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Electric bicycle sales had been growing at an impressive rate in the US even before the COVID-19 pandemic began. But ever since the pandemic started, sales of e-bikes have skyrocketed. Now the latest numbers show that e-bikes sales aren’t cooling off anytime soon.

The latest figures were compiled by NPD and indicate a growth rate for electric bicycles of 240% in the 12 months leading up to July 2021.

Interestingly, though, general cycling equipment only grew at a rate of 15%, showing that electric bicycles are leading the overall growth in the cycling industry.

And making this all the more impressive is that these figures show growth on top of the tremendous increase in sales we saw at the beginning of the pandemic nearly two years ago.

While some worried we might have been looking at an e-bike bubble of new riders rushing out to buy e-bikes after the first lockdowns lifted in early 2020, we’ve seen sustained and unprecedented growth in the e-bike industry.

Juiced Bikes recently unveiled several new models of e-bikes including the CrossCurrent X ST (above)

While the pandemic reversed several years of slumping non-electric bike sales and finally sent the category back into the growth column, e-bikes saw their existing growth double, triple, and even quadruple in many cases.

The increased ease of electric bicycles has convinced many drivers and public transportation riders to finally switch to two-wheels by removing the biggest hurdle: the large perceived effort of cycling.

While studies have shown that e-bikes can still offer nearly as much exercise as pedal bikes (and sometimes even more, believe it or not), the added benefit of pedal assist means that riders don’t show up to work drenched in sweat like typical pedal cyclists.

Throttle-enabled e-bikes available in North America have taken that advantage one step further, offering the ability to travel by bike at speeds up to 20 mph (32 km/h) with minimal or even no pedaling at all. And since throttle-enabled e-bikes also feature pedal assist, riders can always rely more on pedal power to add in as much exercise as they want. Those advantages get added on top of the huge commuting time savings offered by e-bikes in urban areas, where bike lanes offer speedy shortcuts past gridlocked traffic.

Electric bicycles, like the recently update Blix Vika+ above, offer riders quick and easy transportation

Despite the pandemic sending e-bike sales into overdrive, pricing has stayed relatively consumer-friendly.

When e-bikes initially began selling like hot cakes in early 2020, nearly every e-bike supplier was left with empty shelves and warehouses.

Instead of price gouging, companies largely kept e-bike prices steady in the US. Many brands saw extended lead times, but there were almost zero cases of price gouging.

As the pandemic wore on, though, increased pressures on pricing including shipping container shortages, skyrocketing sea freight prices, increased cost of raw materials, and a worsening US/RMB exchange rate led to many retailers slowly walking up their prices.

As some of the largest influencers of pricing showed signs of stabilizing, many retailers have already begun to lower their e-bike prices back down to pre-pandemic levels.

My personal $999 RadMission e-bike (above) has taken me on many adventures both on and off-road

Such pricing moves come at a time when many brands are introducing new models to the market.

Rad Power Bikes unveiled an interesting new sub-$1,000 e-bike early in the pandemic that targeted the urban commuter market. That quickly became a key demographic that grew sharply when commuters began searching for a socially distant alternative to crowded public transportation.

Many other companies such as VanMoof, GoCycle, and Cowboy have also targeted this key commuter demographic with more premium models designed to safely and quickly move commuters around cities while offering more sophisticated electronics and features.

At the same time, many more recreational-oriented e-bikes have been introduced over the last few months, such as the fat tire Aventon Aventure e-bike and the new Rad Power Bikes RadRover 6 Plus, as well as new moped-style e-bikes like the updated Super73-ZX.

With a number of interesting new e-bikes hitting the market and a public that has shown no slowdown in demand for electric biking, continued growth of the segment is all but certain in the near future.

Have you considered hopping on an electric bike soon for recreation or as an alternative to car trips? Or have you already seen the light? Let us know in the comment section below!


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Wallace and Gromit creator talks clay and creativity – as he returns home to reopen museum

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Wallace and Gromit creator talks clay and creativity - as he returns home to reopen museum

It’s hard to believe it’s 35 years since a plasticine man in a sweater and slippers, along with his voiceless, but hugely expressive dog, burst on to our screens and won the hearts of millions with their mix of humour, charm and nostalgia.

Wallace and Gromit managed to be both familiar and fresh, and their modest creator Nick Park couldn’t have foreseen how their handmade adventures would change the world of animation and make Wensleydale cheese internationally famous.

