In a reflection of growing sentiment in the US against reckless electric bike riders, one California town is preparing to enact a series of new restrictions and legal clarifications for e-bike riders.

This week, the Santa Barbara City Council will be discussing proposed changes to its city ordinances pertaining to electric bicycles.

The move has been spurred by many in the city having taken issue with riders who operate their bikes in reckless or dangerous manners, often riding near pedestrians on sidewalks or showing a general disregard for the safety of passersby.

As KEYT pointed out, the concerns are often associated with riders of light electric motorcycles such as those made by Sur Ron, Talaria, and other similar bikes. These motorbikes generally do not fall under the legal definition of electric bicycles in most jurisdictions, including in California. Their use on public roads is usually illegal as most lack the requirements for street-legal use. Their intended use is trail riding, such as on fire roads and other off-road scenarios.

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“Among them is a Surron,” explained KEYT’s John Palminteri. “It is capable of going up to 75 miles per hour according to the manufacturer and through online video testing. There’s even an additional modification that is said to increase that number another five miles per hour.”

In actuality, most Sur Ron electric motorbikes are capable of speeds around 40-50 mph, though several popular online videos have showcased owners hot-rodding their bikes for higher speed. There are also larger, higher-performance models available, though they are considerably rarer on the streets. Such bikes are used more commonly in the motocross scene.

Young riders cruising the streets while popping wheelies on Sur Ron-style electric motorbikes have become a key image in the debate over reckless riding in cities around the US.

The proposed Santa Barbara ordinance changes include language to tackle that phenomenon head on, including “clarifying language that tricks or wheelies constitute riding in an unsafe manner when pedestrians or vehicles are present.”

Potential actions include “citations, an educational component, and the option to impound a bike by someone illegally riding it.”

According to KEYT, additional definitions and regulatory changes in the proposed ordinance ammendements include:

• Defines what constitutes operating in an unsafe manner and provides examples of unsafe ridership behaviors. This section is applicable to any public street, public right of way, sidewalk, bicycle path, lane, or trail.
• Requires riders to use bike lanes where possible, and on streets without bike lanes, to ride close to the right curb or edge of roadway.
• Requires riders to ride in single file, and not more than two abreast except on paths or parts of a roadway set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.
• Requires the yielding to pedestrians when emerging from an alley, driveway, bicycle path, building or otherwise approaching upon a sidewalk or sidewalk area.
• Prohibits the riding of a bicycle or electric bicycle on any sidewalk except while an active threat to personal or public safety is present.
• Requires the wearing of properly strapped helmets for all riders under 18 years of age and that all bicycles or electric bicycles have reflectors affixed to both the front and back wheels and on the rear of the bike.
• Prohibits the operation of a bicycle or electric bicycle on a roadway unless it is equipped with a brake that will enable the operator to make one braked wheel skid on dry, level, clean pavement.
• Prohibits the parking of a bicycle or e-conveyance in a manner that obstructs a sidewalk or pedestrian path.
• Stipulates that any violation of the ordinance is punishable as an administrative citation with the fine not exceeding $100 for the first violation, $200 for a second violation, and $500 for each additional violation within a one-year period.

Packing up to 852 hp and a cutting-edge technology stack developed by Huawei, Chinese luxury brand Maextro just revealed its latest entry into the Mercedes-Maybach EQS and Rolls-Royce Spectre segment of ultra-luxe EVs. Meet the all-new Maextro S800.

Despite a somewhat steady stream of new Chinese EVs that defy expectations and threaten to re-set the global order of performance cars, semi trucks, and just about everything in between, brands like Maybach, Rolls-Royce, and even Bentley have seemed relatively “safe,” in the sense that their value is based on something a bit less objective than lap times or kW/mile.

The new Huawei Maextro S800, first shown as a series of renderings late last year, seems to have found some of Henry Rolls’ secret sauce – and they’ve sprinkled it liberally all over the S800.

Huawei sparkles – literally

The shimmering, sparkly, fiber-optic headliner was pioneered by Rolls-Royce over a decade ago, pushing back against the more open and accessible glass-roofs that were becoming popular in the higher end market. Huawei goes a step further, adding similar, Swarovski-like shimmer to not just the headliner – but the door handles, the headlights, projections dancing around the car as you approach it in the street.

