Velotric Nomad 1 review: A UL-listed fat tire electric bike for dirty adventures
The first thing I noticed about the Velotric Nomad 1 was the screaming yellow color (technically called “Mango”). But the second thing, and perhaps more important, was just how much fun the bike is to take off-road where the asphalt ends and the adventures begin.
Technically there are several nice colors, but I instantly fell in love with this bright Mango colorway that feels both fun and like a nod towards safety via high-visibility. But of course an e-bike is more about performance than looks, so let’s dig into just how well this e-bike works.
Take a gander at my video review below if you want to see it in action, or keep on reading for my complete thoughts.
Velotric Nomad 1 Video Review
Veloric Nomad 1 tech specs
- Motor: 750 W continuous-rated rear geared hub motor (1,200W peak)
- Top speed: 20 mph (32 km/h) on throttle and pedal assist
- Range: Up to 55 mi (88 km)
- Battery: 48V 14.4Ah (691 Wh) frame-integrated, removable
- Charge time: 6 hours
- Max load: 440 lb (200 kg)
- Weight: 73 lb (33 kg)
- Brakes: Hydraulic disc brakes, 180 mm rotors
- Extras: Backlit LCD display with speedometer, tripmeter/odometer, battery gauge, PAS level indicator, left side thumb throttle, included front and rear fenders, optional rear rack, integrated headlight and tail lights, kickstand
Safety meets performance
First of all, let’s talk safety. The Velotric Nomad 1 has UL certification for both the bike itself and the battery.
That not only provides extra peace of mind for owners, but also is an increasingly important consideration as more areas consider bans on e-bike sales for non UL-certified models.
And like I mentioned above, while there are many other attractive color options, the bright yellow paint job makes the bike harder to ignore by drivers. Combined with front and rear LED lighting, that’s another key factor in safety and visibility.
But beyond mere appearances, let’s talk shop. With 1,200W of peak power and a set of fat tires, this e-bike is built to take it to the dirt just as well as it can handle commuting on the streets.
There’s nothing terribly special about the tires, they’re commonly available CST BFT 26 x 4.0 fat tires. But they certainly get the job done, as I experience on a combination of sand and dirt, as well as some fun excursions on mulched nature trails.
I also really like the included fenders for keeping all that sand, dirt, and mulch off of my back and the front of my jeans, which isn’t always a given in off-road e-bikes. But since the Velotric is one of those world-colliding e-bikes designed for the tarmac and the turf, the fenders are a nice touch. And they aren’t cheap dinky fenders either, like many fat tire e-bikes unfortunately use. These are well supported fenders that do their job without flopping around.
As usual, I’m guilty of using too much throttle when I get off-road, as it is hard to resist treating the Nomad 1 like a dirt bike and throttling over little hops and bumps.
The 750W rear hub motor is happy to dish out that power all day, and the siren’s call of that thumb throttle is like music to my ears. The left side thumb throttle setup has never been my favorite, as I’m more of a half-twist right side throttle man myself. But when in Rome, I can make do.
Despite enjoying throttle riding a bit too much, I always try to get in some good pedal assist testing as well. Without a torque sensor, the Nomad 1 has to rely on a more basic cadence sensor for pedal assist. It seems to work fine, minus the telltale lag when you try to get rolling. It’s especially important to remember to downshift before stops when you only have a cadence sensor, as getting rolling in high gear with fat tires while you wait for the electric assist to kick in is a real doozy.
So I’ll ding the Nomad 1 there, as I have to for any cadence sensor-based pedal assist e-bike. Torque sensors are just so much nicer, and I miss them when they aren’t there.
But the lack of a torque sensor surely helped Velotric bring the Nomad 1 in at a reasonable price, which is currently the sale price of $1,499.
That’s an attractive price for a UL-listed fat tire e-bike with 1,200W of power and a set of nice features like front suspension, grippy hydraulic disc brakes, 8-speed Shimano transmission, full fender set, LED lighting, and a large nearly 700 Wh battery.
One more addition that I would have loved to see would be a rear rack included as standard equipment, but you can always add that $69 component yourself if you need the storage. Mounts for a front rack seen on either side of the head tube imply that you could almost turn this thing into a cargo bike if you needed to.
But to me, I still think the Velotric Nomad 1 finds it true home in the overlap between commuter and adventure bike. Most people aren’t like me with a storage room full of e-bikes. Most people have to settle on a single model, and so to have a bike that feels good in the bike lane yet can still handle a fun trail ride is a major advantage, and that’s exactly what the Nomad 1 seems to offer.
This isn’t a high-end electric bike, don’t make any mistake. You’ll find much higher quality with bike shop bikes like a Trek, Specialized, or other several thousand dollar e-bikes. But at under $1,500 for a great performing e-bike, I’d say this is more than fair. Bigger names will charge you more for less bike, and they don’t even come with the safety certification of the Nomad 1.
So to wrap this review up in a sentence, I’d say the Velotric Nomad 1 is a great budget offering that can get you out on a safe, fun adventure (or a normal boring cruise to the coffee shop) without breaking the bank.
