The Grey Harbour

Before I was a port, I was a promise. A curve of coast that meant shelter. The whales knew me then - knew my depths and shallows, my tides and temperatures. They'd come to scrape themselves clean against my stones, roll in my shallows until the water went dark with what they needed to shed. Gray whales, humpbacks, even the great blues would visit, following maps written in currents and instinct, finding this place where the sea floor was just right for rubbing away what irritated.

I remember when the first pylon was driven into my sand. Men who thought they were creating something new, not understanding they were adding wooden bones to a body that already knew how to hold visiting giants. Before the schedules and the sirens, before humans decided water was just distance to be conquered.

At first, the whales still came. They'd scratch their great sides against my new pilings alongside my old stones. They'd sing down there in the dark water, and I'd feel it through both foundations - the ancient rock and the fresh wood. Wooden bones. Salt bones. Patient bones. All learning the same song.

That was when I was just a few posts, a suggestion of human shelter built over whale wisdom. They taught me my purpose hadn't changed - to be a place of rest, of tending. Simple exchange. They got clean. I got visitors who asked for nothing but presence.

Now I get cargo ships with captains who count only minutes and tonnage. They roar in at all hours, demanding immediate berth, shouting about deadlines, insurance, liability. As if I could create more space. As if storms were personal insults. As if infrastructure doesn't fatigue.

But between them, in the quiet hours, the softer things remain. The mussels still filter silence through my lower reaches. Small fish dart between my shadows. Kelp knows how to bend without breaking, teaches me something about survival I should have learned sooner.

The soft humans come too. Dawn visitors who watch water change colour. Who tie their small boats with care, not force. Who understand that ports need silence like lungs need exhale.

___

The storm came on a Tuesday. Nothing special about it - I've weathered thousands. But this captain was different in his sameness. Red-faced, diesel-drunk, screaming about his schedule as if wind cared about cargo manifests. Demanding priority berth while three other vessels rode out the weather with dignity.

"You don't understand," he kept saying. "This delay will cost everything."

I wanted to tell him: I am older than your grandfather's grandfather. I have held ships through hurricanes that erased entire coastlines. I understand cost. I understand everything except why humans create storms where none exist.

But ports don't speak. We only hold.

That night, in the narrow hour between midnight and morning, I felt something else. Vibrations through deep water. A frequency I hadn't felt in twenty years.

Whale song.

Not the joy I remembered. This was mourning. Low and long, carrying grief I couldn't fathom. The last of its pod, maybe. Or carrying losses too vast for human understanding. The song rose through my pilings, travelled through wood that remembered when it was trees, when it stood on mountains, when it knew different songs.

The whale came closer than they ever do now. Close enough that I felt its scars through the water's movement. This wasn't the smooth giant of my memory. This was a survivor, barnacled and worn like me.

And then, through the mourning song, came something impossible. A question, vibrating through my deepest supports:

"What do you need?"

—-

I didn't know how to answer. I was built to provide, not to need. For three centuries, I've been asked for shelter, for safety, for speed. But need? What does a port need?

The whale kept singing, patient. Each night of that long storm, the same question. It would surface to breathe - that great gasp that sounds like the earth sighing - then dive again, singing into my foundations.

The demanding captain raged above. The whale sang below. Between them, I began to crack. Not the structural failing kind - the opening kind. The kind that lets light into dark places.

On the third night, I found an answer. Or it found me.

"I need to not be everything to everyone. I need storms to mean rest, not more crisis. I need to remember why I chose to be here - for beauty, for connection, not just function."

The whale's song shifted. Still mournful, but now carrying something else. Recognition, maybe. Or the wisdom that comes from swimming alone through dark water.

"Then let some ships wreck themselves," the whale sang. "It's not your job to save those who won't navigate carefully. Save your strength for those who understand that shelter is a gift, not a right."

—-

The storm passed, as storms do. The angry captain left, cursing my inadequacy. The whale disappeared into deeper water. But something had changed.

I began to notice things.

The winch on pier seven - the Port Authority should have oiled it months ago, but someone else had. Fresh rope appeared on the cleats they'd condemned but never replaced. Someone had reinforced the corner piling that only I knew was starting to rot - the inspectors who charged for quarterly reports never went that deep.

The managers extracted fees, the owners extracted profits, but maintenance? That ate into margins. So the soft captains did it instead, quietly fixing what the powerful ignored.

There were shells on my posts. Small offerings from children who don't see infrastructure as merely functional. They see altars. Canvas. Something worthy of decoration. I'd been receiving offerings I couldn't recognize as love.

The fisherman who always tied up at pier three - he'd been checking my moorings every morning. Not for his safety. For mine. Tightening what loosened, noting what needed attention, fixing without announcement.

The woman who sits at my edge each dawn, feet in water - I'd thought she came for solitude. But she's been humming. The same frequency as whale song. She knows something. Maybe she's always known. Maybe her humming is what called the whale back. Maybe she's been singing to me all along, waiting for me to get quiet enough to hear.

—-

I'd been so deafened by the demanding captains, I stopped hearing the quiet ones who were trying to give back. The ones who understood that even the strongest structures need maintenance. That giving can flow both ways. That harbours need harbouring too.

Not all the traffic had been extraction. Some captains had left me stronger. But I'd been too exhausted by the takers to receive from the givers.

Now, in morning mist, I watch differently. The small boat that always ties up gently - that's intention, not accident. The child arranging shells in patterns - that's prayer, not play. The woman humming whale song - that's healing, not habit.

—-

This morning, low tide, the woman walked my entire length. At each piling, she paused. Touched the wood. At my oldest post, the first one, whale-scarred and beautiful, she pressed both palms flat against it and whispered something I couldn't hear over the gulls.

But I felt it. The same vibration as whale song. The same question:

"What do you need?"