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It looks and feels special, in other words. And these cars are all about making their owners feel special. Different.

When Henry Rolls began work on his first US factory in Springfield, Massachusetts way back in 1919, there was supposedly a mantra that management repeated to the workers. It went, “every time you touch the car, you add cost. Make sure you add value.”

I’m not here to argue that Huawei is living up to the same maxim with the Maextro, but I am here to argue that this car’s bespoke, purpose-built platform doesn’t share any parts with a lesser offering from the Mercedes or BMW or Volkswagen lineup in the way that a Maybach, Rolls-Royce, or Bentley does. That may not mean much to you and me, but the people shopping six- and seven-figure cars, it might.

Those well-heeled buyers will get a choice of EREV or “pure” battery electric powertrains good for between 480 and 852 all-electric horsepower. 32 ADAS sensors including both radar and lidar compliment a suite of cameras analyze the road ahead and feed data to Huawei’s ADS road perception system, which is constantly adjusting torque distribution, suspension compression and rebound, and front and rear steering to deliver a tech-driven chauffeur experience that Huawei insists is second to none.

That digital chauffeur is also pretty handy when the weather goes sideways, too. Huawei says the Maextro’s sensor array can help it to increase the detection distance in rain, fog, and dust by 60% compared to the benchmark, while delay was reduced by 40%.

In the event a collision is unavoidable, the car can adjust its stance, seating position, raise the windows, and unlock the central control lock to enable outside help to open the doors. Following the collision, the Maextro S800 switches the redundant power supply and calls for help, as well.

Finally, reports indicate that the Maextro S800 supports the 800V high-voltage system in some trims, suitable for 6C charging, which means it can be energized with up to 390 kW of charging power, taking just 10.5 minutes to charge the 66 kWh battery in the EREV version (523 hp) from 10% to 80%.

The Maextro S800 will enter the Chinese in May this year with a price range of 1 – 1.5 million yuan (about $135–205,000 US).

Maextro S800 | gallery

SOURCE | IMAGES: Maextro, via CarNewsChina.

Volvo Penta will debut its latest modular and scalable battery energy storage system (BESS) platform for the off-grid construction and mining industries at the bauma equipment show – here’s what you can expect.

Best-known for its marine engines and gensets, Volvo Penta is the power production arm of the Volvo Group, specializing in putting energy to work. Operating under the tagline, ‘Made to Move You’, Volvo Penta is headed to bauma 2025 with a plan to keep construction, port shipping, and mining operations moving productively and competitively throughout their transitions to battery and (in theory, at least) hydrogen power.

To that end, the company will show off a job site ready version of the scalable and modular BESS subsystem concept shown last year.

Volvo says its new, modular BESS subsystem will enable other OEMs and third party system integrators to seamlessly deploy electric power to meet the ever-exceeding energy needs in construction and mining.

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“Our modular and scalable battery-electric platform is designed to support the electrification ecosystem—combining high-performance drivelines with the crucial energy storage subsystems for efficient charging and operation in construction and mining,” says Hannes Norrgren, President of Volvo Penta Industrial. “We want to meaningfully collaborate with our customers on value-added customization that will enable them to stay productive, efficient, and future-ready.”

The Penta substation at bauma will be built around the company’s “Cube” battery pack, an energy-dense solution with a favorable C-rate designed to make it easy for BESS manufacturers to offer more compact job site solutions capable of charging and discharging energy with high levels of speed and efficiency, enabling both stationary and mobile BESS configurations that can change and grow to meet the evolving needs of a given asset fleet or project.

A Volvo Penta-developed DC/DC unit converts the voltage from the Cube battery packs (600 V) into lower voltage (24 V) for powering auxiliaries and portable offices.

Electrek’s Take

Volvo Penta has always provided power. Historically that’s been from combustion, but the company is looking ahead, developing products that will bring energy to job sites, tractors, and more long after the last ICE engine shuts down.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo Penta.