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When it comes to e-bike gear, most of us have been burned before. That “waterproof” pannier that started leaking after the first storm, the multitool that rounded out on its tenth bolt, the lights that faded faster than a dying AA battery. I’ve had my share of disappointments. But over the past decade of nearly daily riding, there’s a small handful of e-bike tools and accessories that have stood the test of time. I’m talking half a decade or more of constant use, surviving rain, dust, sun, and the occasional crash, and still going strong.

As an e-bike reviewer who tests an untold number of new, shiny bikes and gadgets each year, I often share my early experiences with a new product. But rarely do I get to do a long-term review – and I mean years. So here’s a chance for me to look back at the gear I’ve incorporated into my car-free life for over half a decade.

These aren’t just “pretty good” products. These are the pieces of gear that have earned a permanent spot on my bike or in my toolkit. They’ve been with me through countless commutes, late-night rides, weekend tours, international trips, and enough roadside repairs to fill a small notebook. And even after years of abuse, they still do their job without complaint.

So, whether you’re building your first e-bike setup or replacing gear that gave up the ghost too soon, here’s my long-term, battle-tested list of e-bike products that have survived five years of heavy use and are still worth every penny.

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Topeak Ratchet Stick

The Topeak Ratchet Stick might just be my all-time favorite bike tool.

It doesn’t cover every possible repair, but it includes the hex driver sizes you’ll use for most routine jobs, like adjusting brakes, saddles, racks, and so on. There’s also a second plastic holder with extra bits, mostly Torx drivers, but I rarely need them. In fact, I’m not even sure where that holder is anymore. I haven’t seen it in years and I’d guess it’s probably buried somewhere in my parts bin. The five bits stored in the handle of the tool are all I use regularly (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6mm).

Even without the extras, the core tool is a game-changer. All your most-used bits are right there, ready to pop into the compact ratchet, which makes tightening bolts far faster than fiddling with a standard Allen key. No more lifting and resetting every partial turn – the ratchet lets you work continuously, and the quick direction lever flips between tightening and loosening instantly. Especially for bolts with Loctite that require spending a minute or two to slowly drive down a dozen threads a half turn at a time with an Allen key, the ratchet stick takes care of it in 10 seconds.

And for cases where you don’t want the ratchet part, the end of the tool holds the bits like a typical Allen key, so you get the quick turning feature for fast bolt driving, then the ratchet action for quick tightening.

At $45, it’s not cheap, and is in fact quite a bit more expensive than the free set of Allen wrenches that came with your bike. But if you work on bikes as much as I do, it’s worth every penny. Saving the skin on your knuckles is worth it, alone.

This tool isn’t as nice and time-saving as the Topeak Ratchet Stick above, but it is significantly cheaper at $12, and it has some advantages. While you still have to take it out, turn it 180 degrees, put it back in, tighten, and repeat, it’s also a lot shorter which make it better for carrying.

My go-to tool for riding, this one slips easily in my jeans pocket-watch pocket and that also keeps it riding higher so it doesn’t drop down near my thigh. As much as I love my Topeak Ratchet Stick, that one is awkward to carry in a pocket because of its length, so I find it spends more time on my tool shelf for stationary work like repairs and bike building than mobile work like trail-side adjustments.

The AWS tool, on the other hand, is the perfect grab-and-go Allen key set. It’s small, it’s well-made, and it just simply works.

I’ve got a few of these, but the longest-lived one has been with me for over five years. It’s the tool I reach for first when I’m heading out on a ride and want to make sure I have a tool in my hand.

AfterShockz Trekz Air bone conduction headphones

I refuse to wear earbuds or “normal” headphones on a bike under basically any scenario. It started in the military when we weren’t allowed to wear earbuds when off-base for situational awareness reasons, and the sensibility stuck with me.

There’s no situation where I’d be on a bike and think, “You know what would make this experience better? Not being able to hear dangers around me.” Whether commuting in the city or enjoying a nature ride, I either need to hear potential threats or I just want to be able to take in the sounds of my environment.

And yet, it can still be nice to listen to a podcast or music on a long fitness ride or run. So I prefer bone conduction headphones. These leave your ears open for ambient noises, and instead conduct the sound right through your skull. Is the audio quality as good as over-the-ear noise-cancelling headphones? Of course not. But I’d rather be alive while listening to moderate quality audio than get those deep bases right up to the moment I’m being pancaked by an Isuzu.

I’ve had these headphones since 2019, and they are still going strong. I don’t only use them for riding – in fact I use them even more often for running. I can get around five or six 45-minute running sessions in before they need a charge, so the battery is obviously worn down from when they were new, but the darn things just continue to work. Other than needing to charge more frequently, they’re as good as new.

