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Welcome to Flywheel, a weekly exploration of owned and used micromobility. Each newsletter will highlight an observation of trends emerging in the industry and feature five of the most interesting used vehicles being sold in the secondary market.

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The observation of the week explores OEM imports and suppliers data from ImportYeti. This week’s featured vehicles are a tilting tadpole etrike, a scrambler, two commuters, and a fat-tire ebike.

Observation of the Week

Imports and Supplier Base Data for Micromobility OEMs

The difficulties of managing supply chains came into significant focus during the pandemic, and it’s clear that no OEM can be successful without a strong grasp over their supply chain. In fact, a strong supply chain has become a key moat for many OEMs, and insights into the best OEMs’s suppliers and imports are understandably opaque for that very reason.

One awesome and free tool that analyzes US imports and supplier data is ImportYeti, which tracks bills of lading (publicly available information/contracts on goods transported by carriers for shippers) for most major hardware companies importing goods into the US. In addition to shining light onto the supply chain of major OEMs, this data is also an interesting proxy for sales since it illustrates general trends on how companies are moving vehicle and parts inventory.

Let’s take a look at the ImportYeti US imports data for some of the biggest OEMs in micromobility:

1. Rad Power:

2. Specialized:

3. Trek:

4. Giant:

5. Segway Ninebot:

A few initial observations based on the above data:

• All the OEMs above have a fairly pronounced peak of imports into the US during the pandemic and a bit of a drop-off since then, but the imports in 2023 and 2024 aren’t as low as I expected them to be. In fact, Specialized and Segway Ninebot have actually had strong increases in imports in 2024.

• Specialized and Giant have had fairly consistent import volumes over the years, while Segway and Rad Power peaked in 2022. Trek’s imports have been gradually declining since their 2015 and 2016 peaks.

• Specialized and Giant have the highest average shipments/month, clocking in at 43.9 shipments/mo and 24.14 shipments/mo respectively. These figures are 2X-4X larger than the average shipments/month of Segway Ninebot, Trek, and Rad Power.

• The top 5 suppliers for Giant are all subsidiaries of Giant or associated with Giant, which speaks to their high level of supply chain integration. They even supply parts to other OEMs, including the likes of Trek, Yamaha, and Pedego.

• For all of the OEMs discussed above, well over 90% of their imports are from Asia. China and Taiwan are the top two supplying countries, and Vietnam and South Korea are a distant 3rd and 4th.

• California is the top state shipped to for Specialized, Trek, and Segway Ninebot. Washington is the top state shipped to for Giant and Rad Power.

For more observations and resources on owned and used micromobility, check out rideflywheel.com/resources.

Featured Vehicles of the Week

1. sixthreezero Two Front Wheel E-Trike | $2000 | USA

The sixthreezero Two Front Wheel E-Trike is a class-2 folding tadpole etrike launched just last week. Immediately obvious about this sixthreezero model as compared to other etrikes in the market is that it has two wheels in the front as opposed to the rear. While this is theoretically a more stable configuration, it requires a far more complex front steering system to maintain even a decent turning radius. sixthreezero’s system features tilting steering, where the two front wheels tilt and have independent suspension. This gives riders an incredibly tight turning radius since the vehicle can lean into turns like a traditional two wheel bike, and it offers high stability when riding over obstacles. This tilting mechanism is fairly common amongst motorcycle trikes, but the added complexity of the steering system often results in increased higher maintenance and reliability issues. It’ll be interesting to see how this etrike fares in that regard. Surprisingly, the sixthreezero etrike is also capable of folding. There are hinges in the downtube and stem that allow you to fold the vehicle small enough to fit into the trunk of a Crossover SUV. This etrike’s powertrain features a 750W (~30Nm) rear hub motor (with reverse function) and a 499.2Wh battery pack, and is paired with a 7-speed Shimano transmission. Its max speed is limited to 16mph to ensure that riders don’t go too fast and tip over. This is actually a slightly faster max speed than that of other etrikes on the market, but this model can afford to do so given the additional stability of its tilting front wheels. The wheels themselves are quite small to keep the center-of-gravity low, with the front wheels being 16” in diameter and the rear wheel being 20” in diameter. The current discounted price of $1999 is shockingly reasonable for an etrike. Competing options from Rad Power and Lectric are ~$500 cheaper with similar powertrains. However, if the added tilting mechanism proves to be reliable, sixthreezero’s etrike would be more than worth the premium. Listing can be found here.

