5 Things That Will Happen To E-Bikes In 2025!

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hey everyone Micah here with ebike school and today I’m going to give you my top five predictions for what is coming this year in the ebike industry I’m not saying this is a guarantee but I’ve been working in the ebike world for over a decade and a half now and I’ve been pretty on for my last four or five years of making these yearly predictions and at the end of this video we’re going to go back and check my predictions from last year and see whether I was right or wrong also at the end of this video I’m going to be giving away this ebike the oow Cycles voltaic 500 mini to one of you watching this video right now so if you want to see how you can win this awesome ebike and learn a little bit more about it make sure you stick around to the end of the video all right now let’s get started with these predictions now my first prediction is that 2025 is going to be the year of the ebike regulations things are clamping down and they’re going to clamp down significantly this year that could come in several forms but it seems like the higher speed higher performance ebikes are in the crosshairs of several States legislative bodies we’ve started to see some new laws from California uh Utah’s got something on the books Oregon’s looking at uh fast ebikes California is looking at heavy ebikes we’re talking about you know some serious ramping back of places where ebikes can ride um in some states ebikes being pushed onto the street out of the bike lane in other states ebikes being pushed towards uh registration Insurance potentially licensing requirements generally more on the higher performance like I was saying whether that’s outof class you know these sort of class 4 ebikes that go faster than 28 whether that’s a high-speed throttle ebikes or uh just some of these sort of like fake not not really ebikes but E Scooters and other things that try to masquerade under ebikes or even sirons Taria those type of electric dirt bike style bikes that have been masquerading under the ebike name for several years there’s just going to be a significant clamping down of of those types of uh shenanigans that have gone on for a while that doesn’t mean that the ebike that you have is problematic you know you you’ve probably got a fine you know class one two three whatever ebike but folks that have been operating ebikes that are on the uh the edge of what we would consider legal or in the gray area you guys might start having some issues depending on how strict your states are going to be this is definitely more of a a West Coast Trend but it’s starting to sweep across the US and New York as well we’re starting to see some of that so I think 2025 is going to be a tough year for anyone who enjoys the uh the higher end of the EB bike performance Spectrum my next prediction is that we’re going to see more of a shift of electric bike manufacturing out of China I think there is going to be significant pressure from a few directions but the most important is the unknown of upcoming tariffs uh I’m filming this video before the new Administration is uh being inaugurated hopefully I get it posted soon as well um so we don’t know if when uh Trump comes in he’s going to put some of these heavy tariffs on China that he’s talked about we’ve heard heard upwards of you know 35% 60% at one point he was saying 2 to 300% tariffs no one knows really what’s going to happen yet how that could affect the ebike industry but there are many companies that just don’t want to to have to plan around such uncertainty and I think we’re going to see more of a push of manufacturing outside of China that’s going to go to countries like uh Thailand Vietnam Cambodia uh somewhat Taiwan uh other countries where um there’s going to be a decent investment in factories in the uh the labor that is needed to produce these things I don’t think we’re going to see much manufacturing brought to the US at least in terms of electric bicycles I I just see it spreading out more across Asia but moving outside of China we’ll let this plane go by yeah it’s probably good all right the uh third prediction I’m making for 2025 is we’re still going to see great pricing 2024 was sort of the year of the ebike sales right there were a lot of companies that had Overstock situations still coming out of 2023 and I think a lot of that pressure is going to continue to push into 2025 uh we’re going to continue to see these really impressive sales uh we’re going to continue to see companies trying to get rid of the last of their um you know overstocks trying to clear out shelves we’re probably going to see some uh interesting bikes introduced as well which means there’s continued pressure on companies to clear out old stock um we didn’t see as many new sort of Fly by Night companies enter the market in 2024 as we had in the past so we don’t have as much competition in that sense but I I think a lot of these just really really good ebike deals ebike sales that we saw last year are going to continue far into 2025 now there is one exception there and I’m going to reserve the right to um withdraw that prediction if for some reason we get some some crazy high tariffs imposed on electric bicycles this year you know if uh we start seeing these 60% or 100% China tariffs then suddenly a lot of those uh ebike deals are going to evaporate but outside of something like that you know just stocking the industry I think we’re going to have uh continued really good good sale prices this year now my fourth prediction and I’m not as gung-ho about this but I’m I’m fairly confident