As much fun as e-bikes are for getting around the city, I love taking them off-road and onto trails. That’s where fat tires really come alive, and the Denago Fat Tire Step-Thru electric bike showcases just what I love about e-bikes with big honkin’ tires.
This definitely isn’t a mountain bike or overlanding bike – this is a comfortable bike that can handle both light trails and urban/suburban riding. That means it’s going to be a great option for nature trails, gravel paths, dirt roads, and that sort of riding.
Between a powerful motor, large capacity battery and a comfortable setup, the Denago Fat Tire Step-Thru has a nice assortment of features and components for recreational riding on a wide range of terrains.
Check out my video review below if you want to see my real world testing of the bike. Then keep scrolling for my complete review.
Denago Fat Tire Step-Thru e-bike video review
Denago Fat Tire Step-Thru tech specs
- Motor: 750 W rear geared hub motor with 80 Nm torque
- Top speed: 20 mph (32 km/h) on throttle, 28 mph (45 km/h) on pedal assist
- Range: 35-60 mi (55-100 km)
- Battery: 48V 19.2Ah (921 Wh) frame-integrated, removable
- Max load: 300 lb (136 kg)
- Frame: 6061 aluminum
- Weight: 79 lb (36 kg)
- Suspension: Zoom fork, 60-75 mm travel (depends on bike size)
- Brakes: Hydraulic disc brakes, 180 mm rotors
- Extras: Color LCD display with speedometer, wattmeter, battery gauge, PAS level indicator, odometer, tripmeter, USB charger, left-side thumb throttle, torque sensor, included front and rear fenders, rear rack, headlight and frame-integrated tail lights
A balance of power and comfort
If you’ve been into e-bikes for a while or have begun digging into the topic ahead of buying your first e-bike, you’ll know that suspension and fat tires are two of the best things you can do for comfort. While the Denago here doesn’t have full-suspension, it almost feels like it does thanks to front suspension and plush fat tires. The lack of rear suspension is only noticeable on big obstacles and angry pot holes.
For the gravel roads and light trails that I spent most of my time riding on, the bike had plenty of shock absorption for me.
It also had plenty of power, combining a 750W motor with a top speed of 28 mph on pedal assist. Checking with a GPS speedometer showed that the 28 mph was often reading a big high by around one or two miles per hour, but it was pretty darn close. Optimistic speedometers are pretty common in the e-bike industry, unfortunately.
The 750W motor is quite torquey and will get you rolling quickly as well as climb a decent hill, though the bike’s heavy weight of 79 lbs (36 kg) certainly works against it when it comes to acceleration and hills. The included torque sensor should help mitigate that weight on startup by better translating your pedal force into responsive pedal assist, though I found that it strangely still had a decent pedal assist lag. Torque sensors normally help e-bikes start applying pedal assist power nearly immediately when the rider begins pedaling, but the Denago still had a bit of a lag. It was nothing that a short blip of the throttle couldn’t compensate for, but it still surprised me, and not in a good way.
What did surprise me in a good way was the range. With a big battery measuring 921 Wh, I could get a real world throttle range of over 35 miles (56 km), which is quite good for heavy fat tire e-bikes. With pedal assist in a low power level, I’d expect that to be over 60 miles (100 km) of range, though I couldn’t be bothered to keep it in low power mode for that long to find out. Higher power pedal assist and riding fast is just too tempting to pass up.
For any fast e-bike like this, I absolutely want to see strong brakes as an important safety feature. Fortunately, Denago delivers with hydraulic stoppers on large 180 mm discs. This is a huge win for me because there’s nothing worse than struggling to stop a heavy e-bike. Powerful brakes make the bike more controllable and give riders more confidence.
To afford those nice brakes, the company must have saved a few dollars on the drivetrain. You get a 7-speed shifter, but it’s not a particularly nice one. The Shimano Tourney setup is on the lower end of Shimano’s hierarchy but is acceptable for the type of leisure and recreational riding that most people will use this e-bike for, which is exactly how I was riding it.
To make up for the fairly basic transmission, we get some really nice integrated tail lights. In fact, this bike must either be built in the same factory as Aventon’s e-bikes, or else Denago just ripped off their tail light design, because these awesome tail lights look and feel just like the ones that debuted on the Aventon Aventure last year and and have since found their way onto most of Aventon’s other e-bikes.
Regardless of where they came from, I’m a huge fan of frame-integrated lighting because it is harder to damage. E-bike lights that stick out are prime targets for damage at bike racks or anywhere else that bikes come into close contact with other bikes or objects. These frame integrated lights are slim and tucked away yet still quite visible to cars and other road users.
