Himiway Big Dog electric bike review: A cargo e-bike that’s more like a moped
The Himiway Big Dog is a new “cargo” bike from Himiway, a popular electric bike brand that has expanded its product line considerably over the last year. While I’m not sure this bike qualifies as a true cargo bike by most definitions, it’s definitely a fun little utility e-bike that cruises more like a mini-moped.
Himiway Big Dog tech specs
- Motor: 750W 86Nm rear hub motor
- Top speed: 40 km/h (25 mph) after unlocking
- Range: Claimed up to 130 km (80 mi)
- Battery: 48 V 20 Ah (960 Wh)
- Weight: 36 kg (79 lb)
- Max load: 181 kg (400 lb)
- Frame: 6061 aluminum
- Suspension: Front suspension fork
- Brakes: Hydraulic disc brakes on 180 mm rotors
- Tires: 20″ x 4″ Kenda fat tires
- Extras: LCD display with speedometer, wattmeter, battery gauge, PAS level indicator, odometer, tripmeter, front and rear LED lights, half-twist throttle, includes rear rack (wooden) and front/rear fenders, center kick stand, front of bike has mount for optional rack
- Price: $1,999 (or $200 off with code BF200 for Black Friday)
Himiway Big Dog video review
My wife and I had a blast testing out a pair of Himiway Big Dogs on a recent trip to Vermont, where we soaked up the fall weather and enjoyed cruising on powerful electric two-wheelers.
Check out our experience in the video below:
Fun, powerful, and comfortable too!
We only had the bikes for a couple days, so I wasn’t able to do as in-depth testing as I normally do, but even in just a few days we still got to really enjoy these e-bikes and get a sense of what they’re made of. And while these aren’t high-end e-bikes like fancy $4,000 electric cargo bike options, there’s a lot to like.
Sure, there are pros and cons to the Himiway Big Dog just like most e-bikes. But there are enough of the former to outweigh the latter in most cases.
Let’s get those downsides out of the way first. The bike is quite heavy, weighing in at a hefty 79 pounds (36 kg). And it’s not just they’re heavy — the bike is also bulky. I only had to carry the two Himiway Big Dogs up three or four steps each day, but it was a doozy. The bikes are fairly long and the big hub motor puts that weight quite rearward. It’s doable, but it’s not at all like picking up a smaller e-bike.
Next, the pedal assist is quite surge-y. I’m not sure if that’s the best word to describe it, but it really comes on with quite a surge of power.
In fact, that’s why I consider these to be more of a moped-style e-bike. With that hand throttle at the ready and plenty of power on tap, it’s hard to fight the temptation to ride them like a moped where the pedals are largely for resting your feet.
If you do want to pedal, you certainly can. But just be prepared that the cadence sensor isn’t forgiving, so the bike really takes off with just a bit of pedal spinning.
Those were the two things that ruffled my feathers about the bike. After that, the Himiway Big Dog testing was pretty much all downhill from there, and lead to several days of smile-filled riding.
The bike is quite powerful with a 750W motor. You can no longer unlock the 30+ mph speeds that Himiway used to give you, but 25 mph or so is still possible. Since my wife and I were mostly pleasure riding, we didn’t really use the top end of the speed range too often. It’s there if you need it though, and I know several of my readers are speed demons so there you go.
The bike is also quite comfortable to mount, especially for shorter riders. My wife is 5’3 (160 cm) and she enjoyed how the seat can be set much lower than most other e-bikes that I try to force her to test out with me. It still raises up higher for taller riders, but the step-through design and low seat height option give the bike a wider range of rider heights.
I’m also a big fan of that big rear deck. The wooden platform looks slick, though it’s not quite as utilitarian as if it had more exposed bars for lashing down cargo or hooking bungee cords. Still, a flat platform is often better for boxes and other flat cargo, so some people will likely prefer it. Plus there’s the whole “ooooh, wood is prettyyyyy” effect, too.
Again, I’m not sure I’d call this a cargo bike like Himiway does, though the rack is certainly larger than we’ve seen on other utility-style bikes. And the Y-style double kickstand is also a nice addition for a “cargo” bike since it makes things more stable when you’re loaded down with cargo or kiddos on back.
The Kenda tires aren’t anything special, but they’re nicely knobbied for the gravel-style riding we were doing. If you want to hit nature trails, the tires and front suspension will both have you set. And those mag wheels mean you never have to worry about spoke issues. Plus, they look pretty cool too.
Front and rear LED lights as well as included fenders make it a great commuter option, though even having lights on a bike you may use purely for recreational is still a nice safety feature.
That massive 48V and 20Ah battery means you can ride for a really long time. We didn’t even charge the bikes throughout the two days we used them — there was just no need. If you’re pedaling too or just going easy on the throttle, you’ll get several days of use on a single charge.