enough to make it is that we’re going to see an increase in the number of ebikes being available with tracking options especially on the lower end you know it’s not going to be limited to these4 or $5,000 ebikes anymore we have seen a little bit of this Vel trick has been great about including Apple fine my in their bikes this is such a simple and uh lowcost technology that I have to imagine more companies so going to start adopting it there are of course other competitors uh there are similar Technologies available those tile trackers other trackers in the Android uh ecosystem as well as GPS tracking of course though that one generally requires some sort of um either monthly subscription or you know yearly membership that sort of thing but I just I have to imagine more companies are going to want to provide some sort of tracking now that a few have demonstrated that it’s possible and that consumers really enjoy it you know we like being able to open our phone and say all right my bike is still where I parked it so I I I really hope that’s coming and I really hope that a year from now in my my next prediction video I can look back and say I got that one right and my last prediction and this one is kind of a sad one I think we’re going to continue to see significant uh ebike bankruptcies more companies closing down uh definitely you know some big layoff rounds to come the electric two- wheeler Market was not kind to companies a year ago and a lot of the factors that led to those closures are still in effect now so uh I think we’re going to see more and unfortunately we may see some big names closing this year as well if not closing then like I said definitely going through more big layoff rounds because there are a lot of companies that are on borrowed time you know they’ve got huge debt sheets some of these companies I don’t know how they’re still operating with so much debt on the books and there’s only so long that their investors can keep Bank rolling this stuff before they say that’s enough I got to cut my losses so I’m I’m hoping we don’t see too many but be prepared for several more closures bankruptcies um receiver ships you know all of that coming next year all right so that was a little sad but now let’s look back on my uh 2024 predictions and see whether I was uh on the Mark or missed it entirely 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 TX specialized canondale giant these kinds of companies are going to continue pushing harder into this budget space okay so I did not start off strong I will give you that um I really thought there was going to be more of a push into this the specialized Globe line which was a really interesting push from from a hand brand specialized into this low space was sort of enigmatic of what I was expecting to see more of but it was such a tough year for ebik companies that I think that you know it just didn’t result in the kind of investment in new brands new models that sort of thing that I thought was going to be coming 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 yeah this one on the money I mean you know throughout the beginning of the year we we saw decent prices but then as 2024 progressed more and more sales definitely in riding season and just crazy good deals you know a lot of companies were basically giving bikes away you know bikes that that rad was selling for like $2,000 were going for barely over a thousand those kind of deals so definitely just insane uh ebike deals throughout the year as companies were clearing out those shelves 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 all right so I know I kind of repeated that prediction this year but last year it was definitely true you know the juice the fuels the the cakes all those companies that uh closed out last year and uh that one like I said it’s it’s just going to keep happening unfortunately 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 yeah that one was pretty much on the money as well it’s not that there weren’t new ebikes unveiled last year there certainly were but I just I can’t think of any that were just like groundbreaking or or that new we saw a lot of just sort of refreshes you know there was like electric had the the Expedition 2.0 the expak 2.0 rad did unveil a couple of of new bikes nothing like crazy I made video about how if anything Rad’s new bikes was just a return to form of a few years ago for them which I thought was great cuz you know things had kind of gotten off course there um but yeah nothing radically new last year there just there wasn’t uh room in the market for investing in those kinds of of big new launches 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 yeah that one was true as well there was nothing big that happened in 24 in terms of crackdowns at the very end of the year that’s when California passed that um new regulation regarding redefining or you know tightening the definition of class 3 ebikes in the state that that only took effect this year in 2025 so that’s why I really think that you know 2025 now this is the year of the regulations whereas last year we saw almost nothing in terms of tightening on on uh ebike performance regulations we did see a little bit in terms of uh more UL compliance requirements that sort of thing the the safety the fireproofing that stuff we saw a little bit but this is the year where it really kicks in all right so those were my predictions for this coming year I did pretty good last year a year from now let’s check back and see how good I was uh but now it is time for my favorite part of all of my videos it is the ebikes for good giveaway this is a program