendor, and they have aluminum frames.
Yadea
Two e-bike models with suspension, motorcycle light and fat tires.
YK Chic
Three models of fat-tire e-bikes hail from this Chinese vendor.
Kopuway
A range of off-road, full-suspension e-bikes, made in China.
Segway
The name made famous by self-balancing two-wheel mobility, now has a new e-bike called Xafari.
Volta
How about a cruiser e-bike from VTA, they mostly offer scooters.
FUELL
This step-through e-bike called the Flluid-3 touts a long range battery, suspension, fenders and a rack.
Trainers
I’ve used indoor trainers from both Wahoo and Garmin (Tacx), where you remove the rear wheel and attach the bike to a smart trainer, then use a fitness app like Zwift to ride virtual courses.
ULTIRACER NEO
Your bike rides on rollers, while being supported by the frame so that you don’t tip over at slow speeds. This produce was a CES 2024 Innovation Award Honoree in the Digital Health category. I first used rollers in the 1970s, and there is a learning curve to stay balanced, especially at slow speeds. Once you get the hang of it, then you steer to keep on track.
It looks like this system has it’s own software, but I’ve never seen it for sale in any of my online or retail bike stores yet.
Sunny
It looks like a Peloton, yet this company offers 60 models of exercise bikes.
LifeSpan
The Ampera is a seat with pedals for desk workers that can charge your devices through a USB-C port or a 15W Qi charging plate, so not something that you put on gym clothes for a workout, rather something used in home and office for light exercise.
Smart Accessories
Velo.ai
CoPilot is an AI-powered bike light and camera designed to keep cyclists safer on the road.
Livall Helmets
Commuters will be seen with the Smart Commuter helmet, as the rear light is higher up and more visible to motorists.
In Charge
Where are you going to charge your e-bike? That’s where In Charge comes in, as they are building up an EV charger network for e-bikes and scooters.
WiPowerOne
Wireless charging for e-cargo bikes, that’s what this Chinese company has developed.
Garmin
Women can use the new HR-Fit, it’s a heart rate monitor that fits onto medium and high-support sports bras. I sure hope that swapping batteries doesn’t require using a miniature Torx screwdriver like on previous models, as the threads tend to strip out.
Sennheiser
Earbuds that also track heart rate and body temperature, OK, that’s unique, but I recommend that cyclists not be distracted with earbuds while on the road for safety reasons.
MindMics
Similar to Garmin, MindMics has an earbud with heart rate monitoring feature, plus they are a CES 2024 Innovation Awards honoree.
Safeware
Modern cars have airbags and they save many lives, so why not do something similar for cyclists? Safeware has a wearable airbag that looks like a vest, and they are a CES 2024 Innovation Awards Honoree.
Qualcomm
The Snapdragon Digital Chassis SoCs give e-bikes connectivity, infotainment, advanced rider assistances systems (ARAS) and personalized cloud-connected digital services.
Valeo
Placing both the electric motor and gears inside the same gearbox is what the Cyclee from Valeo does, so no more derailleurs for an e-bike.
Bosch
The electric motor is central to all e-bikes, and that is where Bosch comes in, as they sell the drivetrain to e-bike companies, like: Riese & Muller, Gazelle, Trek, and Tern. Editors at Wired did test rides outside of several e-bikes at Red Rocks Canyon National Conservation Area.
Summary
I still ride a traditional road bike, however more of my buddies are buying e-bikes for their spouses and parents. As I cycle around the Portland, Oregon area I’m seeing more e-bikes in all flavors: commuter, fat-tire, mountain, road, cargo. The e-bike revolution just keeps growing, with all of the traditional bike brands (Specialized, Trek, Cannondale, Fuji, Canyon) adding electric models, and new entrants emerge that have no bike history.
Follow my cycling adventures on Strava, or in virtual reality on Zwift (Daniel Payne, 66), better yet, let’s go for a ride together.
Related Blogs
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CES 2023 and all things cycling
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CES 2022 and the Electrification of Cycling
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CES 2021 and all things Cycling Technology
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