This time, I knew the answer. But more important, I found myself wondering:

How many soft captains had I missed while listening to the loud ones? How many shells arranged as prayers? How many songs hummed at frequencies I was too exhausted to hear?

The tide turns. It always does. And in the turning, I'm learning to notice what was always there - the quiet mending, the patient tending, the love that doesn't announce itself but simply fixes what's broken and moves on.

When the men go, the whales will return. If any are left.

But maybe they never really left. Maybe they just transformed. Became the soft captains, the dawn hummers, the shell-givers. Maybe care just changed shape, waiting for me to get quiet enough to recognize it.

End

For Nerina and our family,
soft captains all.

The Patchwork Tightens: Australian E-Mobility and Lithium-Ion Battery Regulations as of May 2026

For most of the past decade, Australian regulation of e-bikes, e-scooters and the lithium-ion batteries that power them has been a state-by-state patchwork. A 500 W e-bike bought legally in Sydney was an unregistered motor vehicle the moment it crossed into Victoria. An e-scooter was footpath-legal in Brisbane and Hobart but illegal in Sydney and Darwin. A trade in cheap, uncertified batteries — many destined for delivery riders’ converted bikes — fed a steady stream of fires that fire services across the country had been documenting in increasing numbers.

That patchwork is now being rewoven, fast. Two events in late 2025 set the new direction: the Commonwealth’s reinstatement of EN 15194 as the national e-bike import standard, and NSW’s decision to fold its anomalous 500 W allowance back to 250 W. Around those federal-state pivots, every jurisdiction has either tightened its own rules or has draft legislation in the pipeline. This article summarises where each state and territory now sits, across three regulatory dimensions: who can sell what, who can ride where, and what can come on public transport.

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The Federal Pivot: EN 15194 Reinstated

For years there was no enforceable national reference standard for what constituted a legal e-bike in Australia. EN 15194 had been adopted in 2014, then quietly abandoned in subsequent years, leaving importers free to bring in devices that were nominally classed as bicycles but performed like unregistered motorcycles.

That changed in late 2025. On 21 November 2025, the Australian Government committed to reinstating e-bike import requirements to meet the European safety and quality standard, EN-15194, and on 19 December 2025 the Federal Government updated import laws to require e-bikes imported into Australia to meet EN 15194 (2017). This update effectively stops the flow of any e-bike over 250W at the border, regardless of individual state laws.

The reinstated standard limits e-bikes to 25 km/h, caps continuous rated power at 250 watts, and includes an anti-tampering requirement. The anti-tampering clause is significant — under the previous, simpler “EPAC” definition there was nothing to stop a high-powered motor being software-locked to 250 W and shipped as a legal bicycle. Queensland authorities have since been explicit that devices with more powerful motors that are “locked” to 250 watts are also prohibited, and federal import rules rely on the hardware rating of the motor.

This is the regulatory bedrock everything below now sits on.

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NSW: The National Leader on Product Safety

NSW has moved further and faster than any other jurisdiction on battery and e-mobility product safety, driven by a fire record that Fire and Rescue NSW has documented in painful detail (193 e-micromobility fires between 2022 and 2025, with the rate rising each year, including the state’s first LiB fire fatalities in February 2024).

Product safety regulations

Under the *Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2017*, e-bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards, self-balancing scooters and the lithium-ion batteries used to power these devices are ‘declared electrical articles’ and must comply with prescribed mandatory safety standards before they can be sold in the state.

The rollout has been staged:

- **1 February 2025** — Stage 1 prescribed safety standards in effect. Devices, batteries and chargers must comply with one of the listed standards (for batteries: EN 50604-1, IEC 62133-2 or UL 2271 for e-bikes; AS/NZS 60335.2.114 for e-scooters/skateboards/hoverboards. For complete bikes/devices: AS/EN 15194 or UL 2849).

- **19 February 2025** — Australia’s first Information Standard for e-micromobility takes effect, requiring point-of-sale safety information.

- **1 August 2025** — Information Standard enforcement begins, with penalties of up to $5,500 for breaching the Information Standard.

- **1 February 2026** — Mandatory testing, certification and marking enforcement, postponed from the original August 2025 date in response to industry feedback. Full enforcement begins, including labeling obligations and legal penalties for non-compliance up to $825,000.

A small but important carve-out: as of 18 December 2025, e-micromobility vehicles used for hire, rent or lease are exempt from the testing, certification and marking requirements, although chargers must already be tested, certified and marked.

Riding rules

Privately owned e-scooters remain illegal on NSW roads, footpaths and shared paths — they can only be ridden on private property, with shared trial schemes the only public-space exception. E-bikes have until recently been the outlier in another way: NSW was the only Australian state to permit a 500 W EPAC class. NSW increased the maximum continuous rated power to 500W (from 250W) in early 2023 to assist riders in hilly areas, e-cargo bikes with loads and those with restricted mobility. However, the increase in power also contributed to loopholes — grey areas in the definition led to a wave of high-powered bikes that behave more like electric motorbikes than pedal-assisted bicycles.

In December 2025 the NSW Government announced this would be unwound. The continuous rated power of e-bikes will be capped at 250 watts, bringing NSW into line with other states. To be used on a road, an e-bike will need to comply with EN 15194 by 1 March 2029. Owners of currently legal e-bikes with maximum power output up to 500 watts must transition to an EN compliant model by that deadline. After 1 March 2029, bikes that do not comply with the EN 15194 standard can be seized under new seizure and crushing laws.

Public transport

From November 2025, converted e-bikes — regular pedal bikes that have been retrofitted with a motor and lithium-ion battery — are banned from Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink and Metro services. Riders caught with a restricted converted e-bike or its battery on the network face a $400 penalty notice and fines of up to $1,100.

