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Luna X2 Enduro

Luna is selling a bike with specs that don’t seem to be possible. A 58-pound carbon-fiber full-suspension mountain bike with a Bafang M600 motor and a 48V 18.5Ah battery that somehow achieves 2.5kW of power. That makes it a recently marked down $4,000 mountain bike with light moto-like speed that can propel the bike past 30mph on flat dirt.

I’ve been riding the Luna X2 with the $350 Ludicrous option for almost a year now, and I’ve grown to love this thing, but with some important caveats…

Luna X2 Ludi

Luna sells some special bikes and motos, and the Ludi X2, which bridges the two, might be the best example of that. They took the Class 3 500W-rated Bafang M600 Motor that advertises 120Nm of torque and are pumping more than quadruple rated power through there, sometimes up to 2500W.

While there are some amazing advantages to this – notably, the incredible acceleration, even uphill – it also presents some problems. Obviously, that motor should be overheating, considering both the way more volt and amps than it is specced for. Luna is famous for hot-rodding Bafang motors, however, especially the M600, and they’ve done some really smart stuff here with heat dissipation with their bespoke controller. After a year of riding this thing, I can say it somehow works! Mostly.

Another problem is when you add pedaling to 2.5kW of power – all of a sudden, a mountain bike sprocket and chain rated for under 1kW of power are going to be pushed to their limits. I’ve already melted some sprockets by mistakenly changing gears up a steep hill on the Frey CC. I’ve been careful to avoid doing that on the X2 Ludi, but I still experience some slippage in high-torque situations. Unlike the Frey CC, where I’ve lost use of my second lowest sprocket, however, I’ve not done any damage in a year of riding the Luna X2, even up significant hills.

Speaking of going up hills, that unbelievable power will often pull the front wheel off the ground when climbing steep hills, presenting issues with steering and unintended wheelies.

Overheating

My first ride up our local 800-foot hill was going great at about 20-plus mph until about two-thirds the way up – I lost power and got an “Error 10.” I was able to power cycle the bike, and after a few minutes, I regained power. After rooting around in the forums, I found that the motor was overheating and shutting down.

Obviously, I can slow down to around 15mph and a lot less power and get a lot farther. But I wanted to understand exactly what was going on. Turns out, in steep hill climb situations, you want to keep your cadence very high to cool the motor and lessen the amps requirement. Most people that push this thing to the limit use the VESC tool running on an Android app to fine-tune this thing and keep it running optimally.

Luna uses the VESC app to tweak the Ludicrous controller, which is a paid download for $4 for Android or iOS, but I got an older version from Luna’s site. It allows you to pair to Luna’s controller and get almost real-time readouts of most of the vitals of the bike. The app isn’t terribly user-friendly to set up but is incredibly informative and great for keeping an eye on speed. You can then create different rider profiles to allow you to change your speed and power characteristics. I did find the readout to be a little small on rides, as someone that requires glasses for reading. I guess I need a bigger Android tablet!

In my case, the important readout is the bottom right motor heat sensor. When you start going up a hill at high power output, it will start rocketing upward. Once you are at 100 degrees C, you’ll hit the orange indicator, which is your signal to lay off the throttle and lower the pedal assist. Because the heat indicator is lagging by a few seconds, the motor is probably already closing in on its 120-degree cutoff, so you need to cut power immediately.

You can scale back to lowering heat by limiting the motor to its original 500W 120nm output. That is still plenty for hill climbing, just not at 20-plus mph. I find the bike operates quite well in the 80-100°C range.

On the other side of the spectrum, I wasn’t able to coax out even half the power on freezing cold days. That’s a shame because the bike’s Maxxis Minion tires are great for snow. After a few minutes of riding, the battery and controller do heat up, and the characteristics again go back to normal.

Once I learned my way around the heat factors, I could push this thing to its maximum.

For instance, I was able to easily climb Bromley Mountain’s 1,334 feet (407 m) in Vermont, which doesn’t have a bike lift or official bike riding path. I made it up the mountain with level 2 pedal assist without even coming close to overheating (myself or the bike!). At the same time, with the light frame and still powerful motor, I was still flying up the mountain to the point that it was actually fun to climb.

Because there is no lift and most mountain bikes don’t have this kind of power, I had the mountain to myself and was even able to find some off-the-beaten-path trails, which were tons of fun.