I don’t think we’d ever see the 80 miles (130 km) that Himiway claims as the max range, but I also don’t think that 40 miles (64 km) would be a problem at all with reasonable speeds. With pedal assist, 50 miles (80 km) is also within reason.
I’m glad to see parts like hydraulic disc brakes included, though they’re pretty much mandatory at the MSRP of $2,099. Even at the current sale price of $1,999, if you try to sell me a utility e-bike without hydraulic brakes then that’s going to be a hard pass from me.
I’d have loved to see some type of passenger package option for the rear. Bikes like the RadRunner and Lectric XP 3.0 have those, and they are super useful features for tossing a kid or even a small adult on back.
But I guess you can just do like my wife and I and get two bikes. Not the most economical solution, but it sure does make for a fun afternoon ride with your cycling partner on the bike lane of life!
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At CES2025, the impressively built-out John Deere exhibit was all about automation. Autonomous job sites, autonomous farms … but it was this new, battery electric, autonomous lawn mowing robot that stole the show.
The self-driving Deere mower robot was positively dwarfed by the giant farm machinery surrounding it, but it continues to prove that humans will pack bond with anything as more than one burly-looking and grizzled man asked what its name was. (It’s Howard. I’ll fight you.)
For his part, Howard packs a 21.4 kWh battery pack that runs a suite of electric motors that includes a drive motor and three cutting blade motors spread across a 60 inch cutting deck – but it’s not the electric motors that make John Deere’s little robot mower cool, it’s the way it works.
See, instead of using “just” GPS data or “just” repeating a pre-recorded run, Howard can do something in between. The way it was explained to me, you would ride the stand-up mower around the perimeter of the area you wanted to mow, select a pattern, then hop off, fold up the platform, and let it loose. Howard mows just the way you would, leaving you to focus on edging, planting, or (let’s face it) schmoozing with the clients.
It’s exactly the sort of help landscapers are looking for.
But that should come as no surprise, of course. John Deere, perhaps more than most companies, knows its customer. “We’ve been in the turf business for 60 years — it’s a core part of Deere,” says Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer at John Deere, explaining things beautifully. “The work that’s being done in this industry is incredibly labor intensive … they’re not just doing the mowing work. They’re doing the tree trimming, maintaining flowerbeds and all these other jobs. The mowing is table stakes, though, for them to get the business. It’s the thing they have to do in order to get the higher value work.”
Tim Lewis, lead engineer with the commercial automatous mower, told Lawn & Landscape that the industry in general has a high turnover rate as well, making it difficult to hang to people who know where one job ends and another begins. “There’s a lot of nuances it takes to do these jobs effectively,” he explains, “so “Autonomy can help with that.”
The John Deere autonomous commercial mower (there’s no snazzy alphanumeric, yet) leverages the same camera technology as other Deere autonomous machines, but on a smaller scale (since the machine has a smaller footprint). With two cameras each on the front, left, right, and rear sides of the little guy, he has a 360-degree view of the world and enough AI to lay down a pattern, avoid an obstacle, and shut off if it thinks it’s about to mow down something (read: someone) it shouldn’t.
John Deere will have Howard on display through tomorrow at CES in the LVCC’s West Hall. If you’re in town, be sure to go say hi.
John Deere CES2025
SUOURCE | IMAGES: John Deere; Electrek.
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Tesla has officially unveiled the Model Y “Juniper” refresh, less than a day after uncamouflaged photos of the vehicle leaked online.
The refreshed Model Y, codenamed Juniper, has been expected for some time, and was expected to include many of the improvements of the 2023 Model 3 refresh.
In October, Chinese social media said the refresh was about to enter trial production, and just days later we saw a photo of the refreshed Model Y outside the Shanghai factory. Then last month, we heard that mass production would start in Shanghai in January, so we can expect that very soon as well.
And while Tesla said in 2024 that there’s no Model Y refresh coming “this year”, 2024 is over now, and the refresh is here.
Today, Tesla updated its Chinese website with all the information about the refreshed Model Y, with many of the same improvements as the Model 3 refresh like a quieter cabin, higher efficiency, more performance, ambient lighting and a rear screen.
According to Tesla’s site, the new Model Y can achieve 719km of range (446mi) in Long-range AWD spec with 19-inch wheels, but this is based in CLTC estimates, which are much more lenient than EPA. Previously the highest-range spec had 688km CLTC range, so that’s about a 20-mile improvement.
The 20″ wheels on the long range version will take you 662km, and RWD standard-range batteries will go 593km or 559km on the 19″ and 20″ wheels respectively.
We imagine this could translate to roughly ~350 miles of range on the top-spec Model Y on EPA ratings, but we’ll have to see when the car gets released in the US.
