The hidden deadly threat to scooter and e-bike riders (besides cars)
A recent tragic incident in Portland, Oregon, one of countless similar occurrences, is putting a spotlight on a less-discussed but very real threat to micromobility riders: the condition of our roads.
Earlier this month, a Portland husband and father tragically lost his life while riding an electric scooter along an otherwise innocuous local street. It was marked just 25 mph, but it wasn’t the road’s speed that was the issue, or even the car traffic, which is usually to blame for most riders’ deaths. According to reports, Randy Phelps was thrown from his scooter after hitting a pothole in the road. He spent nearly three weeks on life support before passing away. His organs went on to save the lives of three others.
The loss is heartbreaking – but sadly, not unique.
The pothole had been reported to the city many times, including by local residents and businesses located along the street. Just a few days after Phelps died, the city finally filled in the pothole.
We talk a lot about the dangers that cars pose to cyclists and scooter riders. And for good reason… they are far and away the leading cause of injuries and fatalities for micromobility users. But it’s time we start recognizing that crumbling infrastructure is another deadly factor.
Potholes, cracks, unmarked trenches, and uneven pavement may go unnoticed or simply seem like minor annoyances to drivers in SUVs or pickup trucks. But to someone on an electric scooter or e-bike, they can be catastrophic. Especially at the typical speeds many of these vehicles travel, often between 15 to 28 mph (25 to 45 km/h), a sudden jolt or loss of control from hitting a deep pothole can easily send a rider flying.
Electric scooters are particularly vulnerable here. Commonly available with small 8 to 9-inch wheels, they simply don’t have the ability to roll over wide cracks or potholes that larger diameter wheels have. Instead, they tend to fall into them. Hitting a large pothole on a scooter can often end in an immediate crash. E-bikes usually fare better, with larger diameter wheels offering a bit more forgiveness. But even on a bike, deep pot holes or simply the wrong bump at the wrong angle can flip you over the handlebars or throw off your line, especially if you’re already navigating traffic or a narrow bike lane. And the edge of a pothole can easily puncture an underinflated bicycle innertube with a pinch flat, leading to loss of control at speed.
It’s part of why fat tire e-bikes – with their big, 3 or 4-inch wide tires – are so popular. Not only do they give a cushy ride, but they offer a layer of protection by rolling more smoothly over broken pavement and filling in small potholes instead of dropping into them. They’re not a magic solution, but they help on rougher roads.
I’ve recently been spending time on the new VMAX VX2 Hub e-scooter, which, by electric scooter standards, has relatively large 10-inch tires. They’re also tubeless, functioning closer to motorcycle tires. While 10 inches still isn’t huge, I tend to prefer these types of larger-wheeled scooters versus the small-wheeled budget options precisely for the extra safety that those larger tires offer.
Ultimately though, this isn’t just about tire width or diameter. This is about infrastructure. Many cities across the US have done a great job encouraging people to choose alternative forms of transportation. In fact, Portland is often seen as one of the most cycling-friendly cities in the country, and even there it took the death of a local rider to get a pot hole filled in.
It takes more than just encouraging people to switch from cars to scooters or bikes. It means they have a responsibility to maintain safe conditions for those users. That includes repaving cracked roads, filling potholes quickly, and keeping bike lanes clear and usable – not just painting lines and calling it a day.
And while I hope this doesn’t come across as victim-blaming, we riders also need to recognize that part of surviving on two wheels means riding defensively – not just against cars, but against the road itself. That might mean scanning ahead more actively, slowing down when visibility is poor or the pavement is suspect, and choosing routes with safer surfaces whenever possible. On one of my first e-bikes back in 2010, I turned my wheel from an O-shape into a D-shape while following too close behind a car to see a big pot hole in time, and that taught me a big lesson that I still remember 15 years later.
None of this is meant to place blame on riders. The responsibility is on cities to fix their roads. But until that happens — and while we push for it — we riders have to ride like our lives depend on it. Because often times, they do.
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GM has unveiled the new version of the Chevy Bolt, its popular, affordable EV with an upgraded battery and an otherwise very similar package to its last iteration, and we’re on the scene at the unveiling at Universal Studios Hollywood to get you all the info you need.
