Babymaker 2 review: This belt-drive electric bike is more than just an edgy name
Yeah, I thought the same that you did when I first started covering the Babymaker 2. Here’s a new e-bike from some bike bros that’s got more of a provocative name than actual substance.
But I was wrong. Because after getting the chance to spin the pedals on the Babymaker 2 and put some good honest miles on the bike, I realized that this is actually a very nice e-bike for a certain segment of the population. And not just the keg stand segment.
Black Friday update: it is now priced at $1,499!
The Babymaker 2 improves upon FLX’s original Babymaker in several ways.
First, there’s a larger battery that gives over 40% more range by boosting the 36V battery from 7Ah to 10Ah. It also comes with a more powerful charger to fill that pack in just three hours.
The bike also sports fancy parts like a Gates carbon belt drive, a thru-axle for higher strength wheel/axle and improved longevity, and a set of Magura hydraulic disc brakes, which are probably overkill on a 35-pound (16 kg) bike but are very nice stoppers to see included.
There’s a more complete spec list below, just after my video review. And you definitely want to watch my video, right…?
Babymaker 2 e-bike video review
Babymaker 2 tech specs
- Motor: 350W rear hub motor
- Top speed: 25 mph (40 km/h)
- Range: Claimed up to 70 miles (112 km)
- Battery: 36V 10Ah (360Wh)
- Weight: 35 lb. (15.8 kg)
- Frame: Aluminum alloy 6061
- Brakes: Magura hydraulic disc brakes
- Extras: Gates carbon belt drive, minimalist LED display including speedometer, battery gauge and PAS level indicator, kickstand, four color options, two size options
- Price: $1,749 (or $1,499 on Black Friday)
More than a name
It’s hard to look past the name, but let’s try. Because there’s a lot to like here.
The Babymaker 2 is so light and easy to ride that you’d swear it is more powerful than the 350W motor lets on (and the fact that the motor peaks at 500W might have something to do with it). But even with that tiny motor in back, the svelte e-bike simply hops up to speed easily and quickly.
It also does so silently. Every time I hopped on the Babymaker 2, I just couldn’t believe how quiet it was. Between the small motor and the Gates belt drive, there’s just nothing to make any sound. I could barely hear the bike.
I went back and replayed some of the video clips I had recorded while riding, and the only thing I could hear was wind noise. As far as stealthy bikes go, this is it. If a ninja needed an e-bike, this is the one he’d choose.
And speaking of that Gates belt drive, that thing is a beauty. It’s so smooth, so quiet, so simple, and just so perfect. I never have to oil it. I never have to clean it. I can just forget about it and it always works perfectly.
For a commuter bike that I use everyday and want to know I can rely on it even if I’m not the best about keeping up with maintenance, it’s hard to beat. And when you add in those Magura hydraulic disc brakes, the low-maintenance design of the bike is further underlined.
The only downside of the belt drive and rear hub motor combination is that it turns the bike into a single-speed. There’s no such thing as a deraileur for belt drives.
To switch gears you’d either need an internally geared hub (which you can’t have with a hub motor — usually), or you’d need a front gear box, which is a super expensive piece of kit.
Even so, I found that I didn’t miss the gears. To be honest, I usually just leave my e-bikes in the highest gear anyway. I mostly ride in either Florida or Tel Aviv, which are both known for the flat terrain and elevations that can be measured in the single digits.
If you live in a hillier area, then the lack of a low-gear option might be more noticeable. But remember that the electric assist usually makes up for the lack of a low gear by helping you power through those first few pedal rotations that can be a doozy without motor assist.
The front wheel also uses an actual thru-axle instead of a quick release skewer.
It’s still quick release so you can remove the wheel without a tool in a snap, but it’s a stronger axle with a better-quality design normally found on more expensive bikes.
Keep in mind that this is a Class 3 electric bike without a throttle, so if you’re used to throttles, you’ll be disappointed. As much as I love my throttle e-bikes, I must say that I still had a ton of fun riding around on the Babymaker 2 and pedaling up a storm.
If you’re even reasonably fit, then a medium level of pedal assist will be sufficient. For those that haven’t pedaled in a while, the higher level of pedal assist will help make acceleration and hill climbing much easier. And for cyclists who are used to doing all the work, even just pedal assist level 1 will give you a nice little tailwind all the time.
