Super73: Meet the e-bike company that old fogies love to hate
Anyone that’s into e-bikes is almost certainly already aware of Super73. And if you aren’t into e-bikes, then you’ve probably at least seen some Super73s riding around your town. They’re the admittedly motorcycle-looking electric bikes that haven proven extremely popular with young riders in the US. And perhaps that’s the first clue as to why Super73 seems to get more hate than anyone when it comes to criticizing e-bikes.
That always seemed a bit strange to me since I’ve only had positive interactions with the brand. I’ve enjoyed joining on organized Super73 group rides in Los Angeles and even rode a Super73 across Germany with my publisher. So to learn more, I sat down with the company’s CEO LeGrand Crewse to discuss e-bikes, riding culture and why Super73 seems to have such a big target on its back.
Electric bike sales have been booming for years in the US as riders discover the useful and fun alternative to car ownership or public transportation. But with more riders has also come more scrutiny, especially when a subset of those riders flout traffic laws.
If you’ve been following the slew of anti e-bike stories in the New York Times and other publications, you’ll notice a common thread. Super73 is often singled out as some type of key offender. It seems that if you’re at least middle-aged and have a bone to pick with people on e-bikes, then Super73 is the go-to punching bag.
Part of that is likely due to Super73’s appeal with younger riders, which is by design. “We say that we fuse motorcycle heritage with youth culture,” Crewse explained to me.
Based on the company’s data, the average age of a Super73 rider is in their 30s. “Popular opinion might think that it’s 15,” he laughed, “but it’s not.”
Outside of Super73’s K1D balance bike, all of the company’s e-bikes are design for ages 16 and up. Of course that doesn’t mean that younger teenagers won’t find their way onto e-bikes purchased by adults, but that’s not an issue that is entirely unique to Super73.
That moto-heritage in the company’s mission statement is quite evident when you look at the customization culture of Super73’s community of riders. “There’s an incredibly strong and storied history of customization in the motorcycle world that’s something that we’ve embraced,” Crewse explained.
And that customization is on full display when you see the diversely decorated and customized e-bikes in action. I’ve personally seen Super73s without a single inch of visible frame left, entirely wrapped in colorful vinyl or otherwise turned into rolling works of art.
Super73 has a decently large accessory catalog, but for serious customizations the free market has stepped forward. Entire companies have sprung up offering aftermarket customization kits that can personalize a Super73 e-bike in seemingly unlimited ways to make each bike one-of-a-kind. Many of those companies were actually started by Super73 riders from the brand’s own riding community, Crewse boasts.
One the reasons that the company is often at the forefront of the debate over e-bikes is likely due to the brand’s recognizability, said Crewse. “We have a very visible brand, our bikes don’t just blend into the background. Most traditional e-bikes are hard to identify from a distance, but that’s not so with a Super73.” Furthermore, since the company landed on the scene in 2016 and popularized moto-styled electric bikes, dozens of brands have sprung up to imitate the Super73 styling, further muddying the waters.
Another facet of Super73’s culture that tends to raise grey eyebrows is the extensive and close knit community built around the brand. I’ve worked in the e-bike industry for nearly 15 years and covered it online, in print and in videos for 10 years. I’ve never seen an e-bike brand with a more loyal or dedicated community than what has sprung up around Super73’s bikes.
This level of community dedication is perhaps most visible in the company’s group rides. Super73 often organizes group rides, which are open to any riders regardless of brand and usually take a path through a mixture of public streets, on-road bike lanes and off-road bike trails – all places where e-bikes are legally allowed to ride. I’ve been on a couple of these rides over the years and seen the effort put into safety, including a rider briefing at the start to cover road rules and route, as well as lead and tail riders from the Super73 team keeping the group together and safe. That doesn’t mean you won’t see riders popping wheelies along the way, but there’s also no law that says both bike tires have to remain on the ground – no matter how much it seems to bother some onlookers.
Any riders who are legitimately reckless or endanger others find themselves less-than-welcome at future rides. This is often done by the community itself, which tends to be fairly self-policing. No one wants to ride around someone who could end up hurting them.
As Crewse explained, many of those types of troublemakers don’t stick with Super73 long anyway, often moving on to other brands that offer higher power and have a looser interpretation of safety regulations (my words, not his).
In fact, the blending of motorcycle heritage with youth culture has created another interesting effect in the community: Many riders voluntarily don much more safety gear than most other e-bike riders. While you’ll still see plenty of helmetless riders just like any e-bike brand, there’s a somewhat confounding appreciation for increased safety gear among many riders.
It’s common to see Super73 riders wearing motorcycle helmets, gloves, and other moto-style protective gear. This is despite the bikes traveling at the same speed as nearly all other e-bike brands, and is perhaps merely a reflection of the community’s embrace of several aspects of motorcycle culture.