But three decades on and Preston-born Park is beginning to realise that his flair for feel-good filmmaking has made him a very big deal.

Nick Park picking up the special recognition award for Wallace and Gromit at this year's National Television Awards. Pic: PA
Image:
Nick Park picking up the special recognition award for Wallace and Gromit at this year’s National Television Awards. Pic: PA

Oscar wins and box office hits aside, his latest accolade, in the Lancashire city where he was born and bred, clearly means a lot.

A new Wallace and Gromit exhibition is being showcased at the Harris Museum, which Park visited frequently growing up.

A life-size replica of Wallace and Gromit's living room
Image:
A life-size replica of Wallace and Gromit’s living room

The historic landmark looms large over the city centre and is filled with artefacts and treasures that inspired him as a boy.

He was drawn to the library and devoured books on his favourite subject, you guessed it, animation.

The museum has been closed for four years as part of a £19m revamp. And who better to re-open it this weekend than Park.

The exhibition features a raft of items
Image:
The exhibition features a raft of items

As we meet at the exhibition, he tells me he was a quiet child who loved drawing. Visits to the museum helped shape his creativity and storytelling.

He said: “I used to love spending a day around here looking at all the artefacts, the paintings. I used to come to the library here, there was no internet, and so I would look for books on animation.

“I would scour the library for anything I could get my hands on.”

We chat in a life-size replica of Wallace and Gromit’s living room. The wallpaper, standing lamp and armchair are so familiar.

Park says it’s like sitting in one of his own sets.

The living room was actually based on his grandma’s house, which he describes as a cosy 1960s home. And as he sits in the chair with his cup of tea, he jokes that he’s now turned into Wallace.

He said: “I feel like I’m made of clay, sitting on a replica set, it’s just incredible.”

The Wrong Trousers, released in 1993, took home the Oscar for best animated short film
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The Wrong Trousers, released in 1993, took home the Oscar for best animated short film

But that’s the joy of his films – the personal touch. And whilst they’re unmistakably Northern, inspired by Park’s family and upbringing, they’re also universally relatable.

He said: “I used to draw from my own childhood a lot, and that’s what inspired me. Because it feels true to do that.

“So, I went to memories of my granny, the lamp stand that my granny had and other objects, toasters, clocks, you name it.”

The exhibition opens on Sunday and will run until January
Image:
The exhibition opens on Sunday and will run until January

Park is now arguably as famous as his much-loved characters. Something he seems to be finally getting used to.

He says he’s honoured and a little overwhelmed that his hometown holds him and his clay creations so close to his heart.

He said: “I was a shy teenager, and just talking about this hobby, I never imagined they would become household names.

“So, to have statues of my characters in the centre of town and now to be opening this newly refurbished exhibition and my own exhibition. To be here with my own characters, it’s just crazy.”

Read more from Sky News:
Pokemon pushes back against ICE deportation video

Star criticises decision to delay release of new show after Charlie Kirk killing

I ask what this stop motion supremo makes of the use of AI and technology in film.

He said: “We need to hang onto our values, there’s something about handmade quality that gives everything charm and appeal.

“It would probably be wrong to completely ignore that.”

The exhibition is immersive and emotive. Being up close and personal with the models, drawings, and characters evokes the same feelings as the films do. Warmth, humour and nostalgia.

A journey through the formative years of a young filmmaker and the birth of one of cinema’s unlikeliest heroes.

Park is now inspiring the next generation of storytellers and filmmakers at the museum, which played such an important part in his own success story.

Wallace and Gromit in A Case at the Museum Exhibition opens on Sunday and runs until January.

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Paul Gallagher: Older brother of Oasis stars Liam and Noel denies rape charge

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Paul Gallagher: Older brother of Oasis stars Liam and Noel denies rape charge

The older brother of Oasis stars Liam and Noel Gallagher has denied a charge of rape.

Paul Gallagher, 59, has also pleaded not guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour, three counts of sexual assault, three counts of intentional strangulation, two counts of making a threat to kill, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The alleged offences took place between 2022 and 2024, according to a charge sheet.

Gallagher, of East Finchley, north London, entered his pleas from the dock at Harrow Crown Court, which was sitting at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

He was wearing a dark suit and shirt, and thick-rimmed glasses.

Gallagher was released on conditional bail and will face trial on September 13, 2027.