Just remember that you’re not going to get anywhere near the advertised range if you don’t keep the bike in pedal assist level 1. They say you can get up to 70 miles (112 km) of range, which is maaaaaaaybe true in level 1 where you’re doing most of the work. But few people will ride this e-bike in the lowest pedal assist power level. If you’re using the higher levels, it wouldn’t be surprising to cut that range in half.
But that’s par for the course with e-bike companies. Most advertise the best-case-scenario range when operated in low power, and very few give you realistic real-world range data for every power level.
The bike now also comes with a ‘logo delete’ option that removes the giant Babymaker 2 name printed on the frame. I don’t have any evidence for this, but I’m guessing they offered that option because there was enough demand from folks that wanted the bike but didn’t want the name plastered on the side for everyone to see.
One last thing I love about the bike that has nothing to do with its nice ride and its surprisingly decent power are the options you get for size and colors. Most e-bikes, especially at this price level, come in a single size. The ones that offer multiple color options usually give two choices. If you’re lucky, there’s a third option. But the Babymaker 2 gives you four color options and two sizes to choose from. For a bike that will be pedaled 100% of the time, multiple size options are important to ensure you fit the bike as closely to optimal as possible.
Does that make up for the lack of included fenders and lights? Ehhh, I’m not sure. As a commuter e-bike, I always feel like those parts should come standard. Even if not the fenders, then the lights should be included as mandatory safety equipment.
You can add the company’s “touring package” to get lights, fenders, a rear rack, a bottle holder, and a phone holder – but it’s going to be an extra couple hundred bucks (and the lights don’t even run off the bike’s main battery). So that’s a bummer in my opinion.
But for $1,749, you’re still getting a lot of good parts here. That Gates carbon drive isn’t cheap. Neither are Magura hydraulic disc brakes, as Magura is one of the highest-quality brands on the market. On the other hand, the low-power Aikema motor and small 360 Wh battery actually are pretty cheap, at least in terms of what they cost the company. And so I could have seen the bike costing a bit less.
When it pre-launched at $1,222, that was a great deal. At the current sale price of $1,749, it’s still a pretty good option, but nowhere near as tempting as that launch deal. Black Friday update: now at $1,499!
Even so, there just aren’t too many e-bikes out there in this category of lightweight belt-drive commuter e-bikes. So if that’s what you’re looking for, the Babymaker 2 is still a good option to consider.
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On today’s fleet-focused episode of Quick Charge, we talk about a hot topic in today’s trucking industry called, “the messy middle,” explore some of the ways legacy truck brands are working to reduce fuel consumption and increase freight efficiency. PLUS: we’ve got ReVolt Motors’ CEO and founder Gus Gardner on-hand to tell us why he thinks his solution is better.
You know, for some people.
We’ve also got a look at the Kenworth Supertruck 2 concept truck, revisit the Revoy hybrid tandem trailer, and even plug a great article by CCJ’s Jeff Seger, who is asking some great questions over there. All this and more – enjoy!
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If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Thanks to Trump’s repeated executive order attacks on US clean energy policy, nearly $8 billion in investments and 16 new large-scale factories and other projects were cancelled, closed, or downsized in Q1 2025.
The $7.9 billion in investments withdrawn since January are more than three times the total investments cancelled over the previous 30 months, according to nonpartisan policy group E2’s latest Clean Economy Works monthly update.
However, companies continue to invest in the US renewable sector. Businesses in March announced 10 projects worth more than $1.6 billion for new solar, EV, and grid and transmission equipment factories across six states. That includes Tesla’s plan to invest $200 million in a battery factory near Houston that’s expected to create at least 1,500 new jobs. Combined, the projects are expected to create at least 5,000 new permanent jobs if completed.
Michael Timberlake of E2 said, “Clean energy companies still want to invest in America, but uncertainty over Trump administration policies and the future of critical clean energy tax credits are taking a clear toll. If this self-inflicted and unnecessary market uncertainty continues, we’ll almost certainly see more projects paused, more construction halted, and more job opportunities disappear.”
March’s 10 new projects bring the overall number of major clean energy projects tracked by E2 to 390 across 42 states and Puerto Rico. Companies have said they plan to invest more than $133 billion in these projects and hire 122,000 permanent workers.
