Five things that will (probably) happen to E-bikes in 2024

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hey everyone mik here with ebikeschool.com and it is time for my top five predictions for what is coming in the ebike industry in the new year now 2024 that marks I think 15 years since the first time I put an electric motor on a bike and called it an ebike so I’ve been fortunate enough to be around the ebike industry since near its infancy and get a pretty good sense of how the industry is moving now like each year at the end of this video I’m going to include my predictions from last year so we can keep me honest and see how right or wrong I was also at the end of this video I’m going to be giving away a free ebike that’s right someone watching this video right now could be you is going to win the electric XP light make sure you stick around to the end of the video to see how that could be you now my first prediction is that we’re going to see more of a push into the lower more budget end of the ebike spectrum but especially from the more Bike Shop Brands companies like tackx specialized canondale giant these kinds of companies are going to continue pushing harder into this budget space now this is more of a US prediction because in Europe a lot of the uh major bike brands are sticking with their higher cost higher quality bikes because in general Europe seems to Value higher quality bikes over lower prices call them crazy but in the US there is still a huge emphasis on lowcost affordable bikes and because the last year in 2023 saw such a crunch on the market a lot of those higher pric bikes were really either squeezed out or or hit hard so I think a lot of these Bike Shop brands that are used to producing these higher quality higher dollar bikes are going to be pushing more and towards that budget space now they’re not going to be making junk of course and some of them are probably going to continue to use this like sub brand naming so that they don’t dilute their own highquality name but I think we are going to see them push towards lower cost more attractive bikes to a general audience as opposed to sticking with that sort of bike shop customer that is really now a minority in the ebike space now my second prediction is that we’re going to see some crazy sales and really great prices into the beginning and even through the middle of the year and into the riding season and part of that is because of that huge ebike crunch that we saw at the end of last year and really throughout 2023 that the market just was not doing very well for ebikes you know there were a lot of Overstock situations a lot of companies had shelves full and were doing huge sales going into uh Black Friday those sales continued you know they weren’t just Black Friday they went through the holiday season after Christmas companies were like you know what we’re going to keep pushing these holiday sales through into January and here we are so I think that if you’ve been looking for an ebike it is going to be a great time to buy in early 24 just because there are so many companies that are still hurting they’ve got a lot of stock and they’re really trying to get it out there and really sell a lot of the uh shelf space that they have next I think that we’re unfortunately going to see a number of bankruptcies or just general closing down winding down of a lot of ebike Brands again I mean a lot of this is coming off of this tough financial situation for ebike companies in 2023 we already saw a few big name closures of course there was van moof in uh the Netherlands that was one of these big high-tech ebike compan companies that closed down went through bankruptcy we’ve seen some companies fall apart in the US uh in the past year I think zugo fell apart uh Saunders had a fiery taale spin of a story and I think this is really going to not only continue into 2024 but I think it’s going to grow unfortunately there are a lot of companies that just don’t have the capital to keep floating for so long and the sense that I get is that there are several that are sort of teetering on the edge right now so unfortunately I think we’re going to see a lot of these smaller companies start to fall out we’re going to see more of these bankrupts more of these receiver ships that sort of thing now that doesn’t mean that your bike is going to be unsupported you know a lot of the major players I think are still going to be okay but there are so many small Brands out there right now there must be a hundred or more ebike Brands across the us so I think a lot of these smaller brands that are already hurting just aren’t going to make it through 2024 it could be that you know in the summer of 2024 suddenly the market really picks up and a lot of these companies are saved but at least early through the year I just don’t see any huge Improvement in the market and these companies that are hurting are going to keep hurting even worse next unfortunately this is another sort of negative prediction but I don’t think we’re going to see any groundbreaking announcements on the ebike space outside of maybe a few healthy companies most of these companies because they’re still hurting they’re really focused on trying to um maintain their position right now not lose market share and get a lot of the bikes that are sitting in their warehouses out so they can keep the cash flow coming they’re not focused on the next big thing the next major innovation that sort of thing like we saw really coming out of 2022 and even early into 2023 so don’t expect anything groundbreaking outside of maybe a couple of the top companies that seem to be in a good position and lastly and I think this is a positive prediction I don’t think we’re going to see any major crackdowns in terms of regulation on ebikes in the US at least not in 2024 a lot of people are saying this is the year that the consumer product safety commission comes in and starts you know heavy-handedly laying down a bunch of ebike regulations or this is the year that they get classified as Motor Vehicles or this is the year that regulation comes and I don’t agree with those predictions I part of it is just I don’t think that these things move quickly enough I think that eventually sure the cpsc is probably going to come in and say we’ve got to reain in some of these uh faster outof class ebikes that sort of thing I even support that because I think that you know we need a good regulatory structure to keep these things safe and to keep people safe but I don’t think that 2024 is going to be the big Crackdown year outside of perhaps increased regulation on battery safety in terms of fire safety we’ve already seen that a lot um I think that was one of my predictions from last year we’re going to go through as well so you know on the UL testing side or on other certification side I think we’ll continue to see increased regulation but in terms of General ebike regulation cracking down speeds power levels that sort of thing I just don’t see anything coming out in 2024 it just seems like that’s too close and that kind of um bigger more over encompassing regulation is further out on the horizon now let’s check out my predict I from last year and see how well I did first off I think we’re going to see a lot more importance placed on safety certifications things like UL listed batteries that sort of thing all right this one definitely came true I mean there were full companies that went total UL compliance rad power bikes came out and