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You might have missed it, but automatic e-bikes are here, and they are amazing. Although the days of selecting your gears on bicycles may never leave us, we are now at the point where shifting is optional. Today we have two otherwise identical bikes with only one major difference: automatic vs. mechanical gears. How do they fare side by side?

Specs (Galaxy SL and Galaxy Lux)

  • Battery: 36v 13Ah / 48v 11.6Ah
  • Drive Interface: KMC Chain / Gates CDX Belt
  • Gearing: Enviolo Stepless CTV / Enviolo Automatiq
  • Motor: Dapu MD 500 500w 
  • Motor Engagement: Torque Pedal Assist, Throttle
  • Tires: 24″ x 2.4″
  • Brakes: 180mm Dual Piston Hydraulic
  • Extras: full-color display, full fenders, comfort grips, integrated lights, brake lights, easy step-though frame, comfort saddle, rear battery rack, water bottle holder
Evelo Galaxy SL

Evelo’s 10th Rodeo

Evelo has been making electric bikes specialized for the North American market for 10 years and, during that time, has implemented a variety of drive and motor systems across their lineup. Many other electric bikes are rebranded bikes from the Chinese or European market, and that suits a great deal of needs too. But Evelo is one of few companies that has a history of crafting electric bikes for the needs of North American riders. 

After all this time, Evelo is also ahead of the pack with extra support services, such as a four-year warranty, optional assembly, open box sales, and fast shipping. It’s nice to see the bike company growing with the industry, as that’s unfortunately uncommon.

Galaxy SL Chain

Evelo isn’t the first electric bike company to make use of an automatic transmission, but they are likely the first to do so with a 500w motor and full throttle availability. Many other higher-end bicycles are specced in Europe, where motor wattage and throttle laws are quite limiting. As much as I love a well-built, efficient e-bike from Germany, for a comfort commuter, I’d prefer more electric power.

Galaxy SL Shifter

Galaxy Bike Similarities

The Galaxy SL and Galaxy Lux both land squarely in the middle of comfort and commuting. Aside from the drive system, the two bikes are identical. The frame, pedals, saddle, rack, and cockpit all work together to give a comforting, inviting stance while riding. The wheels, tires, and brakes provide great control, air volume, and stopping power, respectively. All of the angles, lines, and parts were specially selected, and it really shows in the finished product. Although the list of differences is quite short, it makes a big impact on how the bikes behave (and cost).

Evelo Galaxy Lux

Galaxy SL is “Cheaper” (still really nice)

The Galaxy SL is the cheaper model, but cheaper is a relative term. Truly, the Galaxy SL is a comfortable, smooth bike in its own right. So far, many of the specs we’ve listed are held on bikes with higher caliber, and the SL model continues that with the drive. Instead of a rear derailleur hanging off the back of the bike, the SL model features an internal hub with a continuous variation. This means that instead of clicking into a set number of gears, the rider can twist the grip to change the gearing within a wide range. All the gearing occurs inside the rear hub, and it’s quite amazing. The SL model is also carrying a smaller battery: 36v 13Ah. This battery has a fair amount of range but lacks the punch of a higher-voltage bike battery.

Although Evelo does occasional sales, the MSRP for the Galaxy SL is $3,199.

Galaxy Lux Belt

Galaxy Lux is Nicer

The Galaxy Lux uses a fully automatic transmission with a belt interface and a battery pack with more power at the ready. The 48v 11.6Ah battery has the guts to power up almost any hill, even under full throttle mode. The real cost difference is in the automatic drive. The user can connect the rear hub to a phone app (yep, even bike parts have apps now) and then select the desired cadence (or RPMs), and the bike will do the rest. Whether starting, stopping, rolling down a hill, or climbing up, the transmission changes on its own to fit the preset number of pedal rotations. It works, and it’s great. Also, the Lux model replaces the chain drive with a belt drive, which improves upon the smoothness, longevity, and durability.

Likewise, under periodic sales, the Galaxy Lux has an MSRP of $4,399.

Galaxy Lux Automatic Shifter

Electrek’s Take

We’ve spent enough time talking about the bikes and how they work, but who are they made for? Not me, in particular, but for my mother, I would absolutely say yes. 

If you have a cycling background, then you’d be fine with the Galaxy SL. If you’re already in the habit of shifting, then you’d likely appreciate having total control of the mechanical hub. With that experience, your legs might be just fine putting some skin in the game, and the smaller battery power may be just fine for you.