I’m not sure they even make this exact model anymore, but Aftershockz seems to have many different models now, and this one looks close.

Cotopaxi Allpa 35 backpack

If I could have only one backpack in my life (I shudder at the thought), it would be this one. Cotopaxi is a great brand for a lot of reasons, chief among them the build quality and their commitment to sustainability, but the Allpa 35L is the creme de la creme for me.

This is more of a travel bag, and I’ve used it a ton that way. I’ve had this thing on countless trips to countless countries (I lost track at around 11 or 12) and I’ve beaten the hell out of it. I’ve taken it on jarring bikes rides, I’ve lashed it to the pillion seat on 100 MPH electric motorcycles, I’ve dragged it across airport floors, I’ve tossed it by the zipper pulls on the rare occasion that I’m in a rush and that’s the closest thing I can grab… Basically, it’s lived a hard life with me full of use and abuse. And yet, here we are, six years later.

The only wear it’s really showing is the rubberized coating on the front (and I’d even recommend getting the version without the rubberized front for that reason), but it’s merely aesthetic wear that doesn’t impact its functionality. The bag still works as well as the day I got it, which was nearly 2,000 days ago. Over $200 isn’t cheap for a bag, but when it lasts as long as this one, it’s a lot cheaper than buying a $45 bag every year.

This big boy probably isn’t the bag you want for a quick bike ride, but for longer trips like bikepacking and travel, it’s the only bag I take. Plus it also comes in smaller sizes if you don’t carry as much gear as I sometimes do.

See it in action on a motorcycle trip I took a few years ago, below.

Elite Borson bicycle travel bag

This Elite Borson bike bag has carried bikes internationally for me since 2020. It’s gotten tossed around. It’s gotten beat up. A few years ago it arrived at one international airport with one of its four wheels mysteriously missing. And yet, here we are. It keeps on trucking, and so I keep abusing it.

I’ve never once had a bike that I shipped in it arrive damaged. It’s hard where it needs to be, soft where it should be, and just gets the job done.

I love that despite all of its protection, it also packs down to around 1/4 of its size when not in use (which is good since this bag is HUGE). The only big downside to it is having to always go to the oversize bag drop/baggage claim belt at airports, but such is the life of a destination bike rider.

I’ve seen lots of cheaper bicycle bags out there, but if you’re going to travel with a heavy e-bike and you don’t want it getting damaged, this beast of a bike bag will get it there.

Oh yea, and about that wheel. It’s a bummer that I lost a caster wheel somewhere along the way. But the bag is so strong and the bottom of the bag is so tough that I have used it for years now with just three wheels. That corner of the bag simply drags along the ground.

I guess eventually it will wear down there, but who knows how long that will take. Maybe we will have hoverbikes by then.

Mirrycle bar-end mirror

There are a lot of bicycle mirrors out there, but the Mirrycle bar end mirror has long been a favorite of mine. I’ve got several, but the oldest is from around 2013. That’s a darn long time!

These are no-nonsense mirrors that don’t shake, don’t vibrate, and lock in strongly to just about any bike handlebar.

I can’t stop wobbly mirrors or models that you have to readjust after every big bump. The Mirrycle bar end mirror always stays where I put it unless I smack it into something, and I can’t really blame it in that case.

There’s not much else to say about it. It just works. It shows you what’s behind you. And it’s been doing so for me over the last 12 years. I’d say that’s a solid value for $15.

The takeaway

In a world where most products seem designed to fail just after the warranty expires, finding gear that lasts this long feels like discovering a secret. These tools and accessories are beyond reliable; they’ve become trusted companions on many of my daily rides.

Of course, nothing lasts forever. But if these items can survive my daily abuse for over half a decade, they’ve got a fighting chance of lasting through whatever you throw at them. And in my book, that makes them worth not just buying, but keeping for the long haul.

Here’s to fewer broken parts, fewer replacements, and more gear that’s built to ride as far and as long as we do.


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Mercedes-Benz opens its first DC fast charging hub at Starbucks

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November 25, 2025

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Mercedes-Benz opens its first DC fast charging hub at Starbucks

Mercedes-Benz charging Starbucks

Photo: Mercedes-Benz HPC North America

Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging and Starbucks have officially opened their first DC fast charging hub together, off the I-5 in Red Bluff, California.

The 400 kW Mercedes-Benz chargers are capable of adding up to 300 miles in 10 minutes, depending on the EV, and every stall has both NACS and CCS cables – they’re fully open DC fast chargers.