Riding two-up, another common sight on motorcycles, is also common on Super73s (though many e-bikes now support this). The bikes have longer saddles and have optional rear foot pegs to support a second rider. This isn’t some dangerous modification, but rather a designed-in feature.
I’ve ridden Super73s with my wife on back (and been ridden around on the back of the bike while she drives), and it’s a fun experience to share.
In addition to company-sponsored official group rides, there are also unofficial Super73 group rides put on by bike owners themselves. They can even occur somewhat spontaneously, though these admittedly aren’t likely to carry the same emphasis on safety compared to Super73’s officially staffed group rides.
“Just like any other motorized vehicle, there are people who are going to follow the laws and ride in a conscientious manner. And there are going to be others that will disregard laws and show a lack of respect for others,” Crewse explained. “We always try to highlight and embrace the former, people who follow all the laws and rules.”
The company has made efforts to promote safety in a number of ways, especially among its younger rider base. Much of the work has begun locally with pilot programs that can hopefully be expanded nationally. The company has worked with schools to create safe riding instruction as well as secure bike parking on high school campuses, with one of the stipulations for accessing that secured parking area being the completion of the safety courses.
“I think what is most exciting to me is our work done directly with schools,” Crewse added. Since Super73 e-bikes have proven popular as a way for high schoolers to ride to school, these programs help target those young riders where they are.
Another issue often attributed to Super73 is e-bike hot-rodding, or modifying electric bikes to reach illegally fast speeds.
In most but not all states in the US, there are three legally defined e-bike classes for use on public roads. Class 1 e-bikes can reach 20 mph (32 km/h) on pedal assist only. Class 2 e-bikes are the same, but can do so with a hand throttle instead of pedal assist. Class 3 e-bikes can reach faster 28 mph (45 km/h) speeds but can’t have a throttle. All three are limited to 750W of power (one horsepower) and must have functional bicycle pedals.
As Crewse explained, Super73 e-bikes ship to customers as Class 2 e-bikes. Riders can use the smartphone app to switch them into Class 3 mode, though only temporarily. When the bike shuts off, it always reverts back to Class 2 limitations.
There’s also an off-road mode that is meant for use on private property, though no one is naive enough to think it isn’t likely still used on the road by many riders. As Crewse explained though, even the off-road mode isn’t all that much faster. “You can’t go insane speeds on a Super73,” he said.
Depending on their weight and the riding terrain, some riders are able to achieve slightly over the 28 mph Class 3 limit when riding in fully unlocked mode, he explained, but added that it’s “well within the +/-10% threshold that is well established in the industry as well as in automotive and other circles.”
As Crewse explained, “the bikes mechanically can’t go much faster than 28 mph.” This is where I get to dust off my engineering degree and confirm that he’s right. Electric motors spin proportionally fast to their supplied voltage. Removing the software speed limiter on a Super73 lets the motor hit its theoretical limit, but that limit is only around 30 mph with a lightweight rider on flat ground. A Super73 e-bike battery simply doesn’t have enough voltage to make it spin any faster.
That doesn’t stop many naysayers from claiming they see Super73 bikes zipping around town at motorcycle speeds. Part of that is likely because 28 mph – the legal limit for e-bike speeds in the US – looks quite fast. And it is fast. Closing in on 30 mph is no joke.
But another reason is because there are companies out there that make complete drivetrain swaps for Super73s. The kits enable much higher power and speed levels and make the resulting bike “very illegal,” as Crewse says.
Such kits come with new high voltage batteries as well as replacement motors and speed controllers. Often all that is left of the original bike are the mechanical components – essentially the frame, seat and pedals. The rest is a new high-power electric drive system.
Crewse detailed how the company clearly doesn’t support this. But also, there’s not much they can do. GM can’t stop someone from buying a Chevy Bolt and dropping in a Tesla Plaid powertrain.
Through the course of an hour talking shop with Crewse, it became clear that the e-bike bogeyman painted by many in the media here simply doesn’t exist. At least not in the way it’s been presented.
Sure, younger riders gravitate towards Super73 because the company gives them a community in which to flourish. The bikes are ripe for personalization and become more than just a means of transportation – they become a source of pride and self expression.
And yes, you’re likely going to see groups of Super73 riders cruising the streets together. But as long as they’re following the law, they have every bit as much right to be there as the 7,000 pound SUVs that also cruise the streets together.
As a company and as a community, Super73 has embraced a focus on rider education and safety while still providing a fun alternative form of transportation.
At the end of the day, it’s just an electric bike. For better or for worse, what really matters is what you do with it.
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Despite the will-they, won’t-they uncertainty surrounding the future of tariffs and union jobs and – let’s face it – just about everything else in every industry these days, GM says it has no plans to move production of its Ultium-based EVs from Mexico to the US.