Judge Anupama Thompson told him: “I’m very sorry that it’s such a long time away, but we have a number of cases that need to be listed.”

Paul Gallagher, who is about a year older than Noel and seven years older than Liam, has never been involved in Oasis.

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Terror charge against Kneecap rapper cannot continue, court says

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Terror charge against Kneecap rapper cannot continue, court says

A terror charge against Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh has been thrown out by a court.

The Irish rapper, who performs under the name Mo Chara, appeared at Woolwich Crown Court on a single terror charge.

Giving his ruling, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring said: “These proceedings against the defendant were instituted unlawfully and are null.”

The 27-year-old had been accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, on 21 November last year.

He had been on unconditional bail since his first court appearance in June.

After delivering his ruling, the judge said: “Mr O hAnnaidh, you are free to go,” which was met by cheers in the public gallery and applause.

The levity was met with a stern reprimand, with the judge adding: “You can do your celebrating outside, but the court now has other business to attend to”.

Both of O hAnnaidh’s parents were in court to support him.

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‘We’re right and you’re wrong’

O hAnnaidh: ‘We’re right and you’re wrong’

Speaking outside court, O hAnnaidh thanked his legal team and interpreter, before addressing his large crowd of supporters.

He said: “This entire process was never about me, never about any threat to the public, never about terrorism. A word used by your government to discredit people you oppress. It was always about Gaza. About what happens if you dare to speak up.

“As people from Ireland, we know oppression, colonialism, famine and genocide. We have suffered and still suffer under your empire.

“Your attempts to silence us have failed, because we’re right and you’re wrong… We will not be silent. We said we’d fight you in your court and we would win, and today we have.

If anyone on this planet is guilty of terrorism, it’s the British state. Free Palestine. Tiocfaidh ar la [Irish for our day will come].”

The audience responded with cheers and chants of “Free, free Palestine”.

O hAnnaidh speaks outside court following the ruling
Image:
O hAnnaidh speaks outside court following the ruling

Judge says prosecution’s earlier arguments ‘defy logic’

At the start of the hearing, O hAnnaidh stood to confirm his name, date of birth and current address, speaking in Irish with his words translated by an interpreter. The judge then summarised his judgement for the court.

He made clear the purpose of the hearing was not to determine O hAnnaidh’s innocence or guilt, but about whether the court had jurisdiction to hear the case.

He went on to say he agreed with O hAnnaidh’s lawyers, who argued that the Attorney General had not given permission for the case to be brought against the defendant when police informed him he was to face a terror charge on 21 May.

Criminal proceedings are instituted when a criminal charge is first issued, not when the defendant first appears in court.

Protestors outside court. Pic: PA
Image:
Protestors outside court. Pic: PA

Concluding the reasons for his decision, the chief magistrate said: “I find that these proceedings were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) and AG (Attorney General) consent within the six-month statutory time limit.

“The time limit requires consent to have been granted at the time or before the issue of the requisition.

“Consequently, the charge is unlawful and null and this court has no jurisdiction to try the charge.”

Sweeping aside the prosecution’s previous argument that permission from the DPP and AG was not required until the defendant’s first court appearance, and that permission did not need to be sought in order to bring a criminal charge, the chief magistrate said such arguments “defy logic”.

Read more: Why are Kneecap controversial?

Following the hearing, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “We will work with the Crown Prosecution Service to understand the potential implications of this ruling for us and how that might impact on the processing of such cases in the future.”

Kneecap‘s manager Daniel Lambert said the rap trio were on the “right side of history”, and said in a post on X: “We said we would fight them and win. We did (Twice). Kneecap has NO charges OR convictions in ANY country, EVER.”

Last year, Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK government after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch tried to refuse them a £14,250 funding award when she was business secretary.

Irish First Minister: ‘Kneecap used their platform to expose genocide’

Swiftly responding to the court ruling, Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill said on social media that she welcomed the decision, saying: “These charges were part of a calculated attempt to silence those who stand up and speak out against the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

“Kneecap have used their platform on stages across the world to expose this genocide, and it is the responsibility of all of us to continue speaking out and standing against injustice in Palestine.”

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald wrote on X: “Mo Chara spoke out against Israel’s genocide, for the people of Gaza, for a free Palestine.

“The charges were an attempt to shut him up, to silence protest. It failed. He’s free. Kneecap are not the story. Genocide is the story.”

The venue of the hearing had been changed at short notice, following a burst mains pipe at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

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