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British Columbia got its first 400 kW DC fast charger last week at Canadian C-store chain On The Run, but that’s not the good part. As part of a limited time offer, these chargers are FREE!
The Canadian convenience store chain just took the wraps off its new, ABB-developed, 400 kW chargers earlier this month, but they’re already planning to bring the ultra-fast 400 kW dispensers to at least four more locations in BC this spring, and have them online just in time for the summer road trip season – something On The Run hopes its customers will appreciate.
“The A400 charger delivers an enhanced customer experience, with reliability and performance from a 32-inch screen to higher power charging sessions and power sharing,” reads the company’s official announcement, via LinkedIn. “Download the Journie Rewards app to start the charge – free for a limited time.”
On The Run’s new 400 kW ABB DC fast chargers are compatible with CCS and CHAdeMO plugs, and can accommodate Tesla and other NACS-equipped vehicles with an adapter. That said, the company seems to imply that Tesla drivers in particular will have a maximum charging speed of “just” 50 kW, which feel hilarious (given the current state of affairs between Tesla and the Canadian government), but probably isn’t.
In addition to the ABB A400 400 kW units shown here, On The Run locations also employ the ABB Terra 184 dispensers rated at 180 kW. On The Run plans similar deployments at the four BC locations mentioned above, as well as two more each in Quebec and Ontario slated to go live towards the end of this year.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla’s controversial CEO Elon Musk once mocked 350 kW charging speed as being “for a child’s toy,” despite the fact that, nearly nine years later, his own cars and Superchargers can barely make it to 325 kW while others have sailed right on past. I made fun of that fact on the Quick Charge episode shown, above – and, while I do think it’s funny and relevant, the much more relevant piece of news here is that companies like BP Pulse, Revel, and Wallbox are actively deploying 400 kW solutions, today (while others hit the same mark as far back as 2017).
It’s just a fact: Tesla has fallen way behind.
SOURCE | IMAGES: On The Run, via Electric Autonomy.
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Terawatt Infrastructure‘s first medium- and heavy-duty electric charging truck stop in California is now online, in Rancho Dominguez.
Located 12 miles north of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the private Rancho Dominguez site, which is shared among multiple fleets, will support electric trucking fleet operations in and out of the largest container ports in the US.
First customers include Dreaded Trucking, Hight Logistics, PepsiCo, Quick Container Drayage, Southern Counties Express, Tradelink Transport, and WestCoast Trucking & Warehousing.
Terawatt’s electric charging truck stop features 20 pull-through and bobtail DC fast charging stalls with a capacity of 7 megawatts (MW), enabling charging for up to 125 trucks per day using a simple reservations system. Terawatt’s site features a proprietary charge management system, in-house technicians, 24/7 customer service, and onsite parts management.
“This launch underscores growing collaboration between enterprises, shippers, carriers, and charging infrastructure providers to advance sustainable technologies across logistics and transportation operations, especially in the medium and heavy-duty sectors,” said Neha Palmer, CEO and cofounder of Terawatt. Palmer added that the company will bring another charging site online in Rialto, California, in June.
Terawatt joined some of the world’s largest shippers and carriers in September 2024 to launch the I-10 Consortium heavy-duty EV operations pilot, the “first-ever US over-the-road electrified corridor.” Terawatt is providing charging infrastructure, including software, operations, and maintenance support at six of its owned charging hubs along the I-10 corridor.
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In its most aggressive attack against offshore wind yet, the Trump administration halted the $5 billion Empire Wind 1, already under construction off New York’s coast.
Norwegian developer Equinor announced yesterday that it received notice from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) ordering Empire Wind 1 to halt all activities on the outer continental shelf until BOEM has completed its review. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum posted this tweet yesterday:
Burgum gave no indication of what insufficiencies there were in the approval process for the fully permitted offshore wind project, despite Trump’s recent declaration of a national energy emergency that speeds up permitting processes.
The commercial lease for the 810-megawatt (MW) Empire Wind 1’s federal offshore wind area was signed in March 2017 during the first Trump administration. It was approved by the Biden administration in November 2023 and began construction in 2024.
The project is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Empire Wind 1, which was due to come online in 2027, has the potential to power 500,000 New York homes.
“Halting construction of fully permitted energy projects is the literal opposite of an energy abundance agenda,” said American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet in a statement. “We encourage the administration to quickly address perceived inadequacies in the prior permit approvals so that this project can complete construction and bring much-needed power to the grid.”
As Electrek reported, Equinor secured $3 billion to finance Empire Wind 1 in January. The total amount drawn under the project finance term loan facility as of March 31 was around $1.5 billion.
As of March 31, Empire Wind has a gross book value of around $2.5 billion, including South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (pictured above), which was expected to become the US’s largest dedicated port facility for offshore wind.
In response to BOEM’s stop work order, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued the following statement:
Every single day, I’m working to make energy more affordable, reliable and abundant in New York and the federal government should be supporting those efforts rather than undermining them. Empire Wind 1 is already employing hundreds of New Yorkers, including 1,000 good-paying union jobs as part of a growing sector that has already spurred significant economic development and private investment throughout the state and beyond.
As Governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand. I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future.
Equinor says it’s considering appealing BOEM’s order.
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