I would recommend the Galaxy Lux for someone who is getting back into cycling after decades of a prolonged break from riding. For many returning riders, having automatic shifting may be a necessity, and that’s OK. The advancements in technology allow more people to bikes who otherwise wouldn’t. And this is exactly what we all hoped would happen. Finally, there is a bike that can be set for size and pedal preference, and it’s done. If you want to ride with 10-year-old legs again, never worried about gears or numbers, the Lux is the bike for you.

Get $100 off the order of an Evelo with this code: REF-4Q1DYKZ39397O5.

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Trump says U.S. will have ‘golden share’ in U.S. Steel after Nippon deal

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Trump says U.S. will have 'golden share' in U.S. Steel after Nippon deal

U.S. President Donald Trump walks with North American Flat-Rolled Segment Senior Vice President and Chief Manufacturing Officer Scott Buckiso, Plant manager of Irvin and Fairless Plant Donald German and Mon Valley Works United Steel Corporation Vice President Kurt Barshick, as he visits U.S. Steel Corporation–Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, U.S., May 30, 2025.

Leah Millis | Reuters

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. will have a “golden share” in U.S. Steel after its deal with Japan’s Nippon Steel closes.

“We have a golden stock. We have a golden share, which I control, or the president controls,” Trump told reporters in the East Room of the White House. “That gives you total control.”

Trump said Americans would have 51% ownership of U.S. Steel without providing details on how the deal is structured.

Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick told CNBC last month that the U.S. will have a golden share that allows it to control a number of U.S. Steel board seats to ensure production levels aren’t cut.

“It’s a national security agreement that will be signed with the U.S. government,” McCormick told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on May 27.

Sen. Dave McCormick on Nippon-U.S. Steel deal: A win-win situation for both sides

But the White House, U.S. Steel and Nippon have left investors and union members in the dark for weeks now on what shape the deal will take and when it will be finalized.

Trump announced what he called a “planned partnership” between the two companies on May 23. The president’s statement created confusion because U.S. Steel has said since December 2023 that it will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon North America.

Trump had ordered a new review of the deal in April after President Joe Biden blocked the transaction in January. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States submitted a recommendation to Trump on May 21.

The president had 15-days to make a decision on the committee’s recommendation under the normal rules governing the process. But the White House, U.S. Steel and Nippon have not provided details on the status of the deal since the 15-day period ended last week.

The United Steelworkers union sent a letter to U.S. Steel last Friday demanding details about the deal.

“We have seen nothing credible regarding the nature of this so-called partnership, including whether it meaningfully differs from Nippon’s initial proposal to acquire U.S Steel and make it a wholly owned subsidiary,” the union said in a statement Friday addressed to its members.

Trump said U.S. Steel will be “controlled by the USA” during a rally at one of the company’s plants in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania on May 30. Shortly after the rally, however, the president said the deal had not been finalized yet.

“I have to approve the final deal with Nippon, and we haven’t seen that final deal yet,” Trump said.

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Volkswagen’s new entry-level EV spotted in public: Here’s our best look at the ID.2

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Volkswagen's new entry-level EV spotted in public: Here's our best look at the ID.2

The ID.2 is finally out for testing. Volkswagen’s new entry-level EV was spotted out in public, giving us our closest look at the production model so far.

Volkswagen’s entry-level ID.2 EV hits the road for testing

Although we caught a glimpse of the ID.2 last summer, new photos are emerging, offering a clearer view of what the production model will look like.

Volkswagen’s entry-level EV was spotted near the Nürburgring racetrack in Germany, revealing a few new design features we can expect to see.

The prototype is camouflaged in Polo body panels, but you can still see the ID.2 will remain close to the concept shown in 2023. A few slight differences are noticeable, such as the front and rear headlights, but it retains a similar overall appearance.

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At the LA Auto Show last year, VW’s tech development boss, Kai Grünitz, told Autocar that the brand’s “ID” lineup is due for a drastic overhaul. Grünitz explained that “huge improvements” are coming soon, starting with the ID.2 in 2026.

Volkswagen's-entry-level-EV
Volkswagen ID.2all entry-level EV (Source: Volkswagen)

The ID.2, which could arrive as the ID.Polo will start at under 25,000 euros ($29,000) in Europe next year, but prices could drop to as low as £20,000 when it arrives in the UK.

It will be based on the MEB+ platform, which will underpin Volkswagen’s upcoming lineup of entry-level EVs. The ID.2 will be offered with either a 38 kWh or 56 kWh battery pack, providing a range of up to 280 miles (450 km). VW said it will be able to recharge from 10% to 80% in just 20 minutes, with a peak charging capacity of up to 125 kW.

You can see from the new photos (via Autocar) that Volkswagen is looking to its past for influence with design elements borrowed from its classics, such as the Golf, Polo, and Beetle.