Mercedes-Benz HPC North America, a joint venture between subsidiaries of Mercedes-Benz Group and renewable energy producer MN8 Energy, first announced in July 2024 that it would install DC fast chargers at Starbucks stores along Interstate 5, the main 1,400-mile north-south interstate highway on the US West Coast from Canada to Mexico. Ultimately, Mercedes plans to install fast chargers at 100 Starbucks stores across the US.

Mercedes-Benz HPC opened its first North American charging site at Mercedes-Benz USA’s headquarters in Sandy Springs, Georgia, in November 2023 as part of an initial $1 billion charging network investment. As of the end of 2024, Mercedes had deployed over 150 operational fast chargers in the US, but it hasn’t disclosed an official number of how many chargers are currently online.

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Andrew Cornelia, CEO of Mercedes-Benz HPC North America, is leaving the company at the end of the month to become global head of electrification & sustainability at Uber.

Read more: Mercedes-Benz is deploying 400 kW US-made EV fast chargers with CCS and NACS cables

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Tesla AI4 vs. NVIDIA Thor: the brutal reality of self-driving computers

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4 hours ago

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November 25, 2025

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Tesla AI4 vs. NVIDIA Thor: the brutal reality of self-driving computers


The race for autonomous driving has three fronts: software, hardware, and regulatory. For years, we’ve watched Tesla try to brute-force its way to “Full Self-Driving (FSD)” with its own custom hardware, while the rest of the automotive industry is increasingly lining up behind NVIDIA.

Now that we know Tesla’s new AI5 chip is delayed and won’t be in vehicles until 2027, it’s worth comparing the two most dominant “self-driving” chips today: Tesla’s latest Hardware 4 (AI4) and NVIDIA’s Drive Thor.

Here’s a table comparing the two chips with the best possible specs I could find. greentheonly’s teardown was particularly useful. If you find things you think are not accurate, please don’t hesitate to reach out:

Feature / Specification Tesla AI4 (Hardware 4.0) NVIDIA Drive Thor (AGX / Jetson)
Developer / Architect Tesla (in-house) NVIDIA
Manufacturing Process Samsung 7nm (7LPP class) TSMC 4N (custom 5nm class)
Release Status In production (shipping since 2023) In production since 2025
CPU Architecture ARM Cortex-A72 (legacy) ARM Neoverse V3AE (server-grade)
CPU Core Count 20 cores (5× clusters of 4 cores) 14 cores (Jetson T5000 configuration)
AI Performance (INT8) ~100–150 TOPS (dual-SoC system) 1,000 TOPS (per chip)
AI Performance (FP4) Not supported / not disclosed 2,000 TFLOPS (per chip)
Neural Processing Unit 3× custom NPU cores per SoC Blackwell Tensor Cores + Transformer Engine
Memory Type GDDR6 LPDDR5X
Memory Bus Width 256-bit 256-bit
Memory Bandwidth ~384 GB/s ~273 GB/s
Memory Capacity ~16 GB typical system Up to 128 GB (Jetson Thor)
Power Consumption Est. 80–100 W (system) 40 W – 130 W (configurable)
Camera Support 5 MP proprietary Tesla cameras Scalable, supports 8MP+ and GMSL3
Special Features Dual-SoC redundancy on one board Native Transformer Engine, NVLink-C2C

The most striking difference right off the bat is the manufacturing process. NVIDIA is throwing everything at Drive Thor, using TSMC’s cutting-edge 4N process (a custom 5nm-class node). This allows them to pack in the new Blackwell architecture, which is essentially the same tech powering the world’s most advanced AI data centers.  

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Tesla, on the other hand, pulled a move that might surprise spec-sheet warriors. Teardowns confirm that AI4 is built on Samsung’s 7nm process. This is mature, reliable, and much cheaper than TSMC’s bleeding-edge nodes.

When you look at the compute power, NVIDIA claims a staggering 2,000 TFLOPS for Thor. But there’s a catch. That number uses FP4 (4-bit floating point) precision, a new format designed specifically for the Transformer models used in generative AI.  

Tesla’s AI4 is estimated to hit around 100-150 TOPS (INT8) across its dual-SoC redundant system. On paper, it looks like a slaughter, but Tesla made a very specific engineering trade-off that tells us exactly what was bottling up their software: memory bandwidth.

Tesla switched from LPDDR4 in HW3 to GDDR6 in HW4, the same power-hungry memory you find in gaming graphics cards (GPUs). This gives AI4 a massive memory bandwidth of approximately 384 GB/s, compared to Thor’s 273 GB/s (on the single-chip Jetson config) using LPDDR5X.  

