Rad Power Bikes releases teaser image of new e-bike. Can you tell what it is?
Calling all e-bike aficionados and internet sleuths: Rad Power Bikes is teasing a brand new model of electric bike and has released a teaser image full of clues.
The image was just sent out to the company’s email list and shared on social media.
In the image, which is with “Some big news is right around the corner. Stay tuned!”, is a dimly lit profile view of an e-bike.
The cropped image is obscured by the text “COMING 12.6.22” (which the rest of the world outside of ‘Murica should know means four days from now, not this past summer).
The image also includes the teaser text “Our most requested model. Ever.”
The “most requested” should be a big clue. Rad Power Bikes, the largest e-bike company in North America, has often stated that its RadRover is the company’s best seller. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the fat tire adventure-style electric bike is its “most requested”.
Perhaps “most requested refers to a budget-level e-bike, which would make sense considering recent clues that Rad could be replacing its most affordable model in its lineup.
With strong pressure from other budget-oriented electric bike brands, a new entry-level model could make sense.
But the most revealing clues come from the image itself. Sure, you can barely make out anything from it… until you play around with the image. We usually toss teaser images into photo-editing software and then lighten the crap out of them until they’re an ugly mess that reveals whatever is hidden in the shadows. That’s how we discovered early-on that SONDORS would unveil a motorcycle, and this time it helps us get a few more clues about this upcoming Rad bike.
A few things are obvious when we take a look at the lightened image.
We’re of course looking at a step-through frame. The battery is positioned on the downtube, which is pretty standard for many Rad Power Bikes models, though is a departure from the RadExpand and recently-replaced RadMini models that mount the batteries along the seat tube.
There’s an obvious lack of suspension and there’s also what appears to be a folding mechanism just forwards of the bottom bracket where the pedals are mounted.
The tires look wider than a typical metro tire like we saw on the RadMission, yet they have an obviously street-optimized tread pattern. These certainly aren’t meant for trails.
There are also tall bars like we’d find on the RadRunner 2 utility bike.
Many of these signs seem to point towards a street-optimized folding bike, perhaps something like a RadRunner-lite.
The RadExpand is sometimes referred to as a folding RadRunner, but perhaps this could be a more city-optimized folding RadRunner.
Or maybe it’s a more scaled down folding e-bike designed to compete with the Lectric XP Lite, which has surely frustrated Rad with its $799 price tag.
One thing is for sure: we won’t know exactly what Rad Power Bikes is working on until the big reveal on December 6th. In the meantime, let’s hear your guesses in the comment section below! And be sure to check back here on the 6th for the big news!
We’ll hold you over during the wait with our most recent Rad review below.
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Wind energy powered 20% of all electricity consumed in Europe (19% in the EU) in 2024, and the EU has set a goal to grow this share to 34% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050.
To stay on track, the EU needs to install 30 GW of new wind farms annually, but it only managed 13 GW in 2024 – 11.4 GW onshore and 1.4 GW offshore. This is what’s holding the EU back from achieving its wind growth goals.
Three big problems holding Europe’s wind power back
Europe’s wind power growth is stalling for three key reasons:
Permitting delays. Many governments haven’t implemented the EU’s new permitting rules, making it harder for projects to move forward.
Grid connection bottlenecks. Over 500 GW(!) of potential wind capacity is stuck in grid connection queues.
Slow electrification. Europe’s economy isn’t electrifying fast enough to drive demand for more renewable energy.
Brussels-based trade association WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson summed it up: “The EU must urgently tackle all three problems. More wind means cheaper power, which means increased competitiveness.”
Permitting: Germany sets the standard
Permitting remains a massive roadblock, despite new EU rules aimed at streamlining the process. In fact, the situation worsened in 2024 in many countries. The bright spot? Germany. By embracing the EU’s permitting rules — with measures like binding deadlines and treating wind energy as a public interest priority — Germany approved a record 15 GW of new onshore wind in 2024. That’s seven times more than five years ago.
If other governments follow Germany’s lead, Europe could unlock the full potential of wind energy and bolster energy security.
Grid connections: a growing crisis
Access to the electricity grid is now the biggest obstacle to deploying wind energy. And it’s not just about long queues — Europe’s grid infrastructure isn’t expanding fast enough to keep up with demand. A glaring example is Germany’s 900-megawatt (MW) Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm. The turbines are ready to go, but the grid connection won’t be in place until 2026.
This issue isn’t isolated. Governments need to accelerate grid expansion if they’re serious about meeting renewable energy targets.
Electrification: falling behind
Wind energy’s growth is also tied to how quickly Europe electrifies its economy. Right now, electricity accounts for just 23% of the EU’s total energy consumption. That needs to jump to 61% by 2050 to align with climate goals. However, electrification efforts in key sectors like transportation, heating, and industry are moving too slowly.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has tasked Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen with crafting an Electrification Action Plan. That can’t come soon enough.
More wind farms awarded, but challenges persist
On a positive note, governments across Europe awarded a record 37 GW of new wind capacity (29 GW in the EU) in 2024. But without faster permitting, better grid connections, and increased electrification, these awards won’t translate into the clean energy-producing wind farms Europe desperately needs.
Investments and corporate interest
Investments in wind energy totaled €31 billion in 2024, financing 19 GW of new capacity. While onshore wind investments remained strong at €24 billion, offshore wind funding saw a dip. Final investment decisions for offshore projects remain challenging due to slow permitting and grid delays.
Corporate consumers continue to show strong interest in wind energy. Half of all electricity contracted under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in 2024 was wind. Dedicated wind PPAs were 4 GW out of a total of 12 GW of renewable PPAs.
Read more: Renewables could meet almost half of global electricity demand by 2030 – IEA
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the official unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):
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The Chinese EV leader is launching a new flagship electric sedan. BYD’s new Han L EV leaked in China on Friday, revealing a potential Tesla Model S Plaid challenger.
What we know about the BYD Han L EV so far
We knew it was coming soon after BYD teased the Han L on social media a few days ago. Now, we are learning more about what to expect.
BYD’s new electric sedan appeared in China’s latest Ministry of Industry and Information Tech (MIIT) filing, a catalog of new vehicles that will soon be sold.
The filing revealed four versions, including two EV and two PHEV models. The Han L EV will be available in single- and dual-motor configurations. With a peak power of 580 kW (777 hp), the single-motor model packs more power than expected.
BYD’s dual-motor Han L gains an additional 230 kW (308 hp) front-mounted motor. As CnEVPost pointed out, the vehicle’s back has a “2.7S” badge, which suggests a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint time of just 2.7 seconds.
To put that into perspective, the Tesla Model S Plaid can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 2.1 seconds. In China, the Model S Plaid starts at RBM 814,900, or over $110,000. Speaking of Tesla, the EV leader just unveiled its highly anticipated Model Y “Juniper” refresh in China on Thursday. It starts at RMB 263,500 ($36,000).
BYD already sells the Han EV in China, starting at around RMB 200,000. However, the single front motor, with a peak power of 180 kW, is much less potent than the “L” model. The Han EV can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.
At 5,050 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,970 mm, BYD’s new Han L is roughly the size of the Model Y (4,970 mm long, 1,964 mm wide, 1,445 mm tall, wheelbase of 2,960 mm).
Other than that it will use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack from BYD’s FinDreams unit, no other battery specs were revealed. Check back soon for the full rundown.
Source: CnEVPost, China MIIT
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