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Queensland: Big Reforms in the Pipeline

Queensland’s current rules sit at the more permissive end nationally — e-scooters and PMDs are legal on footpaths, shared paths and local roads — but enforcement and penalties are not light. Police enforce 12 km/h speed limits on footpaths and shared paths with fines of more than $660. The maximum speed anywhere is 25 km/h. Helmet fines exceed $160. Holding a mobile phone while riding attracts fines of more than $1,250. Hit-and-run penalties for non-serious incidents exceed $3,000 and can include imprisonment.

The state’s regulatory direction is changing significantly. After 14 e-mobility-related deaths in 2025 and a parliamentary inquiry that delivered 28 recommendations (all accepted or accepted-in-principle), the *Transport and Other Legislation (Managing E-mobility Use and Protecting Our Communities) Amendment Bill 2026* was introduced in March 2026. Subject to parliamentary approval, the laws are expected to take effect from 1 July, with a six-month transition period.

Key proposed changes:

- 10 km/h speed limit on footpaths and shared paths, replacing the existing 12 km/h limit for PMDs and addressing a regulatory gap where there was no existing speed limit for EPACs.

- PMDs to be permitted on any road with a speed limit of 60 km/h or less, replacing the existing rules that limited PMDs to roads with no dividing line and 50 km/h or less.

- Riders over 16 must hold a valid driver’s licence of any class. Under-16s banned outright from public roads, paths and shared spaces. Parents and guardians can be held liable for fines.

- More powerful devices capable of exceeding 25km/h will be reclassified as motorcycles or mopeds and will require registration and insurance. Police gain powers to randomly breath test riders and seize devices on first offence.

- Fines for unreasonably obstructing footpaths and other areas, with hire operators required to provide local governments or police with information about the last known user.

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Victoria: Public Transport Crackdown, Sales Tightening

Victoria’s response has focused most visibly on the public transport network, after several high-profile lithium-ion battery fires aboard trains.

Public transport (Conduct on Public Transport Regulations 2025, in force 21 December 2025)

Converted e-bikes are banned on metropolitan and V/Line trains and within ticketed areas. The penalty is $508.78 for adults or $101.76 for children. E-bikes, e-scooters and other rideable e-devices must be switched off and cannot be ridden or charged on board, on platforms or in station precincts. Only foldable e-scooters and e-bikes are allowed on trams and PTV buses. The changes do not apply to mobility scooters, which continue to be allowed on the network.

Riding and product rules

Victoria does not allow e-scooters on footpaths but permits them on shared paths and bike infrastructure. The 25 km/h cap and 250 W EPAC limit apply. E-bikes with toggle switches that allow the bike to override legal power and wattage limits, an EPAC that continues to provide motorised power above 25 km/h, or any bicycle with a combined maximum continuous rated power output greater than 250 watts cannot be ridden on public roads and road-related areas — these can only be ridden on private property and there are significant fines of over $1,000 if caught riding one in public areas.

Victoria has also passed the *Transport Legislation Amendment (Vehicle Sharing Scheme Safety and Standards) Bill 2025*, establishing a centralised regulatory framework under the Department of Transport and Planning to streamline operations, improve safety, and provide consistency for councils, operators, and users of shared micromobility services. The City of Melbourne has banned shared hire scooters altogether, while Yarra has effectively done so by raising fees by 400%.

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South Australia: Newly Legal as of July 2025

SA was a late mover. From 13 July 2025, privately owned electric scooters (e-scooters) and other personal mobility devices can legally be ridden on roads and paths in South Australia.

Key rules: individuals aged 16 and over can ride e-scooters and similar devices on footpaths, bike paths, many bike lanes, and certain roads. No driver’s licence or vehicle registration is required. Riders must wear a helmet and use a flashing light in low light conditions. E-scooter riders are permitted on roads with speed limits up to 60 km/h but must use bike lanes and travel no faster than 25 km/h. On footpaths, beaches and shared paths, e-scooters are limited to 10 km/h. Other personal devices such as e-skateboards and e-solo-wheels can be used on roads with speed limits up to 50 km/h at speeds up to 25 km/h. Fines for serious breaches can reach up to $2,500.

PMDs sold in SA must meet an applicable safety standard — currently the AUS/NZ electrical safety standard. PMDs are not permitted on public transport in SA (trains, trams, buses), although the government has indicated this may change.

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Western Australia: e-Rideables Established, Inquiry Recommendations Pending

WA has had a legal framework for “e-Rideables” (e-scooters, e-skateboards, hoverboards, e-unicycles) for some time. The headline rules: 10 km/h on footpaths and pedestrian crossings, 25 km/h on local roads, bicycle paths and shared paths. eRiders are subject to the same drink and drug driving laws as motor vehicle drivers. Breaking electric scooter laws will result in fines depending on the severity of the offence — for example $500–$1,000 for using a mobile phone while riding.

In 2025, an inquiry into e-scooters and e-bikes in WA made a number of recommendations including changes to laws, many of which the state government supported and are planned for implementation. In the meantime, police continue to enforce current rules, including targeting illegal devices and unsafe riding behaviour. WA is the only state with an explicit 16+ minimum age. E-bikes are dealt with separately from e-Rideables and follow standard bicycle rules under the Road Traffic Code 2000.

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Tasmania: Permissive but Bounded

Tasmania allows private and shared e-scooters, with 15 km/h on footpaths and 25 km/h elsewhere, a 16+ minimum age (children under 16 are restricted to ≤200 W, ≤10 km/h devices), and a 45 kg device weight ceiling. In Tasmania, e-bikes that have not been modified may be taken on trains only, and e-scooters are not allowed on buses.