The Chevy Bolt was originally released in the 2017 model year. It was GM’s first real, modern effort at an EV, designed to be all-electric rather than a compliance car like the old Chevy Spark EV. (GM did previously design the EV1 from the ground up, but it came along before the lithium ion era of EVs, and was decidedly a compliance car).
It was also a great car. Not only was it a good size unlike the ridiculous land yachts we’re seeing so many of today, it had a phenomenal price, especially near the end of the model’s life. It was good enough to be Electrek’s vehicle of the year for 2022.
But, due to an extended recall and because the Bolt used GM’s first-gen EV platform, rather than its whiz-bang new “Ultium” system, GM retired the vehicle in late 2023, even though it was having its best sales year ever.
But, that wasn’t the end for the model. After declaring the Bolt dead but before ending production on it, GM said that it would bring back an Ultium-based Chevy Bolt (which our publisher Seth Weintraub has taken to calling the “Boltium”).
And now, it’s finally time for the official unveiling, and we’re on hand at Universal Studios Hollywood for a “Bolt Block Party” showing off the new vehicle.
Meet the new Bolt, same as the old Bolt
When Chevy retired the Bolt and said they would bring it back later, we expected it to be similar, but perhaps not this similar. From the exterior, the new Bolt and the old Bolt EUV are nearly indistinguishable.
The front fascia is slightly modified with a black line between the headlights and no black border around the fake grille, and the rear has different taillights (lifted higher, a big demand from Bolt owners), and slightly more paint on the bumper. That’s about it. But we knew all that already, after seeing it charging in public last week.
Now we’re getting information on the interior and specs, which are the juicy updates we were hoping to hear changes on.
GM hasn’t publicized 0-60 times yet, but the Bolt will use the same motor as the Equinox EV, which gives 210hp. That’s about the same as the previous Bolt, and it weighs a similar amount, so we’re imagining similar performance as the 6-ish seconds 0-60 of the previous Bolt – peppy and more than enough for any daily needs, but not a sportscar.
In particular, the original Bolt’s main technical limitation was its low DC charge speed. It maxed out at 50kW, but often was even slower than that. In a world where many vehicles can now charge at 200kW+ speeds, the new Bolt needed an update.
Thankfully, it got one. The new Bolt is now capable of a 150kW charge rate, with a 10-80% charge in 26 minutes. GM says this is about three times faster than the previous generation.
This is due to a new 65kWh LFP battery, utilizing GM’s Ultium EV platform. The previous Bolt used LG cells, and was built before GM developed Ultium. This led the Bolt to be the only vehicle in GM’s EV stable on a different technology, and is what necessitated its retirement and retooling.
The new battery also offers different specs, with 255 miles of range (GM estimate). That’s a bit more than before, which is nice, plus you can charge to 100% every night because it’s LFP. But the DC charge speeds are really the bigger story here. Faster DC charge rates enable more seamless roadtrips.
Further enabling those roadtrips is the Bolt’s new NACS port, allowing it to use the Tesla Supercharger network. An adapter is still available to use on CCS networks, but Superchargers are typically a better experience, and the whole industry is moving in that direction at this point.
Another major change is in the Bolt’s software. The previous one had CarPlay, but this one won’t.
A lot of people are unhappy about that, and I understand the unhappiness. People have gotten used to CarPlay (or Android Auto), and lots of people love it, because it’s so much better than the software from whatever 2010s-era vehicle they came from. Infotainment systems have been horrendous in vehicles for a long time.
However, I argue that these phone-based car UIs aren’t actually that great. They are inherently generic, and unable to be tied deeply into vehicle functions in a way that provides a single coherent interface. That’s why I actually liked the UI in the Blazer EV, GM’s first implementation of its post-CarPlay solution, and continue to think that GM made an acceptable choice here.
So, I do think the Bolt UI will turn out okay. GM may take a little time to iron out some kinks, but in the longer term, I think this solution is better, and will enable over-the-air updates which saves time and trouble for everyone.
The interior has had a refresh with larger display, added ambient lighting, and cupholders which can be rearranged to accommodate larger cups. It also has more dash storage for passengers.