This suggests Tesla’s vision-only approach, which ingests massive amounts of raw video from high-res cameras, was starving for data.

Based on Elon Musk’s comments that Tesla’s AI5 chip will have 5x the memory bandwidth, it sounds like it might still be Tesla’s bottleneck.

Here is where Tesla’s cost-cutting really shows. AI4 is still running on ARM Cortex-A72 cores, an architecture that is nearly a decade old. They bumped the core count to 20, but it’s still old tech.  

NVIDIA Thor, meanwhile, uses the ARM Neoverse V3AE, a server-grade CPU explicitly designed for the modern software-defined vehicle. This allows Thor to run not just the autonomous driving stack, but the entire infotainment system, dashboard, and potentially even an in-car AI assistant, all on one chip.

Thor has found many takers, especially among Tesla EV competitors such as BYD, Zeekr, Lucid, Xiaomi, and many more.

Electrek’s Take

There’s one thing that is not in there: price. I would assume that Tesla wins on that front, and that’s a big part of the project. Tesla developed a chip that didn’t exist, and that it needed.

It was an impressive feat, but it doesn’t make Tesla an incredible leader in silicon for self-driving.

Tesla is maxing out AI4. It now uses both chips, making it less likely to achieve the redundancy levels you need to deliver level 4-5 autonomy.

Meanwhile, we don’t have a solution for HW3 yet and AI5 is apparently not coming to save the day until 2027.

By then, there will likely be millions of vehicles on the road with NVIDIA Thor processors.


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Velotric e-bikes get up to $750 increased Black Friday savings with new lows + extra battery bundles from $999, EcoFlow, more

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6 hours ago

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November 25, 2025

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Velotric e-bikes get up to 0 increased Black Friday savings with new lows + extra battery bundles from 9, EcoFlow, more


Taking the lead in today’s Green Deals is Velotric’s Black Friday Sale that has switched into a higher gear with increased savings and expanded FREE bundle sizes for a limited-time window, offering plenty of returning and new low prices. One notable standout is Velotric’s T1 ST Plus Lightweight Urban e-bike getting a FREE range extender battery ($400 value) at $1,299, among many others. Behind that, we have EcoFlow’s latest 24-hour Black Friday flash sale that is giving us some new low prices on various units, like the DELTA 2 Max hitting a new $799 low or a DELTA 3 Ultra solar home backup bundle, and others. There’s also Lectric’s XPeak 2.0 e-bike bundles that are close to selling out, holiday savings roundups on Worx and Husqvarna tools, and much more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about the hangover deals that are collected together at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s Anker SOLIX 4-day Black Friday flash sale with new lows or the brand’s PowerCore Reserve at $80, and more.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Velotric’s Black Friday Sale switches gears with up to $750 increased savings and new lows starting from $999

Velotric has switched its Black Friday Sale into a higher gear with increased savings, new low prices, and expanded bundle packages on its e-bike lineup for a short-term window through Cyber Monday – plus, the option to save 30% on three accessories. One notable expanded package is the Velotric T1 ST Plus Lightweight Urban e-bike, coming with a FREE range extender battery ($400 value) for $1,299 shipped. You’d have to pay $1,649 for the e-bike on its own without any discounts, with that extra battery running that price up to $2,049. The brand’s early Black Friday deal only offered $350 savings (with the bundle being a rear cargo rack), but for this short-term change-up, you’re getting $750 in total savings that returns the tag to the lowest price we have tracked in 2025. Head below to check out the full lineup of Velotric’s expanded Black Friday Sale savings.

One of my favorite options from Velotric’s lineup, the T1 ST Plus e-bike, is a lightweight commuter that weighs only 39 pounds, and if you’ve read any of my e-bike reviews, you know I often lean towards models that can be easily handled up and down my rather large stoop. It brings a more European-style minimalist elegance to your travels, though keep in mind this model doesn’t possess a throttle, so it’s all PAS action. The 350W rear hub motor (with a 600W peak) is paired with a 352.8Wh battery for up to 70 miles of assisted travel at up to 20/28 MPH top speeds, depending on your local laws. What’s more, with the range extender battery, which connects right to this bike’s frame, boosts your pedal-assisted travel up to 100 miles in total, giving you serious commuting power.

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It comes with a nice lineup of features, too, but of course, I have to shout out the Apple Find My inclusion for the added peace of mind. From there, you’ll also be getting double hydraulic disc brakes, puncture-resistant tires, an 8-speed Shimano derailleur, an integrated LED auto-on headlight, a 3.5-inch LCD screen for setting adjustments that also has a USB port to charge up devices, and more.