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ACT: Path-Friendly, Road-Restricted

The ACT has legalised PMDs since 2019. E-scooters are permitted on footpaths, shared paths, bicycle paths and the bicycle side of separated paths. Speed limits are 15 km/h on footpaths, 25 km/h elsewhere. Roads only for the shortest, safest route where there is no footpath, shared path or nature strip available, or it is impracticable to use one. There are no public transport restrictions specific to e-mobility devices.

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Northern Territory: Hire-Only, in Trial Areas

The NT remains the most restrictive jurisdiction for private ownership. Riding personal e-scooters remains illegal on roads and road-related areas, including footpaths, shared paths, and bicycle lanes. They can only be used on private property. The NT government encourages the use of hired e-scooters instead. The Darwin trial scheme operates with Beam Mobility / Neuron, capped at 15 km/h. People caught riding private e-scooters in public will be fined for driving an unregistered and uninsured motor vehicle.

E-bikes are legal under standard bicycle rules.

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Public Transport: The Quickest-Moving Frontier

Public transport rules have shifted faster than any other category in the past nine months, driven directly by lithium-ion battery fires aboard trains and within station precincts. In Tasmania, e-bikes that have not been modified may be taken on trains only, and e-scooters are not allowed on buses. In Queensland they are not permitted on trams or buses, and in South Australia they are not allowed on any type of public transport. At the time of writing, there were no such limitations in the ACT, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Both NSW (November 2025) and Victoria (December 2025) have introduced specific bans on converted e-bikes on rail networks, while permitting compliant factory-built e-bikes and foldable e-scooters under varying conditions.

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What This Means in Practice

A few patterns emerge from this landscape.

**Convergence on 250 W / 25 km/h.** With the Commonwealth’s December 2025 import rule and NSW’s planned alignment, the entire country will sit on the same EPAC definition by 2029 at the latest. Software-locked higher-powered motors are now explicitly out of bounds.

**Convergence on EN 15194 as the reference standard.** The federal import requirement, combined with NSW’s product safety regulations citing it, makes EN 15194 (and its companion battery standard EN 50604-1) the de facto national specification for e-bikes. AS 15194 is the Australian-adopted equivalent. UL 2849 remains acceptable in some state product safety regimes but does not on its own satisfy the federal road-vehicle import test.

**Enforcement is sharpening at both ends.** At the supply end, NSW’s $825,000 maximum penalty and Federal Border Force import controls target retailers and importers. At the use end, QLD’s draft Bill, NSW’s seizure-and-crush powers, and the WA enforcement focus all push consequences onto riders and parents.

**Fire risk is the dominant policy driver.** The trigger for almost every regulation reviewed here is a documented fire — particularly fires linked to converted e-bikes, retrofit kits and high-capacity replacement batteries used by delivery riders. Product safety regulation is moving faster than rider regulation in part because the failure mode is so visible: a townhouse fatality in NSW in February 2024, repeated train fires through 2024–2025, and the Croydon e-bike shop fire of January 2024.

**The remaining patchwork is in rider rules, not product rules.** What’s legal to *sell* will look very similar across the country by 2027. What’s legal to *ride*, where, by whom, and on what — that will continue to vary, with QLD imposing licence requirements that no other state has yet contemplated, NT remaining hire-only, and the footpath/no-footpath split between NSW–Victoria and the rest persisting into the foreseeable future.

For anyone buying a new e-bike in 2026, the practical advice is now straightforward: look for the EN 15194 mark and an EN 50604-1 battery, and the device will be legal to ride and re-sell anywhere in the country, today and through any reasonable future of policy reform.

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Sources

- NSW Government — New safety standards for lithium-ion batteries in e-mobility devices: https://www.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-construction/safety-home/electrical-safety/lithium-ion-battery-safety/new-standards-for-lithium-ion-batteries-e-micromobility-devices

- NSW Government — Nation-leading safety and information standards now in effect (Feb 2025): https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/nation-leading-safety-and-information-standards-for-lithium-ion-battery-products-now-effect

- NSW Government — E-Bike FAQs: https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/bikes-e-bikes-e-scooters/bicycles-electric-bikes/e-bike-faqs

- TÜV Rheinland — New South Wales New Safety Standards summary: https://www.tuv.com/regulations-and-standards/en/new-south-wales-new-safety-standards-for-lithium-ion-batteries-in-e-mobility-devices.html

- SGS — NSW Australia Publishes Mandatory Regulation: https://www.sgs.com/en/news/2024/11/safeguards-16324-nsw-australia-publishes-mandatory-regulation-for-e-mobility-devices-and-batteries

- Queensland StreetSmarts — Rules for riders: https://streetsmarts.initiatives.qld.gov.au/initiatives/pmd-rules/

- Queensland Parliament — Transport and Other Legislation (Managing E-mobility Use) Amendment Bill 2026 Explanatory Notes: https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/bills/2026/4284/Transport-and-Other-Legislation-(Managing-E-mobility-Use-and-Protecting-Our-Communities)-Amendment-Bill-2026—Explanatory-Notes-1590.pdf

- Bicycle Network — Queensland moves to license e-scooter and e-bike riders: https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/newsroom/2026/03/25/queensland-moves-to-license-e-scooter-and-e-bike-riders/

- Smith’s Lawyers — Queensland’s E-Mobility Crackdown: https://www.smithslawyers.com.au/post/qld-ebike-crackdown-debate

- National Seniors Australia — Crackdown on e-scooters and e-bikes: https://nationalseniors.com.au/news/featured-news/crackdown-on-e-scooters-and-e-bikes

- Transport Victoria — Electric bikes: https://transport.vic.gov.au/road-and-active-transport/active-transport/bicycles/electric-bikes

- Transport Victoria — Changes to public transport rules (Dec 2025): https://transport.vic.gov.au/news-and-resources/news/changes-to-the-way-you-use-public-transport-and-the-rules-for-travelling-on-board