Rear cargo space is the same as the outgoing Bolt EUV at 16 cubic feet with the seats up, or 57 with the seats down. Incidentally, with the seats down, this is actually the same amount of cargo space as the Equinox EV, which is 20 inches longer than the Bolt. Quite a feat of packaging efficiency here.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the price. Chevy says the launch edition will be a limited run at $29,990, and then later will be accompanied by an LT trim with base price $28,995. That’s quite an attractive price, and as of right now, makes it the cheapest EV announced in America.
Electrek’s Take
One interesting thing about this unveiling is its timing – or rather, the timing of another unveiling which happened just about 24 hours ago. That’s when Tesla finally took the wraps off its long-promised “more affordable” EV, which turned out to just be a stripped-down version of its Model 3/Y with a still disappointingly-high $37k-$40k base price.
Tesla’s timing for that announcement could have been an attempt to steal the wind from the Bolt’s sails, but given the pricing of that vehicle compared to this one, we’re thinking that there may not be much cannibalization.
My main disappointment in the Bolt is that the new model is based on the EUV version, rather than the EV version. The previous iteration of the Bolt originally came in a smaller version dubbed the EV, with a six-inches-longer EUV version coming later. The EV actually sold in higher numbers than the EUV throughout the model’s life, but it was also available for longer.
But when Chevy announced it would bring back the Bolt, it said the new version would be EUV-only. At the time I found this folly, and I still do. We need smaller cars, not larger ones. While the EUV is still a more reasonably-sized vehicle than almost anything else on the road, I am still disappointed that it is moving in the wrong direction as far as size goes.
Nevertheless, in the current US environment where everyone seems determined to make using roads as unsafe as possible, the EUV is still smaller than the vast majority of cars available
And the price, well, that’s really the kicker. After republicans raised the price of every EV by $7,500 during an affordability crisis, with unwise tariffs also inflating consumer prices at the same time, it’s getting harder to buy a vehicle.
But the Bolt now joins the fray as one of the most affordable EVs out there, alongside the new Nissan Leaf which will cost under 30k (and even less, once a future lower-spec trim is announced), and significantly cheaper than other low-ish-priced EVs like the Equinox EV, Ioniq 5, and the aforementioned “more affordable” standard Model 3/Y.
That’s a big deal, and it makes the new Bolt a similar calculation as when it earned Electrek’s Vehicle of the Year. But now, it doesn’t even have the main downside it had at the time – its low DC charge rate, and battery questions during what was a messy recall. Both of those problems were solved here, leaving a calculation with few downsides.
We haven’t driven the car yet, though we’ll get a few minutes in it later in the event. But it’s only going to be around the block at the Universal backlot, so we can’t give a full review, but from what we’ve seen today, it looks like quite an attractive value proposition.
We’re still at the event right now for the next few hours, so if you’ve got any questions that you’d like us to check on or relay to GM employees, let us know in the comments and we’ll see if we can get some answers (especially you Bolt owners). And, we just got all this info, so we’ll be updating this article as we digest more.
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. 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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New York-based Cool Down makes a thermal transfer system that moves naturally cool air from your basement into your living space while sending excess heat back down below to cool homes more efficiently. By dispersing that heat into the ground, Cool Down helps keep homes comfortable during hot summer months and cuts electricity bills in the process.
Cool Down’s system has already been shown to reduce air conditioning use by up to 67% per season by leveraging the consistent temperatures found in basements. With the release of its upgraded Smart Control Unit, the company is adding even more functionality and savings for homeowners across different climates.
The new Smart Control Unit introduces a range of intelligent features that make the system more versatile and user-friendly. Homeowners can now see their estimated energy savings in real time, giving them a clear picture of their return on investment and helping them optimize system performance. A new Basic Heating Mode means the system can now be used in winter to capture and circulate heat from areas with wood or pellet stoves, mini-splits, or rooms with south-facing windows. The addition of a Dehumidification Mode allows your AC or heat pump to dry out basement spaces just like the rest of the house, improving indoor air quality and further reducing cooling costs.
For days when comfort takes priority, Power Boost Mode temporarily ramps up cooling and dehumidification performance. Eco Boost Mode maximizes efficiency by preventing the AC or heat pump from switching on, which is ideal for shoulder seasons or mild climates. And for homes without ductwork, Standalone Mode enables Cool Down to operate as a central cooling system on its own, delivering significant cost savings even if it’s not as powerful as a traditional AC.