Velotric’s new Black Friday Sale e-bike deals:

  • Fold 1 Step-Thru Folding e-bike (new low): $999 (Reg. $1,499)
    • 20/28 MPH for up to 55 miles
    • comes with FREE suspension seat post upgrade ($120 value)
  • Nomad 1 Plus Off-Road e-bike (new low): $1,249 (Reg. $1,899)
    • 20/28 MPH for up to 55 miles
    • comes with FREE rear cargo rack ($69 value)
  • T1 ST Plus Lightweight e-bike: $1,299 (Reg. $1,649)
    • 20/28 MPH for up to 70 miles (100 miles with battery bundle)
    • comes with FREE range extender battery ($400 value)
  • Fold 1 Plus Folding e-bike: $1,399 (Reg. $1,499)
    • 20/28 MPH for up to 68 miles
    • comes with FREE suspension seat post and rear rack pannier bag ($195 value)
  • Breeze 1 Cruiser e-bike (back at low): $1,699 (Reg. $1,799)
    • 20/28 MPH for up to 70 miles
    • comes with FREE rear cargo rack, fender set, and front basket ($270 value)
  • Discover 2 Step-Thru Commuter e-bike: $1,799 (Reg. $1,999)
    • 20/28 MPH for up to 75 miles
    • comes with FREE suspension seat post and front basket ($240 value)
  • Summit 1 Versatile e-bike (back at low): $1,799 (Reg. $1,999)
    • 20/28 MPH for up to 70 miles
    • comes with FREE rear cargo rack and fender set ($160 value)
  • Nomad 2 Fat Tire e-bike (new low): $1,799 (Reg. $1,999)
    • 20/28 MPH for up to 65 miles
    • comes with rack top bag ($96 value)
  • Nomad 2X Multi-Terrain Full Suspension e-bike (back at low): $2,299 (Reg. $2,399)
    • 20/28 MPH for up to 75 miles
    • comes with FREE rack top bag ($96 value)

You can browse Velotric’s upgraded Black Friday Sale deals on the main landing page here.

man enjoying coffee while camping with EcoFlow DELTA 2 max power station

EcoFlow Black Friday flash sale drops DELTA 2 Max power station to new $799 low ($600 off) + other bundles from $698

As part of its phase 3 Black Friday Sale event, EcoFlow has launched a 24-hour flash sale that is taking up to 61% off four offers, with a notable deal on the DELTA 2 Max Portable Power Station at $799 shipped, which beats out Amazon’s pricing by $100. While it carries an $1,899 MSRP, you’ll more often find it going for $1,399 these days, with the discounts we’ve been seeing in the latter half of 2025 regularly dropping things lower between $999 and $899. Now, for only 24 hours, you can pick it up $100 lower than we’ve ever tracked, giving you a total $600 off the going rate ($1,100 off the MSRP) for the lowest new price we have tracked.

***Note: some of these flash sale offers might start at higher prices, but for this 24-hour period, they have been given automatic discounts to these rates that activate in your cart.

EcoFlow’s 24-hour Black Friday flash sale offers:

man and woman riding Lectric XPeak 2.0 e-bikes down trail

Upgrade off-road commutes and adventures with Lectric’s XPeak 2.0 e-bikes and up to $583 in FREE gear from $1,499

As part of its ongoing Black Friday Sale, which is starting to show models running out of stock from the offers of up to $893 in savings across e-bike bundles. During this sale, Lectric’s XPeak 2.0 Long-Range Off-Road e-bikes are seeing the largest bundles of the year with $583 in FREE gear joining your purchase at $1,699 shipped. You’ll also find Lectric’s standard XPeak 2.0 Off-Road e-bikes coming with $434 in FREE gear at $1,499 shipped. These packages would normally cost $2,282 and $1,933 in full if not for the discounts on the bundles, which are the largest we’ve seen for the long-range models. The standard e-bikes come with a rear cargo rack, fender set, Elite headlight upgrade, a suspension seat post, a bike lock, and a phone holder, while the long-range counterparts get those, as well as a 5A fast charger that “is 250% faster, allowing you to power up in approximately 4 hours or less.” Head below to more on these all-terrain e-mobility solutions.

Lectric’s Black Friday XPeak 2.0 e-bike bundles:

Be sure to also check out Lectric’s full Black Friday Sale e-bike lineup with up to $893 in savings starting from $999, which, as I mentioned, is already seeing models go out of stock.

Worx Black Friday banner with different tools
woman trimming grass with Husqvarna tools

Best Fall EV deals!

Best new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.


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