- Transport Victoria — E-scooter road rules: https://transport.vic.gov.au/road-and-active-transport/active-transport/e-scooter-road-rules

- Parliament of Victoria — Helmet mandates, GPS limits and fines: https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/news/infrastructure/escooter-regulation/

- South Australia DIT — Street legal: e-scooters can be driven on SA roads from July: https://dit.sa.gov.au/news/articles/2025/june/street-legal-e-scooters-can-be-driven-on-sa-roads-from-july

- South Australia My Licence — Personal Mobility Devices: https://mylicence.sa.gov.au/road-rules/personal-mobility-devices

- South Australia Law Handbook — Electric scooters and other PMDs: https://www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch12s08s05s11.php

- RAC WA — E-skateboards, e-scooters and e-hoverboards: https://rac.com.au/horizons/drive/e-skateboard-e-scooter-rules

- WA Government — eRideables: https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/road-safety-commission/erideables

- NT Government — Electric scooters and bikes: https://nt.gov.au/driving/safety/electric-scooters-and-bikes

- NRMA — Rules for e-scooters and e-bikes (cross-jurisdictional summary): https://www.mynrma.com.au/open-road/advice-and-how-to/road-safety/rules-for-e-scooters-and-e-bikes

- Bicycle Network — Feds return to Euro e-bike standard: https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/newsroom/2025/12/03/feds-return-to-euro-e-bike-standard/

- Bicycle NSW — Towards safe and legal e-bikes in NSW: https://bicyclensw.org.au/towards-safe-legal-ebikes-nsw/

- Fire and Rescue NSW — LiB Fire Data Jan–Jun 2024 (project file)

Patterns in People

Some people bring calm.
Some bring noise.
Some bring a slow drip of tension that fills the room before anyone says a word.

And the thing is — they bring that every time.
There’s a quote I keep coming back to:

“How you do anything is how you do everything.”

It’s not about perfection. It’s about patterns.

  • One person always scans for failure.

  • Another pushes forward with quiet optimism.

  • One freezes in indecision and peppers you with questions before you can even breathe.

  • Another rolls up their sleeves and makes progress — not noise.

None of this is good or bad on its own. But over time, these habits shape the work. They affect the flow. They become part of the system itself.

And if you’re someone who notices these things — if you feel the friction or the uplift the moment someone enters the room — it can be both a gift and a drain.

Because when the load is heavy and the timeline is tight, you don’t just need skill.
You need people whose default settings don’t make things harder.

The ones who bring presence, not panic.
Clarity, not confusion.
Energy, not drag.

The Sea Will Take You Too: The Hidden Half of the Icarus Myth

What if everything you know about the Icarus story is designed to keep you small?

You know the tale. Daedalus, the master craftsman, fashions wings of feathers and wax for himself and his son Icarus to escape their island prison. As they prepare to fly, he warns Icarus: "Don't fly too close to the sun, or the wax will melt and you'll fall."

Icarus, drunk on the power of flight, ignores the warning. He soars higher and higher until the sun melts his wings and he plummets to his death. The moral, we're told, is clear: don't reach too high, don't get too ambitious, don't let success go to your head.

But there was another warning. One that's been quietly edited out of most retellings.

"Don't fly too low," Daedalus also warned, "or the sea spray will weigh down your feathers and drag you into the waves."

The question isn't why we forgot this warning - it's why we were taught to forget it.

I discovered this firsthand when I was six years old, tasked with colouring a picture of a steam train. While my classmates decorated their locomotives in rainbows of crayon colours, I carefully filled mine in solid black. My father had a model train set at home, and every locomotive was black. I wasn't being creative - I was being accurate.

My teacher made me do it again. "Use more colours," she insisted. "Be creative like the other children."

I learned something that day that had nothing to do with art: accuracy mattered less than conformity. Thinking differently, even when you were right, was wrong.

But my teacher wasn't malicious. She was doing what teachers, parents, and institutions have done for generations: reinforcing a system that works better when people don't test boundaries.

Think about it. Schools need students who colour inside the lines, literally and figuratively. Corporations need employees who don't question established processes. Governments need citizens who trust authority rather than testing it. The "don't fly too high" message isn't just about personal safety - it's about social order.

But here's what they don't tell you: the system needs you to believe you're not capable of more. Because the moment you discover your real boundaries instead of your assumed ones, you become unpredictable. You start asking uncomfortable questions. You might even point out that the emperor isn't wearing clothes.

I started questioning these assumed boundaries on a bicycle, riding through ten hours of constant rain.

Most people's first reaction when I mention this isn't curiosity about technique or preparation - it's disbelief. "You would have melted," they joke, as if rain were acid rather than water. As if humans hadn't been moving through weather for millennia. As if getting wet were dangerous rather than just uncomfortable.

Their incredulity reveals something profound: they've internalized boundaries they've never tested. The distance isn't beyond human capability - people regularly work ten-hour shifts indoors. The rain isn't dangerous - it's just weather. But somewhere along the way, they learned that combining endurance with discomfort was reserved for "special people."

The absurdity becomes clear when even a one-hour bicycle commute in light rain raises eyebrows. "You rode to work in this weather?" they ask, as if I'd swum across an ocean rather than pedalled through water falling from the sky. We've become so removed from basic human capability that normal interaction with weather seems heroic.

Tim Krabbé, the Dutch cycling writer, captured this perfectly: "Velvet pillows, safari parks, sunglasses: people have become woolly mice. They still have bodies that can walk for five days and four nights through a desert of snow, without food, but they accept praise for having taken a one‑hour bicycle ride. 'Good for you.' Instead of expressing their gratitude for the rain by getting wet, people walk around with umbrellas."