“The Smart Control Unit is about putting more control – and more savings – in the hands of homeowners,” said Damien Semel-DeFeo, founder of Cool Down. “These new modes allow the system to be customized for any home, climate, or energy-use goal.”
Cool Down offers a practical, low-cost alternative or supplement to traditional cooling systems as electricity rates continue to rise nationwide. The system is professionally installed in just a few hours, integrates with or without existing HVAC equipment, and requires no refrigerants, compressors, or external condensers.
Read more: Trump wants to kill ENERGY STAR – here’s how that impacts you
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. 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.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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The IONIQ 9 is about to get an upgrade. Hyundai’s new electric SUV was spotted with some serious off-road upgrades, hinting that a new XRT trim is on the way.
The Hyundai IONIQ 9 XRT brings a new off-road look
It may look like it’s straight out of the future, but Hyundai’s first three-row electric SUV is actually pretty impressive.
The IONIQ 9 offers a lounge-like interior with space than a Ford Explorer, boasts an impressive driving range, and features an interior loaded with advanced tech and digital screens. What else could you ask for?
How about an upgraded off-road version? We knew the IONIQ 9 was likely due for the XRT treatment after a camouflaged model was spotted last year rocking all-terrain tires, a souped-up suspension, and an added tow wrench on the front bumper.
Hyundai’s design boss, Simon Loasby, confirmed that two new IONIQ 9 variants, including a rugged off-road and a high-performance model, were in the works after unveiling the electric SUV last year.
According to TheKoreanCarBlog, Loasby said, “We are working on two distinct projects—N and XRT—apart from the standard lineup,” Loasby said.
After another IONIQ 9 with similar off-road elements, it seems only a matter of time before Hyundai makes it official.
The new photo from Kindelauto shows a prototype with similar upgrades to the vehicle spotted last year, including large all-terrain tires, a lifted suspension, and more.
A new video from HealerTV offers a closer look at the IONIQ 9 XRT in South Korea. The footage reveals unique tow hooks and an added XRT screen, which hasn’t been seen in the IONIQ lineup yet.
From the side, you can see the XRT model is slightly taller than the standard IONIQ 9 with off-road tires. Like the IONIQ 5 XRT, the larger electric SUV is expected to receive XRT-exclusive front and rear bumpers, side skirts, and 18″ wheels.
Inside, the IONIQ 5 XRT model features H-Trex seating with the XRT pattern, logo, and XRT-badged all-weather mats.
The 2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9 starts at $60,555 in the US with an EPA-estimated range of 335 miles. In Europe, the IONIQ 9 will start at £64,995 ($87,500), offering a WLTP driving range of up to 385 miles.
| 2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9 Model | EV Powertrain | Drivetrain | Driving Range (miles) |
Starting Price (including destination fee) |
| IONIQ 9 RWD S | 160-kW (215-HP) Electric Motor |
Rear- Wheel Drive |
335 | $60,555 |
| IONIQ 9 AWD SE | 226.1 kW (303-HP) Dual Electric Motors |
All-Wheel Drive |
320 | $64,365 |
| IONIQ 9 AWD SEL | 226.1-kW (303-HP) Dual Electric Motors |
All-Wheel Drive |
320 | $67,920 |
| IONIQ 9 AWD PERFORMANCE LIMITED |
314.6-kW (422-HP) Dual Electric Motors |
All-Wheel Drive |
311 | $72,850 |
| IONIQ 9 AWD PERFORMANCE CALLIGRAPHY |
314.6-kW (422-HP) Dual Electric Motors |
All-Wheel Drive |
311 | $76,590 |
| IONIQ 9 AWD PERFORMANCE CALLIGRAPHY DESIGN |
314.6-kW (422-HP) Dual Electric Motors |
All-Wheel Drive |
311 | $78,090 |
Since the IONIQ 5 XRT is priced below the Limited AWD trim, starting at $55,400 in the US, the new IONIQ 9 trim could follow a similar pricing structure. The current range-topping IONIQ 9 AWD Performance Calligraphy Design trim starts at $78,090.
Will the IONIQ 9 N be next? Stay tuned for more.
Want to check out Hyundai’s electric SUVs for yourself? You can use our links below to see what’s available in your area.
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