I was able to do four separate rides up the mountain before I needed to recharge, which I thought was pretty impressive. Luna knows their batteries, and even with driving Ludi with these chonky tires, I was seeing ranges over 20 miles. If I put smoother tires on here and ran on a road, I could see hitting 40 miles at 20mph.

Luna X2 specs

The Luna X2 is loaded up with some premium, if not top-shelf, components that would almost justify the $4000 price tag without a battery and motor:

  • Rockshox Debonair Yari 160mm front fork
  • Rockshox Deluxe Select+ 210mm x 55mm in rear 
  • Sram Eagle SX 12-speed cassette (standard HG driver, not the XD from SRAM)
  • Sram GUIDE 4 piston hydraulic brakes 200mm front 180mm back (6 bolts rotors)
  • Maxxis Minion 27.5×2.8-inch tires 
  • 44 56 non-integrated headset
  • Double wall alloy 40mm 27.5-inch rims
  • Dropper seat-post with internal routing
  • All cables throughout the bike are internally ran
  • Thru-axle hubs in both front and rear 15×110 Boost front, 12×148 Boost rear (length 180mm, 1.75 pitch)
  • 160mm front travel and 140mm rear travel
Luna X-2 review

One little extra bonus on the Luna X2 is the Carbon Fiber frame paint job. You’ll notice we’ve got the metal flake galaxy paint job, or as my wife likes to call it, “your glitter bike.” No shame here – I love the look of this thing.

In fact, to the untrained eye, the X2 looks a lot like an acoustic mountain bike. The 820Wh (48v 17.5Ah LG) battery is well hidden in the downtube, and the Bafang M600 motor or its heat sink only peeks out a bit from behind the pedals.

However, for those who know, the big “Luna” logo is what is going to be the big tell. Luna has long been outfitting electric bikes that pay more attention to what is possible than what is technically legal. Nowhere is that more apparent than the X2, which is described on Luna’s site:

This bike features our brand new Luna Controller the Ludi v2 which is a game changer. This controller will put out up to 60 battery Amps (2500 watts) As most Luna fans know, Luna has been hot-rodding Bafang motors for years with great success and this controller is sporting the heritage from our mighty BBSHD v2 controller. The Ludi v2 is 72V-rated controller which makes it extremely reliable at 48V and balances the user-adjustable buttery smooth pedal assist with the raw torque of 100 phase Amps readily available at the throttle. It even spins faster than any other M600 thanks to the Field Weakening and smoothly protects the motor from thermal overloads.

The X-2 comes in three sizes:

Electrek’s Take

The Luna X2 is truly a ludicrous mountain bike. It is a relatively light carbon fiber mountain bike that can hang with the more expensive bike shop brands, like Specialized Turbo Levo and Trek E-Caliber and, in many cases, has better components.

Where the Ludi X-2 really shines is the drivetrain. Having 2.5 kW of power at your disposal, even if just for short bursts, is like temporarily turning your mountain bike into a Talaria/Sur Ron and screaming across dirt roads at 30+mph. Having that power on a light mountain bike frame just doesn’t seem real.

Because of its high speed, I even found myself taking the X2 on my daily coffee shop commute if I was in a rush or wanted to blast up our big local hill.

The noted downsides of high power stress on the chain and sprockets as well as the overheating can be mitigated with some care and learning the bike. Luna has recently dropped the price of the X2, which can now be had for under $4K with an additional add-on for the Ludi controller.

Overall, this feels like the hot rod of mountain bikes, and I’m here for it.

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Amid affordability crisis, White House unveils its plan to raise your fuel costs

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2 hours ago

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December 3, 2025

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Amid affordability crisis, White House unveils its plan to raise your fuel costs

Former reality TV contestant Sean Duffy. Photo by Gage Skidmore

The White House formally announced its plan to hike US fuel costs by $23 billion today, in the form of a new proposed rule cutting fuel efficiency requirements.

Update 12/3: This article has been updated to reflect the formal announcement of the proposed rule.

Since the beginning of this year, the occupants of the White House have been on a mission to raise costs for Americans.

This mission has encompassed many different moves, most notably through unwise tariffs.