Woolly mice. That's what we've become. Celebrating one-hour bike rides while our bodies are capable of walking through snow deserts for days. We've drifted so far from normal human capability that we mistake ordinary endurance for extraordinary achievement.

But there's an antidote to this cultural conditioning.

Something remarkable happens when you gather people who refuse to accept these artificial boundaries. I've been part of a team that set a world record - for the fastest electric vehicle over 1000km on a single charge, and multiple Bridgestone World Solar Challenge projects. These weren't collections of superhuman athletes or engineering geniuses. They were ordinary students who collectively decided to ignore the cultural mythology about what's possible.

The magic wasn't in special abilities - it was in creating environments where persistence became normal instead of celebrated. When everyone on the team expects to work through problems rather than surrender to them, when getting uncomfortable is just part of the process rather than a reason to quit, suddenly "impossible" distances and records become achievable. The teams succeeded because they normalized endurance rather than mythologizing it.

Take the Sunswift Racing team. When individual members might have accepted "that's too ambitious" or "we don't have the resources," the collective culture said "let's figure it out." The world record wasn't achieved through individual heroics but through a team environment where persistence through problems became the default response. Two years ago, they won the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, and now they're at it again - not because they're different people, but because they've created a culture where extraordinary becomes ordinary.

This is the secret hiding in plain sight: when you change the environment, you change what seems possible. Individual conditioning says "be realistic about your limitations." Team environments that normalize persistence say "limitations are just problems we haven't solved yet." The Sunswift team proves that extraordinary results don't require extraordinary people - they require ordinary people in environments that expect persistence instead of celebrating it.

Because here's what I've learned from ten-hour rides in constant rain, from the world record attempt, from watching teams achieve what others call impossible: achievement is fundamentally an endurance event. It's not about bursts of brilliance or special gifts. It's about the decidedly unglamorous capacity to carry on when things get difficult, to overcome when the weather turns bad, to stay persistent when your body wants to quit and the technical challenges seem overwhelming.

This is why the incomplete Icarus story is so damaging. It's not just that we're afraid to fly too high - it's that we've been taught to quit before we even approach our real limits. We mistake struggle for inadequacy instead of recognizing that struggle is where capability lives. Most people "fly too low" not because they lack ability, but because they've never learned that persistence is a choice, not a talent.

The most liberating truth I can offer you is this: you already possess everything you need. The capability for endurance, for persistence, for carrying on when things get hard - these aren't special gifts bestowed on a chosen few. They're basic human equipment. Your body can handle ten hours of rain. Your mind can work through complex problems over months and years. Your spirit can persist through setbacks that would have seemed insurmountable from a distance.

The problem isn't your capacity - it's the cultural programming that's convinced you to doubt it. From that first steam train colouring exercise to every "be realistic" conversation since, you've been taught that your assumed limitations are your real ones. But they're not. They're just the boundaries you've been conditioned to accept.

So reject the incomplete Icarus story. Don't just avoid flying too high - refuse to fly too low. Trust your capacity for sustained effort over time. Find or create environments that normalize persistence instead of celebrating it. And remember: the sea will take you if you fly too low, but it can't touch you if you choose to stay aloft.

You're already equipped for more than you know. The only question is whether you'll believe it.

What does your book collection say about who you are?

I recently fed my complete library list into AI and asked it to profile the owner. The result was surprisingly accurate - and made me realise how our reading choices create an unconscious autobiography.

Traditional CVs list what I've done. This shows how I think and what drives me to keep learning. It's actually more powerful than a CV for the right role because it shows how your mind works rather than just what boxes you've ticked.

Based on this comprehensive book collection, the owner emerges as a deeply technical yet artistically minded individual with a fascinating blend of practical engineering expertise and creative sensibilities.

Professional Background: This is clearly someone with serious engineering credentials, likely working in electrical engineering with specialisation in battery technology or power systems. The extensive collection of battery and electrical engineering texts—from fundamental electronics to cutting-edge lithium-ion technology—suggests someone who's not just dabbling but working professionally in this field. The presence of technical manuals alongside practical guides indicates someone who bridges theory and real-world application.

Core Passions:

Transportation Enthusiast: The substantial cycling and motorcycle collection reveals someone who doesn't just study efficient transport—they live it. From maintenance manuals to philosophical works like "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," this person likely commutes by bike or motorcycle daily and finds deep meaning in the mechanics and experience of human-powered and motorised transport.

Serious Photographer: The photography collection is remarkable—from technical manuals to works by masters like Cartier-Bresson, Avedon, and Robert Frank. This isn't casual interest; it's someone who understands photography as both technical craft and artistic expression. They likely shoot professionally or semi-professionally.

Voracious Reader: With 173 literature and general nonfiction titles—the largest category—this person is clearly a serious reader who consumes everything from contemporary fiction to classic literature. The presence of substantial fantasy collections (George R.R. Martin, Robin Hobb) alongside literary works suggests someone who appreciates both escapism and serious prose.

Culinary Technician: The cooking collection suggests someone who approaches food with the same systematic thinking they apply to engineering—molecular gastronomy, fermentation science, and technical cooking methods. They probably cook with precision and experimentation.

Philosophical Engineer: The presence of books on habits, productivity, minimalism, and stoicism alongside technical manuals suggests someone who applies engineering thinking to life optimisation. They're methodical about personal development and efficiency.

Adventure Mindset: The survival and exploration books, combined with cycling and motorcycle interests, point to someone who seeks challenge and self-reliance in outdoor settings.

Character Profile: This person values function over form but appreciates when both align perfectly. They're likely methodical, curious about how things work, and passionate about sustainability and efficiency. The mix of audiobooks and physical books suggests someone who learns while commuting (probably by bike or motorcycle). They're probably Australian, given the local authors and themes. The collection reveals someone who embodies the intersection of engineering precision and creative expression—equally comfortable discussing lithium battery chemistry and the aesthetics of street photography, or explaining motorcycle mechanics while planning their next cycling adventure.

