❌

Normal view

Fine, electric mountain bikes don’t suck

18 July 2026 at 08:00
A mountain bike does a wheelie on a single track in the forest.
You don’t need a $10,000 Amflow PX Carbon Pro, but it doesn’t hurt. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

Cheater, I'd grumble between huffs as yet another e-bike rider casually skittered past me on a steep ascent. It's this purist attitude that, for years, has left me blind to one simple fact: electric mountain bikes are fun!

My attitude adjustment came a few weeks ago, the very first time I rode an Amflow PX Carbon Pro fitted with the incredibly compact, lightweight, and powerful M2S motor from Avinox, a new DJI offshoot that has incumbents like Bosch and Specialized on edge. The motor doesn't make me a speed demon, but it does let me suck better by compensating whenever my poor technique kills the momentum.

Mountain biking has a long histor …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Solid-state batteries still aren’t ready, but gels are

14 June 2026 at 13:00

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on e-bikes, power stations, and how to work anywhere, follow Thomas Ricker. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.

How it started

Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere as we enter the second quarter of the 21st century, and that's a problem. From exploding e-bikes in stairwells to lithium-ion power banks combusting midflight, the volatile nature of traditional liquid electrolytes has become an undeniable public safety hazard.

In 2025, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) i …

Read the full story at The Verge.

❌