GM has exclusively produced electric cars at its plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico since last year, and has created some 5,000 new jobs in the area according to economist Raquel Buenrostro, who currently serves as Mexico’s Secretary of Anti-Corruption and Good Government. And those cars – including the popular Chevy Equinox EV and Honda’s hot-selling Prologue – have been huge hits in their respective segments.
The General seems to know a good thing when it sees one, so it should come as no surprise to learn that GM has no plans to scuttle its assembly lines out of the country.
“At this time, GM has no plans to halt or relocate production of any of our EV models made in Mexico,” the director of GM de México’s EV operations, Adrián Enciso, told the Spanish-language newspaper, Milenio. “It’s possible that additional models, such as (the new 2026 Chevy Spark) could be built here, too.”
Market Watch is reporting that the proposed tariffs, if they take effect, could raise GM’s cost to make electric cars in Mexico by up to $4,300 per vehicle. But while that could put a significant per-unit dent in GM’s profits, it’s worth noting that the EVs might continue to be built in Mexico and sold in Canada and other markets – the new Spark, especially, is targeted towards Central and South America, anyway.
And, frankly, GM can afford it.
SOURCE: Mexico News Daily.
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The mining equipment experts at Epiroc will supply a fleet of autonomous, zero-emission electric Pit Viper 271E and SmartROC D65 BE drill rigs at a number of Australian mines operated by multinational metals firm, Fortescue.
The $350 million AUD (approx. $225 million US) deal will see Epiroc AB supply its customer, Fortescue, with a number of blast hole drill rigs powered by either a cable connection to grid energy or, for more remote sites, batteries.
Fortescue will put the rigs to work at its iron ore mines in the Pilbara region in Western Australia. The driverless machines will eventually be operated fully autonomously, overseen by remote operators at Fortescue’s Integrated Operations Centre in Perth – more than 1,500 km away!
Epiroc says the machines will eliminate around 35 million liters of diesel consumption annually, according to Fortescue.
“Fortescue is at the forefront of the mining industry in reducing emissions from operations, and in using automation to strengthen safety and productivity, and we are proud to support them on this important effort,” says Epiroc President Helena Hedblom. “Not only is this the largest contract we have ever received, but it is also a major step forward for our electric-powered surface equipment. We look forward to contributing to Fortescue’s continued success now and in the future.”
The Pit Viper 271 E rotary blast hole drill rig that offers the same levels of performance that the diesel Pit Viper line is acclaimed for. Its patented cable feed system that prolongs component longevity and reduces operational costs. The SmartROC D65 BE is a new, battery-electric version of the proven SmartROC D65 drill rig. They’re manufactured in Texas and Sweden, respectively.
Fortescue has been a pioneer in the electrification of the mining industry, whether it’s converting its massive Liebherr excavators to electric, funding the development of 6MW EV chargers, or deploying autonomous electric drill rigs like these in their mines – they’re well on their way to achieving their goal of carbon neutral operations by 2030.
Electrek’s Take
From drilling and rigging to heavy haul solutions, companies like Fortescue and Epiroc are proving that electric equipment is more than up to the task of moving dirt and pulling stuff out of the ground. At the same time, rising demand for nickel, lithium, and phosphates combined with the natural benefits of electrification are driving the adoption of electric mining machines while a persistent operator shortage is boosting demand for autonomous tech in those machines.
We covered the market outlook for autonomous and electric mining equipment earlier this summer, and I posted an episode exploring the growing demand for electric equipment on an episode of Quick Charge I’ve embedded, below. Check it out, then let us know what you think of the future of electric mining in the comments.
More EVs means more mines
SOURCE | IMAGES: Epiroc.
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Solar and wind accounted for almost 98% of new US electrical generating capacity added in the first two months of 2025, according to new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) data reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign.
In FERC’s latest monthly “Energy Infrastructure Update” report (with data through February 28, 2025), FERC says 39 “units” of solar totaling 1,514 megawatts (MW) were placed into service in February, along with two units of wind (266 MW). They accounted for 95.3% of all new generating capacity added during the month. Natural gas provided the balance (87 MW).
For both January and February, renewables (6,309 MW) were 97.6% of new capacity, while natural gas (147 MW) provided just 2.3%, with another 0.2% coming from oil (11 MW).
Solar dominated February generating capacity
Solar accounted for 81.1% of all new generating capacity placed into service in February. It was 73.3% of new capacity added during the first two months of 2025.
Recent solar additions include the 237.3 MW Fence Post Solar in Texas, the 150-MW Northern Orchard Solar in California, and the 135-MW Prairie Ronde Solar Project in Louisiana.
Solar has now been the largest source of new generating capacity added each month for 18 consecutive months, since September 2023.