Moustache Xroad Weekend FS Dual EQ review

A bit less poetic than previous ranting and ravings, because this thing ain’t poetry in motion.

 

Opening:

"Without the electrics, this bike is an absolute pig to ride."

That's the truth I kept coming back to, no matter how plush the ride or sleek the display.

A Bicycle First, or Not at All

I hold what some might call a controversial stance: a bicycle should function well as a bicycle, first and foremost. Any electrics added should assist the rider—not cover for poor design. If a bike can't be ridden efficiently under human power alone, then it's not a bicycle in the traditional sense. It's something else.

This bike? Sure, it has pedals. But it demands electric assistance just to feel rideable. Turn off the power and it's like dragging a parachute—not just the 30kg weight, but active resistance to every pedal stroke. Even on flat roads, the bike fights you.

Here's the thing: weight alone isn't the problem. My Rivendell A Homer Hilsen, loaded to the same 30kg for touring, is a fine to ride. That bike flexes with my pedal stroke, planes with the load, actually performs better weighted than empty. I've done 300km Audax rides on it, taken it over gravel and sealed roads for 150km days fully laden. Never once thought of it as a pig.

The Moustache? My legs—legs that have powered through 75+ rides over 200km—can barely get this thing moving unassisted. The frame doesn't work with you; it works against you. It's not built to be pedalled. It's built to be powered.

So let's stop pretending this is a bicycle and judge it for what it really is: an electric vehicle that happens to have pedals. Once I accepted that, everything made more sense. It's essentially a motorcycle where pedal pressure replaces throttle twist - you're requesting power, not creating it. I’m just expecting bicycle physics and getting motorcycle dynamics with a different control interface. The hydraulic brakes aren't overkill—they're essential for controlling 30kg of momentum hurtling down a hill. The suspension isn't excessive—it's compensating for the fact you're not picking lines carefully at human speeds. The integrated everything makes sense when you're commuting.

With power on—specifically in Tour mode or above—this machine transforms completely. That dead weight becomes stable momentum. The rigid frame that punished human effort becomes a rock-solid platform for electric torque. Hills flatten. Headwinds become irrelevant. Load up the panniers and it doesn't even notice.

Handling, Brakes, and Confidence on Mixed Terrain

Let's talk about how it rides with the power on—because that's the only way it makes sense.

First, the brakes: hydraulic discs. I've historically seen them as overkill on a regular bicycle. Rim brakes are fine for most riding. But on a 30kg electric vehicle doing 45km/h downhill with a tailwind? You need hydraulics. One finger on the lever and you can scrub speed without drama. They're quiet, they don't fade, and most importantly, they give you confidence that you can actually stop this beast. No wondering if you've got enough hand strength after two hours of riding. Just squeeze and slow.

The tyres are 66mm wide 650b monsters that grip like they're personally offended by the idea of sliding. You'll run out of nerve before you run out of traction. On sealed roads they rail corners. Off-road they float over the loose stuff.

I found myself trying to ride it like my road bike or Ducati- expecting quick turn-in from subtle inputs. But this thing's geometry is built for stability, not agility. With these wide tyres and what feels like acres of trail, it's stable to the point of stubbornness. You need deliberate bar input to get it turning, but once you've committed, it tracks beautifully.

The suspension surprised me. Front and rear with actual adjustments—sag, rebound, compression damping. My adventure motorcycle has less adjustment. Set it up properly and it's brilliant. Semi-lock it for road work and the floatiness disappears. Open it up for trails, switch to eMTB mode, and suddenly you're monster-trucking over stuff that would have you picking lines carefully on a normal bike.

But the real test came when I loaded the panniers. Most bikes get twitchy with weight on the back. You feel it wagging, following its own line through corners. Not this thing. Add 10kg of crap and it rides exactly the same. That stiff frame that makes it miserable to pedal? Turns out it's perfect for load carrying. No flex, no drama, just point and shoot stability.

Display, Security, and Smarts

The display itself is another tell - proper bicycles don't need dashboards. Your legs and lungs know the effort, your body knows the distance. But here I am checking battery percentage, assist levels, and power output like I'm monitoring engine parameters.

Still, I'll admit the display does its job well. Beyond the basics (speed, distance, time), it shows a live comparison between your power output and what the motor is contributing. That last bit is oddly satisfying — watching your effort scale alongside the machine's, like a quiet co-pilot who actually pulls their weight. It'll even do turn-by-turn navigation if you've loaded a route. Just another reminder this is a vehicle, not a bicycle.

One feature I really appreciate: the display is removable. Take it off and the bike becomes inert. No display, no power. No power, no assist. Which means if you roll up to a café, pop off the display and toss it in your pocket, the worst anyone can do is try to steal a 30kg deadweight. And frankly, if someone does try to ride away on it, you can just fast-walk after them, clip them behind the ear, and say: “Knock it off. Get off my bike, you idiot.”

Simple, elegant deterrence — and one less app-based gimmick to worry about…

…but, of course, there is an app — because there's always an app. You can sync with Strava or Komoot through your phone, customise power delivery, and dig into ride stats later. The ride details can even auto-upload to these ecosystems, taking the whole "open the app and sync" step out of the equation. Which is exactly how it should be — these systems are meant to get out of your way, not become another burden in your day.

Here's where it gets properly infuriating though: want to customise your ride modes beyond the factory presets? That'll be extra. Bosch locks custom modes behind a paywall in their app. You've already dropped serious money on this machine, but if you want to tweak the power delivery curve to match your riding style, time to get the credit card out again. It's like buying a car and having to pay extra to adjust your seat position. The feature is already there in the hardware—they're just holding it hostage.