I started to give free ebikes to people in need and I am super excited to be giving away this ebike in this video this is the oow Cycles voltaic 500 Mini so a huge thank you to oow Cycles make sure you go check them out oow has a ton of interesting ebikes they have sort of normal ebikes like these but they also have a lot of really interesting e trikes their conductor plus is awesome I’m going to be showing you guys more about that in the future spoiler alert uh but they have some really cool other Rick Shaws and big cargo tricycles Etc check them out huge thank you to them for being super generous and helping me give away the ebike now let’s talk about the 500 mini as you can see it comes in olive drab kind of this green and it’s got this interesting moped frame you know it’s got this really long bench seat here it’s called The 500 mini and that’s because it’s actually kind of small now I’m 5′ 7 or 170 cm and it fits me well but it’s not a big bike you know it fits nicely in a garage fits in an apartment and it doesn’t take up too much space that being said it’s still got really good performance that 500 wat motor back here it’s actually 873 I think Watts so it’s got a lot of peak power back there gets you up to 20 mph easily there is a throttle so this is a true to form Class 2 ebike you’re not going to have any issues with some of these tightened class 3 regulations because it is class 2 it’s got those uh 180 mm uh mechanical disc brakes it has a uh let’s see 11.6 amp hour battery so at 48 volts that’s about 550 wat hour it gets you around 30 m or so of range on mixed pedal assist and throttle riding of course less than the advertised range if you’re only riding around on throttle it’s got that nice big display up here uh headlight and tail light that’s a big 500 Lumen headlight up front uh less than the rear of course think it’s 50 Len tail light and you’ve got the option to add a bunch of racks and baskets I’ve got those I’m going to be uh adding on here as well I’ve really enjoyed these small diameter fat tires because you get that off-road ability you know of course you got the suspension Fork up front so you’ve got some suspension there but you can ride in places like this you know you can go overlanding where there are no tra you’re just riding through you know dirt and grass and sand and that sort of thing or you can take it on the the streets and the bike lanes and ride it like a more typical you know commuter hybrid style bike so for me these 20-in but fatter tires are that sort of perfect middle ground because I get this sort of small Nimble easyto ride bike but I uh don’t have such a big heavy sluggish wheel at the same time those 26in fat tires you know there’s a lot of rubber there they take more to turn they’re heavier so this is a nice compromise for me I think this is going to be a great bike for someone who needs a way to get around and if that is you then listen up if you are someone who you would love to have this bike but it’s just not in the cards for you it doesn’t fit into your budget you’re on a fixed income um whatever the reason is but an ebike would make a huge difference in your life it help you get around visit family get to work go to the grocery store if you need a form of transportation and this could be it then let me know I want you to head on over to my website it is ebik school.com ebikes forgood that’s a page where I have a uh entry form you can let me know your situation there’s um no charge there’s no fee you don’t have to sign up for anything you don’t have to pay for anything it’s just like a a web form to let me know uh why it is that an ebike would change your life for the better among the deserving entrance I’m going to randomly choose one person who will be the winner of this ebike for this time it is limited to the uh 48 continuous States sometimes I try to uh work with a manufactur it’s able to to ship outside of the US um but for this time it will be limited to the 48 US states like I said a huge thank you to O cycles for helping me give away this awesome voltaic 500 mini I think it’s going to be an awesome ebike for someone in need and if you are someone who likes the bike but you aren’t necessarily in such a tough situation then I recommend going on over to oow and checking it out because I’ve just had a blast riding this thing and I’m sure you would too now it is time to announce the winner of the ebikes for good good giveaway from my last video and the randomly selected deserving entrant is Tim l so congratulations I’m excited to get that ebike out to you and uh make sure anyone watching this video now that wants a chance to win this voltaic 500 mini from o Cycles fill out the form at ebikeschool.com ebikes forgood and I hope to be reading your name at the end of my next video now last but not least it’s time to announce the winner of the book giveaway for my last video in the randomly selected commentor who will win a free copy of one of my books is Melinda allinson so congratulations just let me know which one of my books you’d 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 you can say anything you’d like and hopefully you’ll be the randomly selected commenter at the end of my next video and if you don’t want to wait that long to hopefully win a copy of one of my books you can always find them on Amazon all right thanks for watching Everybody I’ll see you here next time all right I got a little light left let’s go have some fun thanks for watching B School covering meat bites and anything else that feels cool I hope you stay for the fun Vibes keep me in the comments or hit me with the subscribes [Music]