Aventon, one of the main electric bike makers in the US market, is quietly leveling up the power of its e-bike line, all without needing to buy a new bike. The brand announced yesterday that an over-the-air firmware rollout would activate a new Boost Mode on all its ACU-equipped hub-drive bikes.

According to the company, the update would result in a 20% surge in torque and peak power for up to 30 seconds. The new Boost Mode works in both throttle and pedal-assist riding.

Accessible through Aventon ’s app, Boost Mode gives riders a temporary burst of power in any riding condition, whether tackling a brutal hill or hauling serious cargo while getting rolling after a red light.

That 20% boost might not sound earth-shattering, but on a steep grade or under heavy load, it translates to meaningful assist: stronger acceleration, easier climbs, and more confidence for riders trying to get rolling quickly.

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Once triggered via the mode selector, riders get a 30-second power window followed by a built-in cooldown to keep things reliable.

The update was announced in an email to Aventon’s rider community, though the performance increase included a humorous typo promising “20x” the power instead of 20% more power, which would have worked out to a power level roughly equivalent to a mid-range Zero electric motorcycle.

Aventon’s latest generation of smart bikes already come loaded with connectivity features like GPS tracking, anti-theft alarms, and remote locking thanks to the ACU (Aventon Control Unit). But until now, ride performance was limited to what came in the box.

Boost Mode changes that by allowing Aventon to push new power curves directly to riders’ bikes – no hardware swap required. It’s an interesting move that keeps older models feeling fresh and functional, achieving what many manufacturers only promise when launching a new model with claimed OTA update functionality.

JW Zhang, Aventon’s CEO, summed it up: “We’re excited to deliver more features and performance to our riders and continue to lead the category in ride experience and value and technology. When we launched our first ACU bike we promised there was room for additional features and this is just the beginning.”

Just the beginning, you say? Do tell…

A man in California has sued Amazon as well as the maker of an electric bike that he purchased on Amazon after he claims that the bike malfunctioned, resulting in a crash that left him severely injured.

According to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court last week, Robert Lewis suffered catastrophic injuries on December 30, 2024, when the handlebars on his foldable e-bike gave out, causing him to fall violently to the ground. The suit names both Actbest Technology Inc., listed as a Los Angeles-based manufacturer, and Amazon.com Inc. as defendants, alleging that both companies were negligent in manufacturing and selling the defective product.

The incident is the latest in a growing wave of safety concerns surrounding low-cost e-bikes sold through major online marketplaces, where oversight of product quality and safety warnings can be minimal or nonexistent.

While the suit does not name the exact model of e-bike involved in the crash, Actbest does sell an ultra low-cost $369 folding e-bike.

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The complaint accuses Amazon of continuing to sell the bike in question, even after receiving consumer complaints alleging similar defects. “Consumers of Amazon reasonably relied on Amazon’s service to monitor product complaints and remove unsafe consumer products to prevent the sale of defective products,” the lawsuit reads. “Amazon negligently carries out this service by ignoring obvious design, manufacturing and warning defects. They would have been aware [of the danger] had they actually fulfilled the obligations they voluntarily assumed and promised consumers Amazon would implement.”

The mechanism that failed was apparently the handlebar locking system, which is crucial for folding e-bikes to function safely. According to the lawsuit, the failure of this system during Lewis’s ride caused the handlebars to collapse unexpectedly, resulting in a severe spinal cord injury that has rendered him paraplegic. His family, also named as plaintiffs, is seeking compensation for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

Lewis’s legal team, led by Andrew Parker Felix of Morgan & Morgan, is seeking damages for medical costs, lost wages, and punitive damages, pointing to what they describe as a pattern of neglect by Amazon in dealing with dangerous products sold through its platform.

“Similar to the hoverboard phenomenon in the past,” the lawsuit reads, “the e-bikes distributed through and sold by Amazon.com are the latest example of Amazon seeking to profit off of a new consumer product space with complete disregard for the safety of its subscribers.”

While Amazon has previously argued that it acts only as a sales platform for third-party sellers, courts have increasingly scrutinized the tech giant’s role in product liability, especially in cases involving dangerous or defective products. There are cases that could serve as precedents where Amazon has been found liable for injurious products sold on its platform.

This lawsuit may further test where that liability begins and ends, particularly in fast-growing consumer categories like e-bikes, where regulatory standards and safety enforcement have struggled to keep pace with demand.

Neither Amazon nor Actbest has responded publicly to the claims, and details about the specific e-bike model involved have not yet been disclosed.

As e-bike adoption continues to rise, especially among budget-conscious consumers looking for affordable transport, the case raises deeper questions about how safety is – or isn’t – being prioritized in a booming but often unregulated product space.

via: Law360