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But another effort has focused on changing policy in a way that will raise fuel costs for Americans, adding to already-high energy prices.

The specific rollback today focuses on a rule passed under President Biden which would save Americans $23 billion in fuel costs by requiring higher fuel economy from auto manufacturers. By making cars use less fuel on average, Americans would not only save money on fuel, but reduce fuel demand which means that prices would go down overall.

The effort to roll back this rule was initially announced on the first day that Sean Duffy started squatting in the head office of the Department of Transportation. Duffy notably earned his transportation expertise by being a contestant on Road Rules: All Stars, a reality TV travel game show.

Then in June, Duffy formally reinterpreted the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard, claiming falsely that his department does not have authority to regulate fuel economy.

Republicans in Congress even got into effort to raise your fuel costs, as part of their ~$4 trillion giveaway to wealthy elites included a measure to make CAFE rules irrelevant by setting penalties for violating them to $0. In addition, it eliminated a number of other energy efficiency and domestic advanced manufacturing incentives.

Duffy’s department then told automakers that they would not face any fines retroactively to 2022, which saved the automakers (mostly Stellantis) a few hundred million dollars and cost American consumers billions in fuel costs.

Today, Duffy formally announced the proposed changes to the CAFE rules, lowering the required fuel economy for 2022-2031 model year vehicles, even despite all of the other changes in trying to make the rules unenforceable. The theory behind this would be to make it harder to later enforce the rules, and to allow automakers to get off with more pollution, and to increase fuel demand and fuel prices for longer until a real government returns to power and starts doing its job to regulate pollution.

Specifically, the announcement changes the planned 2031 50.5 mpg target to 34.5 mpg, cutting vehicle efficiency by nearly a third, which will lead to a commensurate increase in your fuel costs.

CAFE targets have been in place since the 1970s. In the last two decades, they helped drive a 30% improvement in average fuel economy, saving an average of $7,000 over the lifetime of an average vehicle – and they did this without increasing vehicle prices.

Rollback supported by auto CEOs who want to increase your costs

Today’s announcement was praised by the CEOs of the Big Three American automakers – GM, Ford, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler). Ford CEO Jim Farley and Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa attended the announcement at the White House, along with a manager from GM, though Barra signaled her support while speaking at another event.

Despite both Barra and Farley recently making statements claiming their support for electric vehicles, both cravenly supported the rollback in fuel economy standards that will cost you more money at the pump.

Barra said today that “I’m always going to advocate for one national standard and making sure regulatory requirements don’t get in front of the consumer,” despite the fact that GM lobbied against the single national standard that had been agreed to between Obama and California, and that today’s move only increases the gulf between the federal government and California on auto standards.

And Farley, despite acknowledging that the Chinese are trouncing us on EVs, said today that “we can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while still giving customers choice and affordability,” which is detached from reality given that today’s moves will reduce affordability and efficiency and increase carbon emissions.

Their support suggests that their prior commitments to energy efficiency and electrification were not serious, as they are now joining in an effort to increase your fuel costs, just to save themselves a few engineering dollars on having to provide something other than the disgusting, deadly land yachts that are a blight on the nation’s roads and are murdering pedestrians at a 50-year high.

This isn’t the only way the White House is trying to raise your costs

Today’s announcement is just one many efforts currently being undertaken by executive departments to try to raise your fuel costs.

One of the largest is the EPA’s attempt to delete the “Endangerment Finding,” the government’s recognition of the scientific fact that climate change is dangerous to humans. The EPA is undertaking this effort so that it can then eliminate other rules intended to reduce pollution, with the goal of making you more beholden to fossil fuels.

Even the Energy Department’s own numbers, signed off on by oil shill Chris Wright, say that changes sought by the White House will increase gas prices by $.76/gal.

Like most other governmental changes, today’s change will likely go up for public comment, as required by the Administrative Procedures Act. We’ll let you know when it does.

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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Hyundai keeps IONIQ 5 EV leases affordable at just $189 a month

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3 hours ago

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December 3, 2025

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Hyundai keeps IONIQ 5 EV leases affordable at just 9 a month

Hyundai-IONIQ-5-EV-lease-deal

2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 Limited (Source: Hyundai)

Hyundai is keeping one of the most affordable EV lease deals alive with the IONIQ 5 still available for just $189 a month through December.