said from now on everything that we make is going to have a UL battery other companies are almost entirely UL compliant unfortunately I think that we’re putting too much of an importance on uh just UL compliance there are other safety certifications out there UL also has a for-profit side which is you know they have their nonprofit that says these are the safety certifications and they have their for-profit side that says write us a big check and we’ll certify you to these so there’s um you know a bit of an issue there a bit self-serving I think that we should look into some of these other European safety regulations as well but uh I definitely think that you know 2023 was a big Crackdown on fire safety in terms of batteries next I think we’re going to see a lot more of these ebike uh tax credits incentives rebates that sort of thing basically program that are created to help make electric bicycles more affordable yeah this one was definitely true 2023 was full of ebike incentives if you check micr mobility’s incentive tracker they’ve got over a hundred uh different incentives from local to state level uh programs that you know tax credits um point of sale rebates uh that sort of thing and you know not all these are currently active if you scroll through that list there you know some of them were open for a period of time but all over the country there are you know just tons and tons of these EB like uh rebates incentive programs tax credits all sorts of things so I think that is great uh and I’m really glad to see that happen and I hope it continues I think we’re going to see more lowcost yet actually pretty good quality ebikes yeah this one I think was pretty accurate as well if you look at the lower end of the market we’re just not seeing that many sort of garbage ebikes anymore those kinds that you know you get on Amazon they’d fall apart in like a month certainly they still exist but they’re not as as big of a player anymore and if you look at the sort of um decent quality entry level starting at you know like 8900 $1,000 especially companies like electric uh electric ebikes out of Phoenix you know they’ve really upped their game so these entry-level lower quality bikes are now pretty good quality you know the electric XP 3.0 that was released last year I mean that thing is awesome integrated rack hydraulic brakes powerful Uh current based pedal assist all sorts of great features that we’re not used to seeing at this low entry price and so I’m really glad to see that the entry level for ebikes in the market have upped their game and the quality is really improving next I think we’re going to see even more of the cargo and utility bikes as well as e trikes electric tricycles now to be honest I thought this category would really blow up bigger than it did we we did see some really interesting rollouts the electric Expedition cargo bike I think was my favorite of the year that’s on the lower end of the the price range in the middle there were some other interesting models like the veletri go uh the veletri Packer was another great one sliding up even higher specialized had their um Globe Hall line which had short tail and and longtail cargo bikes and so we certainly saw some interesting ones on the trike side there wasn’t that much after the XP trike came out um I tested a verbus which was a really great super cheap trike it’s like $780 or something you know the quality is not amazing but again for that price like how can you beat it but I really thought we’d see more in that market and perhaps it was just the general slowdown of 2023 that limited that expansion unfortunately so that one I don’t think I was too close on and lastly my fifth prediction is that I think we’re going to see more ebikes from non-bike companies specifically a lot of car companies are starting to get into ebikes and I think this is really going to become a thing in 2023 and this one my last prediction was probably my biggest miss out of all of them uh I really thought there were going to be more of these Partnerships especially coming off of um big rollouts like that hummer ebike that sort of thing but again just because 2023 was such a tough year for the ebike market I think perhaps that limited these types of brand Partnerships coming from Automotive companies and that sort of thing who knows maybe 2024 we’ll see more of that maybe we’ll get a Chevy ebike all right now like I promised it is time to give away an ebike this week I am giving away the electric XP light this is an awesome ebike at $800 it is crazy affordable but it’s still a really good model you know you give up a few things you give up that suspension you give up a seven-speed shifter but what you get is a nice lightweight powerful ebike the thing still does 20 M an hour it is super convenient Fold It Up carry it around super lightweight I think it’s something like uh 40 42 LB something like that and it is an awesome ride for anyone who wants an ebike to get around but doesn’t want something that’s going to be so heavy or bulky or really get in the way it’s something that you can fold up stick under your desk at work and it almost isn’t there anymore at 800 bucks I don’t know how anyone could beat this thing so this is an awesome ebike I think it is going to be great for someone now how is this giveaway going to work it is part of ebikes for good a program I started to find people who need an ebike to improve their life somehow but can’t afford one and I want to get them ebikes so if that sounds like you if an ebike could help you in any way maybe you’re down on your luck you lost your job you’re down in your health and you need an ebike to get back into fitness that sort of thing but an ebike is just outside of your financial reach it’s just out of your budget let me know I want you to go to ebikeschool.com ebikes forgood the URL is down here somewhere there’s a entry form there it’s completely free there’s going to be no marketing you’re not going to get you know signed up for anything just tell me your story fill out that form and at the end of my next video going to do a drawing among the uh deserving entrance so it’ll be a random drawing and one person will win that electric XP light so if it sounds like something that could help you out and improve your life let me know ebikeschool.com ebikes forgood fill out the form and I want to match you with that ebike now it’s time to announce the winner of the ebike from my last video though and the randomly selected winner is Ashley H so congratulations I’m really glad to be getting this ebike out to you and if you want to win electric XP light and be at the end of my next video as the winner make sure you fill out that form and last but not least before I go it is time to announced the winner of the book giveaway for my last video and the randomly selected commenter is jarmell Barnett so congratulations just let me know which one of my books you would like you can choose from DIY lithium batteries DIY solar power the ultimate do-it-yourself ebike guide or my latest book the electric bike Manifesto and anybody else who wants a chance to win one of my books for free all you got to do is put a comment down below this video say whatever you’d like and hopefully you’ll be the randomly selected commenter at the end of my next video and anyone who doesn’t want to wait that long to hopefully win a copy of one of my books you can always find them on Amazon thanks for your support everybody I’ll see you here next [Music] time