Since Congress passed federal clean energy tax credits in August 2022, 34 clean energy projects have been cancelled, downsized, or shut down altogether, wiping out more than 15,000 jobs and scrapping $10 billion in planned investment, according to E2 and Atlas Public Policy.
However, in just the first three months of 2025, after Trump started rolling back clean energy policies, 13 projects were scrapped or scaled back, totaling more than $5 billion. That includes Bosch pulling the plug on its $200 million hydrogen fuel cell plant in South Carolina and Freyr Battery canceling its $2.5 billion battery factory in Georgia.
Republican-led districts have reaped the biggest rewards from Biden’s clean energy tax credits, but they’re also taking the biggest hits under Trump. So far, more than $6 billion in projects and over 10,000 jobs have been wiped out in GOP districts alone.
And the stakes are high. Through March, Republican districts have claimed 62% of all clean energy project announcements, 71% of the jobs, and a staggering 83% of the total investment.
A full map and list of announcements can be seen on E2’s website here. E2 says it will incorporate cancellation data in the coming weeks.
Read more: FREYR kills plans to build a $2.6 billion battery factory in Georgia
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Tesla has reportedly delayed the launch of its new “affordable EV,” which is believed to be a stripped-down Model Y, in the United States.
Last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a pivotal decision that altered the automaker’s direction for the next few years.
The CEO canceled Tesla’s plan to build a cheaper new “$25,000 vehicle” on its next-generation “unboxed” vehicle platform to focus solely on the Robotaxi, utilizing the latest technology, and instead, Tesla plans to build more affordable EVs, though more expensive than previously announced, on its existing Model Y platform.
Musk has believed that Tesla is on the verge of solving self-driving technology for the last few years, and because of that, he believes that a $25,000 EV wouldn’t make sense, as self-driving ride-hailing fleets would take over the lower end of the car market.
However, he has been consistently wrong about Tesla solving self-driving, which he first said would happen in 2019.
In the meantime, Tesla’s sales have been decreasing and the automaker had to throttle down production at all its manufacturing facilities.
That’s why, instead of building new, more affordable EVs on new production lines, Musk decided to greenlight new vehicles built on the same production lines as Model 3 and Model Y – increasing the utilization rate of its existing manufacturing lines.
Those vehicles have been described as “stripped-down Model Ys” with fewer features and cheaper materials, which Tesla said would launch in “the first half of 2025.”
Reuters is now reporting that Tesla is seeing a delay of “at least months” in launching the first new “lower-cost Model Y” in the US:
Tesla has promised affordable vehicles beginning in the first half of the year, offering a potential boost to flagging sales. Global production of the lower-cost Model Y, internally codenamed E41, is expected to begin in the United States, the sources said, but it would be at least months later than Tesla’s public plan, they added, offering a range of revised targets from the third quarter to early next year.
Along with the delay, the report also claims that Tesla aims to produce 250,000 units of the new model in the US by 2026. This would match Tesla’s currently reduced production capacity at Gigafactory Texas and Fremont factory.
The report follows other recent reports coming from China that also claimed Tesla’s new “affordable EVs” are “stripped-down Model Ys.”
The Chinese report references the new version of the Model 3 that Tesla launched in Mexico last year. It’s a regular Model 3, but Tesla removed some features, like the second-row screen, ambient lighting strip, and it uses fabric interior material rather than Tesla’s usual vegan leather.
The new Reuters report also said that Tesla planned to follow the stripped-down Model Y with a similar Model 3.
In China, the new vehicle was expected to come in the second half of 2025, and Tesla was waiting to see the impact of the updated Model Y, which launched earlier this year.
Electrek’s Take
These reports lend weight to what we have been saying for a year now: Tesla’s “more affordable EVs” will essentially be stripped-down versions of the Model Y and Model 3.
While they will enable Tesla to utilize its currently underutilized factories more efficiently, they will also cannibalize its existing Model 3 and Y lineup and significantly reduce its already dwindling gross margins.
I think Musk will sell the move as being good in the long term because it will allow Tesla to deploy more vehicles, which will later generate more revenue through the purchase of the “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) package.
However, that has been his argument for years, and it has yet to pan out as FSD still requires driver supervision and likely will for years to come, resulting in an extremely low take-rate for the $8,000 package.
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