Acceleration has also been improved, with Tesla saying the large-battery AWD Model Y can achieve 0-100km/h (0-62mph) in 4.3 seconds, down from a previous 4.9. The RWD version does the same sprint in 5.9 seconds. Both of these numbers would be slightly shorter for 0-60 times, because of those extra 2mph at the end.
There is no performance version yet – just as with the post-refresh Model 3, which didn’t get a performance spec until later.
The exterior design is just as leaked photos suggested, with the same rear end we saw in leaks in July and the front end that we saw earlier today. Though now we get to see it in higher resolution and better lighting.
The front-end includes a Cybercab/Cybertruck-like “light bar” rather than the more traditional-looking headlights of the Model 3 refresh, and has been narrowed to remove the “duck lip” bump at the front of the hood.
Also on the front end is a new front bumper camera (again, like the Cybertruck, but unlike the Model 3), which should help with parking and also offer an additional point-of-view for Tesla’s Autopilot software. The inclusion of this camera, while it will improve Autopilot accuracy, does lead to questions over whether previously vehicles that don’t have a front bumper camera will be able to achieve the same level of accuracy as refreshed vehicles do.
And the interior design changes are also roughly as expected, though the steering wheel has undergone less radical changes than some had hoped.
Earlier today, photos leaked suggesting that the Model Y would receive a similar “squircle” steering wheel as the Cybertruck, leading to speculation that it might also receive the Cybertruck’s steer-by-wire system. But it turned out that those photos were just a Model 3 with a custom steering wheel.
The actual interior of the Model Y maintains a circular steering wheel, which suggests that it won’t get steer by wire (the steer-by-wire specification isn’t listed on Tesla’s Chinese site for the car).
It does however have photos showing missing steering column stalks, which has been a controversial feature of the Model 3.
However, looking closer at the steering wheel, the turn signal buttons from the Model 3 are not present. It looks like Tesla may have included a vestigial turn signal stalk hiding behind the steering wheel, and just deleted the PRND drive mode stalk.
This is still a controversial change, as changing drive modes through the screen isn’t the most popular feature, but the turn signal deletion was particularly egregious and it’s good to see it back. We wonder if the Model 3 might eventually gain this improvement, or whether this will be different in different regions.
Tesla says the new “acoustic glass” in the Model Y reduces interior noise significantly. The Model 3 also got this improvement, and testing does show a significant improvement in interior noise levels as a result.
The Model Y receives other interior improvements seen on the 3, like a screen for the rear seat. The Cybertruck also includes this screen.
This shot also shows the ambient lighting LED strip across the dash, which can be customized through the vehicle’s UI.
Another rear-end improvement is electric rear seats, operated through a button in the trunk. This button gives easier access to rear storage space, allowing owners to fold the rear seats up or down while loading or unloading cargo.
Tesla’s Chinese website calls these “anti-gravity” seats, but it’s unclear what exactly the improvements might be in this respect. The seats are ventilated.
First deliveries are scheduled for March in China, subject regulatory approval, though Tesla’s configurator says “the specific delivery date will vary depending on the configuration and pick-up location and other reasons.”
Tesla is offering a “Launch series” in China, something that Tesla has done with many of its cars, but hasn’t done before in the US with the Model 3/Y. It includes some unique design elements and “Launch series” badging in various parts of the vehicle.
As for other regions, they will probably have to wait. The Model 3 refresh came out in Europe first, and the US needed to wait months for it. This is particularly likely now given new US tariffs on Chinese-built cars (which are a bad idea).
Electrek’s Take
As I wrote in the Take section of our leaked photos article earlier today, this refresh is needed, because not only has the Model 3 had access to lots of improvements that the Model Y hasn’t gotten for the last year and a half or so, but Tesla is having a challenging time with sales right now.
The company just finished a year where its sales dropped for the first time since 2011 – back when Tesla only sold the low-production Roadster. This happened despite the overall global EV market surging to new heights, even though Tesla, the world’s largest EV maker (just barely), did its part to drag down the EV market by failing to grow apace with the rest.
Part of the reason for this is due to stale models – while the Model Y is Tesla’s best-selling model, it’s starting to seem a little long in the tooth, particularly given the Model 3’s upgrades. So we wondered earlier today whether the Model Y refresh could reignite Tesla’s growth.
But it’s not just about models. After all, Tesla did just finish its first full year of Cybertruck production, which is a new model, but its polarizing nature led to disappointing sales numbers.
That polarization is not helped by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is doing his best to harm the company and say phenomenally stupid things or make ridiculous promises basically every day (or every few minutes). His idiotic behavior is turning away customers, whether he believes it or not.
Maybe the company – not the stock – would be better off if he surrendered his title and let Tesla have a real CEO, so he can go play videogames on twitter all day instead (as he already does).
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