What EV deals does Hyundai offer in December?

It’s hard to find any vehicle available to lease for under $200 a month nowadays. The IONIQ 5 is not only one of the most affordable electric vehicles in the US, but also one of the most efficient, fastest-charging, and overall practical options if you’re looking to go electric.

After a major refresh for the 2025 model year, Hyundai’s electric SUV now features a driving range of up to 318 miles, a sharp new look inside and out, and a built-in NACS port so you can recharge at Tesla Superchargers.

Hyundai slashed prices on the 2026 model year by up to $9,800 to compensate for the loss of the federal tax credit, which expired at the end of September. It’s now one of the few EVs with a starting price under $35,000.

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Hyundai-IONIQ-5-EV-lease-deal
The Hyundai IONIQ 5 (Source: Hyundai)

Although many were worried the savings would disappear, Hyundai is keeping the deals alive with discounts across its entire EV lineup this December.

Hyundai is extending the $189-per-month IONIQ 5 lease offer through January 2, 2026. The deal is for the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 SE Standard Range model with a driving range of 245 miles.

Hyundai-IONIQ-5-interior
Hyundai IONIQ 5 Limited interior (Source: Hyundai)

You can still upgrade to the long-range SE RWD trim, with up to 318 miles of driving range, for just $199 per month. Or, if you’re really looking to get crazy, the souped-up XRT model is on sale for only $289 per month.

Hyundai’s lease offer is for 36 months with $3,999 due at signing. If you’re looking to finance, Hyundai is offering 0% APR financing for up to 60 months on all 2025 IONIQ 5 trims.

Hyundai IONIQ 5 Trim Driving Range (miles) 2025 Starting Price 2026 Starting Price* Price Reduction
IONIQ 5 SE RWD Standard Range 245 $42,600 $35,000 ($7,600)
IONIQ 5 SE RWD 318 $46,650 $37,500 ($9,150)
IONIQ 5 SEL RWD 318 $49,600 $39,800 ($9,800)
IONIQ 5 Limited RWD 318 $54,300 $45,075 ($9,225)
IONIQ 5 SE Dual Motor AWD 290 $50,150 $41,000 ($9,150)
IONIQ 5 SEL Dual Motor AWD 290 $53,100 $43,300 ($9,800)
IONIQ 5 XRT Dual Motor AWD 259 $55,500 $46,275 ($9,225)
IONIQ 5 Limited Dual Motor AWD 269 $58,200 $48,975 ($9,225)
2025 vs 2026 Hyundai IONIQ 5 prices and range by trim

The 2026 Hyundai IONIQ 5 is listed for lease starting at $289 a month, or $299 for the longer-ranger SE RWD model.

Looking for something a little bigger? The IONIQ 9, Hyundai’s three-row electric SUV, is available to lease from $419 per month. The offer is also a 36-month lease, but with $4,999 due at signing.

If you’re thinking about going electric, Hyundai’s EV lineup is a great place to start, offering 300+ miles of driving range, sharp designs, and plenty of new tech. Ready to test drive one for yourself? Use the links below to find IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, and IONIQ 9 models near you.


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Jackery Black Friday Encore sale with up to 65% power station savings + four exclusive lows, Anker robot mowers, more

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4 hours ago

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December 3, 2025

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Jackery Black Friday Encore sale with up to 65% power station savings + four exclusive lows, Anker robot mowers, more


We’ve got more ongoing holiday savings in today’s Green Deals, headlined by Jackery’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday Encore Sale with up to 65% discounts and bonus savings on power stations – all starting from $79. And for folks looking to score the brand’s Explorer 1000 v2, 2000 v2, 3000 v2, or 5000 Plus – you can find new low and exclusive prices on those standalone units starting from $327. We also have Anker’s eufy E15 and E18 Robot Lawn Mowers retaining their lowest prices starting from $1,300, as well as other deals from Birdfy, Ninja, Camplux, and more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about the hangover deals from the holiday event and this week that are collected together in our Black Friday/Cyber Monday Green Deals hub, which we will continue to update through the rest of the week, like yesterday’s EcoFlow Cyber Week Sale event, the exclusive $1,620 savings to a new low on the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Ultra power station, and more.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Jackery’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday Encore sale continues up to 65% power station discounts + bonus savings from $79