In fact, this would have been a prime opportunity to incorporate turn signals since the tail lights are actually spread apart. I’ve talked before about how I find most e-bike turn signals to be gimmicky since they are usually only a couple inches apart on a main central tail light. But with two independent lights on either side of the bike’s rear triangle, this could have been a great turn signal setup. Oh well, maybe on the next version.
Even so, there’s still a lot to like here. We’ve got a comfortable trail bike with a nice and accessible step-through frame design. We’ve got plenty of power and even more battery capacity than I know what to do with. There are nice components like those brakes and even a color LCD screen, and there are even two different sizes to better fit larger and smaller riders.
The Denago Fat Tire Step-Thru e-bike may have a few cheaper parts and carry some extra poundage, but it wears the weight well by not feeling too bulky while riding (just be careful lifting it by yourself!).
At the MSRP of $1,999, I’m not entirely blown away. It’s not a bad price when you compare it to other full-featured bikes. It’s only a hundred bucks more than the Aventon Aventure.2, and comes with 33% more battery. But there are certainly better bang-for-your-buck deals out there. People often point to budget rides like the Lectric XP 3.0, and I’d agree that you get a lot with those types of e-bikes, but they don’t have the range or big-wheel comfort to match this ride. So if you want a large, comfortable bike that comes with lots of power and battery, you’ve got to pay for those luxuries. And in this case, you’ll have to fork over a cool two G’s. A bit pricey, but still a great e-bike for cruising.
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Tesla has quietly removed the Cybertruck’s range extender from the options in its online configurator.
Does Tesla still plan to bring the product to market?
When Tesla unveiled the production version of the Cybertruck in late 2023, there were two main disappointments: the price and the range.
The tri-motor version, which was the most popular in reservation tallies, was supposed to have over 500 miles of range and start at $70,000.
Tesla now sells the tri-motor Cybertruck for $100,000 and only has a range of 320 miles.
As for the dual-motor Cybertruck, it was supposed to cost $50,000 and have over 300 miles of range. The reality is that it starts at $80,000, and it has 325 miles of range.
However, Tesla had devised a solution to bring the range closer to what it originally announced: a separate battery pack that sits in the truck’s bed. Tesla called it a “range extender.” It costs $16,000 and takes up a third of the Cybertruck’s bed.
Even though the Cybertruck has been in production for a year and a half at this point, the range extender has yet to launch.
Initially, Tesla said that it would come “early 2025”, but we reported that it was pushed to “mid-2025” late last year.
At the time, Tesla also reduced the range that the removable battery pack adds to the Cybertruck to “445+ miles” rather than “470+ miles” for the dual motor – a ~25-mile reduction in range.
Now, Tesla has removed the option from its online Cybertruck configurator. It used to take reservations for the range extender with a “$2,000 non-refundable deposit”, as seen on the image above, but now it’s not in the configurator at all at the time of writing.
It’s unclear if Tesla is not planning to launch the product anymore or if it is just pausing reservations.
In its specs page, Tesla still lists the achievable range of both versions of the Cybertruck with and without the range extender battery:
Electrek’s Take
I’m curious. Is it dead, or does Tesla just want to stop taking reservations for it?
At first, I was curious about the product even though I didn’t think it would make up for Tesla’s significant miss on Cybertruck specs.
However, after it was confirmed that it takes up 30% of your bed and that it needs to be installed and removed by Tesla at a service center, I think it’s pretty much dead on arrival at $16,000.
It’s going to be a product limited to only a few people at best. And now that’s if it makes it to market.
With the option being removed from the configurator, there’s no production timeline available. Again, the last one was “mid-2025”, which is soon.
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Environment
EcoFlow members can save up to 65% on power stations while supporting disaster relief during the 2025 Member’s Festival
Portable power station specialist EcoFlow is kicking off its third annual Member’s Festival this month and is offering a unique new rewards program to those who become EcoFlow members. The 2025 EcoFlow Member’s Festival will offer savings of up to 65% for its participating customers, and a portion of those funds will be allocated toward rescue power solutions for communities around the globe through the company’s “Power for All” fund.
EcoFlow remains one of the industry leaders in portable power solutions and continues to trek forward in its vision to power a new tech-driven, eco-conscious future. Per its website:
Our mission from day one is to provide smart and eco-friendly energy solutions for individuals, families, and society at large. We are, were, and will continue to be a reliable and trusted energy companion for users around the world.
To achieve such goals, EcoFlow has continued to expand its portfolio of sustainable energy solutions to its community members, including portable power stations, solar generators, and mountable solar panels. While EcoFlow is doing plenty to support its growing customer base, it has expanded its reach by giving back to disaster-affected communities by helping bolster global disaster response efforts the best way it knows how– with portable power solutions.