2. Juiced Scrambler X2 | $1,200 | Santa Barbara

The Juiced Scrambler X2 is a class-2/class-3 scrambler by one of the oldest D2C ebike companies in the US. It’s an upgrade to the Camp and City Scramblers, which were Juiced’s first attempts at bringing the scrambler form factor to urban commuters. The Scrambler X2 has a bigger motor, an updated motor controller, a battery that meets higher safety specs, better tires, and a higher payload capacity than its predecessors. Its powertrain features a 90Nm Bafang rear geared hub motor and an 811.2Wh battery pack. The battery pack is G2 fire-safety rated and SGS certified to UL 2271. All current Juiced models are also claimed to be TÜV certified to UL 2849, but the Scrambler X2’s product description page doesn’t explicitly state that as of this time. The pedal assistance is controlled by a cadence sensor, which combined with the vehicle’s heavy weight of 82.2lbs makes pedaling a bit challenging. However, this vehicle is really designed to be primarily ridden via its twist throttle and occasionally augmented by light pedaling. Its 7-speed transmission and hydraulic brakes give it “top-notch stopping power and control,” and its front suspension fork and fat 20” by 4” all-terrain tires make it smooth and comfortable to ride on uneven surfaces. The Scrambler X2’s banana seat is long enough for a second passenger, but keep in mind that the vehicle’s payload capacity is only 300lbs. This listing is practically new with only 7mi on the odometer. Listing can be found here.

3. Trek Super Commuter+ 7 | $1,999 | SF - Bay Area

The Trek Super Commuter+ 7 is a premium and stealthy class-1 urban commuter that is, as the seller puts it, “designed by Trek from the ground up to be the ultimate commuter companion.” It’s a more affordable sister vehicle to Trek’s Super Commuter+ 8S, which has a faster motor and bigger transmission but costs ~$1400 more. The Super Commuter+ 7’s powertrain features a 60Nm Bosch Performance Line mid-drive motor and a 500Wh Bosch PowerPack battery sleekly integrated into the downtube. Its motor controller measures pedal torque, pedal cadence, and rear wheel speed, resulting in an almost immediate and highly intuitive pedal assistance. This powertrain is paired with a 10-speed Shimano drivetrain and Shimano hydraulic brakes to give the vehicle responsive acceleration and deceleration. Although the Super Commuter+ 7 doesn’t have a suspension fork or seat, its carbon fiber front fork helps absorb some vibrations when riding on city roads. Lastly, the vehicles comes with built in fenders and lighting, which is rare for a dealer-network brand ebike. Trek undoubtedly makes some of the highest quality, most reliable ebikes in the market. Additionally, as one of the big 3 bike OEMs, it also has one of the largest maintenance networks in the industry. This listing is brand new and has only been used for a few test rides. It’s being sold by non-profit Oakland bike shop The Bikery to fund non-profit organization Cycles of Change’s bicycle access and education programs. Trek no longer makes this model, so it’s one that will be increasingly harder to get your hands on. Listing can be found here.

4. Ride1Up 700 Series | $999 | SF - Bay Area

The Ride1Up 700 Series is a class-2/class-3 affordable urban commuter. Class-2/class-3 hybrids make for compelling urban vehicles. The throttle maximizes the vehicle’s utility and helps riders accelerate quickly from a stop, and the 28mph class-3 max speed allows riders to keep up with cars on most city streets. The 700 Series’s powertrain features a 60Nm geared rear hub motor and a 720Wh battery pack made of 21700 Samsung cells. Rounding out the ride features are an 8-speed Shimano transmission, a hydraulic front fork suspension, and dual-piston hydraulic disc brakes to make the 700 Series’s handling nimble and agile. Lastly, the Ride1Up 700 Series is fully-loaded with accessories (integrated lighting, fenders, and a rear rack) so that it’s ready for commuting right out of the box. One point of complaint by existing 700 Series riders is that the cadence sensor determining pedal assistance is laggy, but this is understandable given the price point and the amount of componentry that comes standard with the vehicle. This listing has a mileage of 1600mi but is still in “great condition.” Listing can be found here.

5. Rad Power RadRover | $880 | LA

The Rad Power RadRover is a class-2 fat-tire electric bike. It’s the most commonly listed ebike model in the secondary market, and is extremely popular for its versatility and rugged Hummer-like ride. The RadRover is powered by an 80Nm rear geared hub motor and a 672Wh battery pack. While it’s unclear what model year this listing is, its powertrain would be UL 2849 certified if it was bought after September 2023. The RadRover has plush 26" by 4.5" fat tires, which provide an exceptionally smooth and stable ride that easily handles all kinds of terrain. That being said, the RadRover is a large and heavy bike (weight of 71.4lbs and length of 75.25"), which makes it cumbersome to maneuver and less than convenient to store. For an in-depth analysis of the RadRover's components and supplier base, check out Flywheel’s RadRover Supplier Breakdown. This listing has only been ridden indoors for testing purposes and has a mileage of 3mi. One point to note is that the seller emphasizes that this vehicle was professionally assembled by Velofix. For D2C ebikes that are shipped disassembled, there’s a risk that they’re not assembled properly because they’re put together by customers that are most likely untrained and inexperienced. This is a huge safety concern, particularly given the speeds and payloads at which these vehicles are used. For anyone buying a D2C ebike and assembling it themselves, I highly recommend taking the vehicle to a bike shop to have a technician check and confirm that it’s properly assembled. Listing can be found here.

That’s it for this edition. Thanks again for joining, see you next week!

- Puneeth Meruva