The interior retains most of the concept’s style with 12.9″ infotainment and 10.9″ driver display screens, but plenty of physical buttons are expected. Volkswagen added a fun new feature with different drive modes, which transforms the driver cluster to resemble that of an old-school Golf or Beetle.

Following the ID.2, Volkswagen plans to launch the SUV version and the even smaller, more affordable ID.1, expected to arrive in 2027.

Last month, SEAT S.A., which will lead VW’s new Electric Urban Car Family (entry-level EVs), announced it had produced the first body parts on the new PXL press that will be used for the new CUPRA Raval in 2026, followed by the production version of the Volkswagen ID.2. The first pre-series battery systems are also now rolling off the assembly line at the Group’s Martorell plant in Spain.

Source: AutoCar, AutoExpress

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Chime opens at $43 in Nasdaq debut after pricing IPO above expected range

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Chime opens at  in Nasdaq debut after pricing IPO above expected range

CEO of Chime, Chris Britt, center right, rings the opening bell during the company’s initial public offering at the Nasdaq MarketSite on June 12, 2025 in New York City.

Andres Kudacki | Getty Images

Chime opened at $43 in its Nasdaq debut on Thursday after selling shares at $27 each in an IPO that valued the online banking company at $11.6 billion.

Late Wednesday, Chime raised about $700 million in its offering, and existing investors sold an additional $165 million worth of shares. The stock is trading under the ticker symbol CHYM.

Chime’s IPO, from a valuation perspective, represents a big step down from where venture investors like Sequoia Capital valued the company in its last fundraising round in 2021, when private tech markets were raging. The valuation at the time was $25 billion.

Still, Chime’s offering is the latest sign that the fintech IPO market is opening up after a multi-year freeze brought on by rising interest rates and valuation resets. Recent debuts from eToro and crypto company Circle have rekindled optimism in the sector, with both stocks seeing strong initial pops.

Chime reported $518.7 million in revenue for the most recent quarter, a 32% increase from a year earlier. Net income narrowed slightly to $12.9 million, down from $15.9 million in the same period last year.

CEO Chris Britt said Chime has built a loyal user base by serving Americans earning $100,000 a year or less, a group often overlooked by traditional banks.

“Two-thirds of our customer base use us as their direct deposit account and primary account relationship,” Britt told CNBC’s David Faber. “We help our members avoid fees, get access to short-term liquidity, build their credit and build their savings — and it’s that combination of services that really resonates and matters most to the everyday consumer.”

Chime set to debut on Nasdaq

Britt said the company reached $25 million in adjusted profitability in the first quarter and has improved its adjusted profit margin by 40 points over the past two years.

The company’s top institutional shareholders are DST Global and Crosslink Capital. Iconiq was one of the firms that invested six years ago, when Chime raised money at a $1.5 billion valuation.

“We first invested in Chime in 2019 and continued to invest through subsequent rounds because of their singular, unwavering focus on serving everyday Americans — and the trust they’ve built with that core customer base,” Yoonkee Sull, general partner at Iconiq, said in an interview.

The average Chime customer completes more than 55 transactions per month using the Chime card and interacts with the app four to five times a day. Active member growth rose 23% in the first quarter from a year earlier, Britt said, with 8.6 million monthly active users and an increasing number turning to Chime to serve as their primary banking relationship.

Customer acquisition doesn’t come cheap. Chime disclosed in its prospectus that it spent $1.4 billion on marketing between 2022 and 2024. Britt said the retention rate is above 90% once users set up direct deposit.

“Sometimes for people, it takes a change in life — a change in their career, a job change — to be the point in time when they actually make the switch and use us as a primary bank account,” he said.

The company’s core revenue comes from interchange fees, the charges merchants pay when consumers swipe Chime-issued debit or credit cards. Britt said 72% of Chime’s revenue is payments-driven, versus traditional banks that rely heavily on fees from overdrafts and minimum balances.

“It’s pretty simplistic,” said Dan Dolev, an analyst at Mizuho. “I’m actually surprised by how unsophisticated that business model is.”

Chime’s performance in the public markets may set the tone for what comes next. Several other fintech players, including Klarna, Gemini, and Bullish, have already filed for IPOs publicly or confidentially.

“If it goes well — and you’ll know that in the next two to three months — I think you’ll see much more receptivity” from other companies in the pipeline, said David Golden, partner at Revolution Ventures and former head of tech investment banking at JPMorgan Chase.

“If it doesn’t go well,” Golden added, “I think they’ll continue just to sit on their hands and wait it out.”

Chime is a five-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company, having made the annual list from 2020-2024.

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