Solar + wind now almost 25% of US utility-scale generating capacity
New wind accounted for most of the balance (14.3%) of capacity additions in February. New wind capacity (1,568 MW) added in January and February combined was 70% more year-over-year (922 MW).
The new wind farms that came online in February were the 140.3-MW Pioneer DJ Wind in Texas and the 126-MW Downeast Wind in Maine.
The installed capacities of solar (10.7%) and wind (11.8%) are now each more than a tenth of the US total. Together, they’re almost one-fourth (22.5%) of the US’s total available installed utility-scale generating capacity.
Further, approximately 30% of US solar capacity is in the form of small-scale (e.g., rooftop) systems that aren’t reflected in FERC’s data. Including that additional solar capacity would bring the share provided by solar and wind to more than 25% of the US total.
With the inclusion of hydropower (7.6%), biomass (1.1%), and geothermal (0.3%), renewables currently claim a 31.5% share of total US utility-scale generating capacity. If small-scale solar capacity is included, renewables are now about one-third of total US generating capacity.
For perspective, a year ago, the mix of utility-scale renewables accounted for 29.3% of total installed generating capacity. Five years ago, it was 22.6%. Ten years ago, it was 16.9% (with more than half provided by hydropower). Thus, over the past decade, renewables’ share of US generating capacity has nearly doubled.
FERC’s 3-year solar + wind addition forecast
FERC reports that net “high probability” additions of solar between March 2025 and February 2028 total 89,497 MW – an amount almost four times the forecast net “high probability” additions for wind (22,890 MW), the second fastest growing resource. FERC also foresees net growth for hydropower (1,323 MW) and geothermal (92 MW) but a decrease of 130 MW in biomass capacity.
The net new “high probability” capacity additions by all renewable energy sources would total 113,672 MW. There is no new nuclear capacity in FERC’s three-year forecast.
Despite Trump’s big fossil fuel push, FERC is projecting that coal and oil will contract by 24,939 MW and 2,104 MW, respectively. Natural gas capacity would expand by 1,583 MW.
Thus, adjusting for the different capacity factors of gas (59.7%), wind (34.3%), and utility-scale solar (23.4%), electricity generated by the projected new solar capacity to be added in the coming three years should be at least 20 times greater than that produced by the new natural gas capacity, while wind’s new electrical output would eclipse gas by eight-fold.
If FERC’s current “high probability” additions materialize, by March 1, 2028, solar will account for nearly one-sixth (16.3%) of US installed utility-scale generating capacity. Wind would provide an additional one-eighth (12.7%) of the total. So each would be greater than coal (12.4%) and substantially more than either nuclear power (7.3%) or hydropower (7.2%).
Assuming current growth rates continue, the installed capacity of utility-scale solar is likely to surpass coal and wind within the next two years, placing solar in second place for installed generating capacity behind natural gas.
Renewables still on track to exceed natural gas in 3 years
The mix of all utility-scale (ie, >1 MW) renewables is now adding about two percentage points annually to its share of generating capacity. At that pace, by March 1, 2028, renewables would account for 37.6% of total available installed utility-scale generating capacity – nipping on the heels of natural gas (40.2%) – with solar and wind constituting more than three-quarters of the installed renewable energy capacity. If those trendlines continue, utility-scale renewable energy capacity should surpass natural gas in 2029 or sooner.
However, if small-scale solar is factored in, within three years, total US solar capacity (small-scale plus utility-scale) could approach 330 GW. In turn, the mix of all renewables would then exceed 40% of total installed capacity while natural gas’s share would drop to about 37%.
Moreover, FERC reports that there may actually be as much as 220,985 MW of net new solar additions in the current three-year pipeline in addition to 67,811 MW of new wind, 9,788 MW of new hydropower, 201 MW of new geothermal, and 39 MW of new biomass. By contrast, net new natural gas capacity potentially in the three-year pipeline totals just 20,856 MW. Consequently, renewables’ share could be even greater by late winter 2028.
“The Trump Administration’s assault on wind and solar has not – at least not yet – had an appreciable impact on the rapid growth of renewable energy generating capacity,” noted the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director, Ken Bossong. “Moreover, if FERC’s current projections materialize, the mix of renewables will surpass natural gas capacity before the end of President Trump’s time in the White House.”
Electrek’s Take
Just three days ago, I reported on nonpartisan policy group E2’s latest Clean Economy Works monthly update, which revealed that nearly $8 billion in clean energy investments and 16 new large-scale factories and other projects were cancelled, closed, or downsized in Q1 2025. (E2’s cleaner net is wider than FERC’s and includes such things as EVs, battery storage, hydrogen, and grid and infrastructure projects.) Clean energy is growing, but Trump’s executive orders have still managed to slow its growth. Natural gas is still in the lead, but coal and oil still can’t touch renewables.
Read more: FERC: Solar + wind set for a strong 3-year run despite Trump’s sabotage
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