Following the recent holiday shopping rush, Jackery is giving folks more time to save up to 65% on its power stations with its Black Friday/Cyber Monday Encore Sale, complete with 5% (on orders over $1,500) and 7% (on orders over $2,500) extra savings. One notable deal amongst the bunch is the latest HomePower 3600 Plus Portable Power Station bundled with two 200W solar panels for $1,794.55 shipped, after using the code OFFER5 at checkout for an additional 5% off, beating out Amazon’s pricing by $200. This package would run you $3,699 without any discounts, which we first saw drop to this rate (with the extra savings) during the early and full Black Friday sale events, and otherwise kept above $1,994 the rest of the time since its release in September. You’re getting a combined $1,904 savings back to the best price we have tracked. You’ll also find the standalone HomePower 3600 Plus down at its second-lowest $1,614 pricing with the extra savings code. Head below to get the full lineup of deals while they last through the week.

The Jackery HomePower 3600 Plus power station fits neatly in the gap between the HomePower 3000 station (which released shortly before it) and the most expansive Explorer 5000 Plus station. It boasts a capable starting 3,584Wh LiFePO4 capacity that can be bolstered to 21kWh for greater home backup support, with 10 output ports to deliver up to 3,600W of steady power, maxing out a 7,200W.

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Like its HomePower 3000 counterpart, the new HomePower 3600 Plus brings along an expanded list of recharging methods over older legacy models, starting with the standard AC charging that puts it back to full in 2.5 hours. From there, you have the options to use both AC and DC together, plug it up to a gas generator for bypass charging, charge on the go with a car port, or utilize up to its 1,000W maximum solar input.

***Note: None of the prices below have had the extra savings factored in, so be sure to use the code OFFER5 on orders of $1,500 to $2,499 for an additional 5% savings, while orders over $2,500 can use the code OFFER7 to score 7% extra savings.

Jackery’s HomePower 3600 Plus deals:

Jackery’s Black Friday Encore outdoor adventure deals:

Jackery’s Black Friday Encore appliance backup deals:

Jackery’s Black Friday Encore critical load deals:

Jackery solar panel/expansion battery deals:

Jackery’s transfer switch and other deals:

As I pointed out amongst the bracket, folks looking to score Jackery’s Explorer 1000 v2, 2000 v2, HomePower 3000, or Explorer 5000 Plus power stations on their own can do so at the lowest tracked prices with our exclusive deals here – all starting from $327 for an unknown amount of time longer.

Anker eufy E15 robot lawn mower detecting child and dog

Anker’s RTK eufy E15 & E18 robot lawn mowers with pure vision FSD cameras retain holiday lows starting from $1,300

Over at Amazon, Anker’s official eufy storefront is offering continued Black Friday/Cyber Monday savings on its E15 Robot Lawn Mower at $1,299.99 shipped (beating its direct pricing by $500) and its E18 Robot Lawn Mower at $1,499.99 shipped, which matches its direct pricing. These two advanced robots go for $1,800 and $2,000 directly from the brand, but can more often be found at Amazon down around $1,400 on average (for the E15) and between $1,700 and $1,600 (for the E18). These deals are retaining their recent holiday savings, giving you $100 and $200 markdowns from the going rates ($500 off both MSRPs) for the best continuing prices we have tracked.

If you want to learn more about these two robots, be sure to check out our original coverage of these deals here.

Birdfy smart wooden bird house with camera

Enjoy nesting feathered friends with Birdfy’s camera & iron guard-equipped smart wooden bird house at new $100 low

Through its official Amazon storefront, Birdfy is offering its Wooden Smart Bird House with iron guard and inside camera at $99.99 shipped, after clipping the on-page $50 off coupon, which beats out the brand’s direct pricing by $30. Fetching $150 at full price, this model has seen much fewer discounts than other models we’ve featured at 9to5Toys, with discounts having gone as low as $120 before today. Now, you can pick one up for your yard or as a gift for the birder in your life with $50 savings to a new all-time low price.

If you want to learn more about this smart bird house, be sure to check out our original coverage of this deal here.

Ninja FrostVault cooler with food in lower drawer
two men and woman camping with Camplux portable water heater and shower
Four Jackery power stations side by side

Best Fall EV deals!

Best new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.


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