EcoFlow and its members look to provide “Power for All”
Since 2023, EcoFlow has collaborated with organizations worldwide as part of its “Power for All” mission. This initiative aims to ensure access to reliable and timely power to disaster-affected communities across the globe, including rescue agencies, affected hospitals, and shelters, to support rescue and recovery efforts.
This fund most recently provided aid for communities affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, assistance to the Special Forces Charitable Trust (SFCT) in North Carolina following severe hurricanes, and support for non-profits engaged in hurricane preparedness in Florida and the Gulf Coast. Per Jodi Burns, CEO of the Special Forces Charitable Trust:
In the wake of devastating storms in Western North Carolina, reliable power was a critical need for the families we serve. Thanks to EcoFlow’s generous donation of generators, we were able to provide immediate relief, ensuring these families and their communities had access to power when they needed it most. We are so impressed with EcoFlow’s commitment to disaster response through their ‘Power for All’ program. It has made a tangible impact, and we are deeply grateful for their support and partnership in helping these families recover and rebuild.
In 2024, the US experienced 27 weather and climate events, each causing losses exceeding $1 billion, marking the second-highest annual total on record, according to National Centers for Environmental Information. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters underscore the critical need for reliable and timely power solutions during emergencies, much like EcoFlow and its members are helping provide through the “Power For All” initiative.
To support new and existing EcoFlow members, the company is celebrating its third annual Member’s Festival throughout April to offer a do-not-miss discount on its products and donate a portion of all sales to the “Power for All” fund to provide rescue power to those in need in the future. Learn how it all works below.
Save big and give back during the 2025 Member’s Festival
As of April 1st, you can now sign up to become an EcoFlow member to participate in the company’s exclusive 2025 Member Festival.
As a member, you can earn “EcoFlow Power Points” by completing tasks like registration, referrals, and product purchases and tracking your individual efforts toward disaster preparedness and recovery.
Beginning April 4, EcoFlow members will also be able to take advantage of exclusive discounts of up to 65% off select portable power stations, including the DELTA Pro Ultra, DELTA Pro 3, DELTA 2 Max, DELTA 3 Plus, RIVER 3 Plus, and more. However, these sale prices only last through April 25, so you’ll want to move quickly!
Click here to learn more about EcoFlow’s “Power for All” campaign. To register for EcoFlow’s 2025 Member Festival in the US, visit the EcoFlow website. To register as a member in Canada, visit here.
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Tesla is losing another top talent: its long-time head of software, David Lau, has reportedly told co-workers that he is exiting the automaker.
Tesla changed how the entire auto industry looks at software.
Before Tesla, it was an afterthought; user interfaces were rudimentary, and you had to go to a dealership to get a software update on your systems.
When Tesla launched the Model S in 2012, it all changed. Your car would get better through software updates like your phone, the large center display was responsive with a UI that actually made sense and was closer to an iPad experience than a car.
Tesla also integrated its software into its retail experience, service, and manufacturing.
David Lau deserves a lot of the credit for that.
He joined Tesla in 2012 as a senior manager of firmware engineering and quickly rose through the ranks. By 2014, he was promoted to director of firmware engineering and system integration, and in 2017, he became Vice President of software.
Lau listed the responsibilities of his team on his LinkedIn:
- Vehicle Software:
- Firmware for the powertrain, traction/stability control, HV electronics, battery management, and body control systems
- UI software and underlying Embedded Linux platforms
- Navigation and routing
- iOS and Android Mobile apps
- Distributed Systems:
- Server-side software and infrastructure that provides telemetry, diagnostics, over-the-air updates, and configuration/lifecycle management
- Data engineering and analytics platforms that power technical and business insights for an increasingly diverse set of customers across the company
- Diagnostic tools and fleet management, Manufacturing and Automation:
- Automation controls (PLC, robot)
- Server-side manufacturing execution systems that power all of Tesla’s production operations
- Product Security and Red Team for software, services, and systems across Tesla
Bloomberg reported today that Lau told his team he is leaving Tesla. The report didn’t include reasons for his stepping down.
Electrek’s Take
Twelve years at any company is a great run. At Tesla, it’s heroic. Congrats, David, on a great run. You undoubtedly had a significant impact on Tesla and software advancements in the broader auto industry.
He is another significant loss for Tesla, which has been losing a lot of top talent following a big wave of layoffs around this time last year.
I wonder who will take over. Michael Rizkalla, senior director of software engineering and vehicle firmware, is one of the most senior software engineers after Lau. He has been at Tesla for 7 years, and Tesla likes to promote within rather than hire outsiders.
There are also a lot of senior software execs working on AI at Tesla. Musk has been favoring them lately and he could fold Lau’s responsibilities under them.
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