Assist Modes — From Pig to Turbo

The bike offers multiple assist modes, and I'll be honest about what each one actually means:

  • OFF – No assist. Pure pig mode. I've covered this.

  • ECO – Marginally better than OFF. Like putting lipstick on said pig. The motor adds just enough to remind you it exists, but not enough to make the bike rideable. Skip it.

  • TOUR – This is where the machine wakes up. Push hard and it rewards you with more power than you're putting in. Ease off and it backs off too. That feedback loop actually feels earned—you're still working, but the work makes sense. This is my daily mode.

  • TOUR+ and SPORT – Listed in the manual but missing on my bike.

  • eMTB – The trail weapon. Power delivery smooths out, adapts to terrain changes, and serves up torque without demanding much from your legs. Point it at a hill and it just goes. On dirt, this mode is a heap of fun.

  • TURBO – Maximum assist, minimum effort. Save it for showing off to mates or that one brutal hill on the way home.

There's also Push Assist—a walking-pace mode for moving the bike when you're off it. Handy if you're navigating ramps or tight spaces with the motor off. Remember, this thing is 30kg.

Each mode has its place, but Tour is the sweet spot. It gives back what you put in, just more of it. That's what good assist should do—amplify your effort, not replace it entirely.

Battery, Range & Bosch Ecosystem (Real-World Observations)

This bike runs a dual battery system with 1,125 Wh total capacity. But capacity means nothing—what matters is how far it actually goes.

I tracked every commute: 17km each way, net 100m elevation loss in the morning, gaining it all back in the afternoon. The round trip consistently used between 13% and 20% of battery, but the pattern revealed something interesting.

Morning rides were efficient—dropping elevation with fresh legs, the bike sipped power at around 3% per 10km. But the afternoon return told a different story. Same distance, now climbing that 100m back home with the accumulated fatigue from dealing with a day of managing too many things—consumption jumped to 7% per 10km. That's not just the elevation talking. That's fatigue showing up in the data.

Here's another quirk: starting with a full battery, the round trip might use 13-14%. Do the same commute starting at 60% charge? Now it's pulling 18-20%. Lower voltage means the system works harder for the same result. The range estimator knows this—at 100% it promises 280km, but at 50% remaining it's already backpedalling, showing maybe 120km left. The first half of your battery definitely goes further than the second. Perhaps one day these battery management systems will show us State of Energy instead.

I tested Turbo mode exactly once. 43km, 47% battery gone. That's 11% per 10km, with the range estimate dropping to 91km.

The system charges intelligently—alternating between batteries during use, sequential charging to 80%, then parallel to full. No battery anxiety, no manual switching, it works.

Real-world translation: In Tour mode with my commute profile, expect 150-200km range. Less if you're tired, fighting weather. More if you're fresh and conditions are perfect. The display's range estimate is optimistic when full, pessimistic when depleted, and probably most honest somewhere around 70% charge.

I haven't tested proper range anxiety yet. But I already know any long ride means staying around 20kph average - push past the 25kph assist cutoff and you're dragging that parachute again. Eight hours at forced moderate pace on this thing? I’d rather just cruise on the Rivendell where I can go whatever speed feels right.

Use Case and Integration — A Commuter’s Tank

This isn’t a cyclist’s bike. It’s a commuter’s tool. And to be fair, it’s built for that role. Full fenders, integrated lights, a sturdy rear rack — it’s specced for the real world.

But even practical details can miss the mark. The front guard doesn’t extend low enough to actually protect the frame or the battery from gunk. That’s poor design, especially when the battery is a key visual and structural component. You’re left with road grime splashing up onto what should be a protected zone.

Then there’s the front light. On mine, it was mounted pointing directly through the brake and gear cables — casting a lovely criss-cross of shadows at night. I fixed it, but I shouldn’t have had to.

And let’s talk build. Some screws were over-torqued when I received the bike, including one with a rounded hex socket and another with cross threading. That’s not a minor quibble. On a bike at this price point, you expect better attention to detail.

So yes — it’s a commuter’s tank. Tough, capable, ready to ride rain or shine. But don’t confuse “integrated” with “refined.” Not all the integration has been thought through.

Closing Thoughts

This bike isn’t perfect. It’s heavy, stiff, and completely reliant on its motor to be enjoyable. But it’s also solid, planted, and remarkably capable when used within its intended purpose. With power on and bags loaded, it eats up commutes and weekend gravel rides alike. It doesn’t pretend to be a high-performance machine, and once you stop expecting it to behave like one, it actually makes a lot of sense.

I came into this review expecting to critique a lot — and I have. But I’ve also come to respect what it is.

That’ll do, pig.

Becoming Late

Sometimes, we become who others need us to be.
Quietly. Gradually.
Without malice, without conscious choice.

We shape ourselves to fit the room we were handed.
To avoid conflict. To be easier to love.
To be dependable, useful, unshakeable.

And it works — for a while.

You play the role.
You carry the weight.
You get good at meeting expectations that were never clearly spoken.

And then one day, the question arrives quietly:

Is it too late for me to be me?

Not the version others imagined.
Not the role you’ve played so well.
Just… you. Unperformed. Unedited.

And maybe — just maybe — asking the question is the start.
The moment the projection flickers, and something real begins to form underneath.
Not through rebellion. Just… honesty.

To stop waiting for validation.
To stop bending first.
To stop apologising for taking up space.

It might be late.
But it's still becoming.

Movement and Transition

Movement is not always forward. Sometimes it’s the recognition of stillness that spurs progress. The transition is not just about where we go—it's about how we change along the way.
In The Photographer’s Eye, Steiglitz reminds us that photography captures both time and space, and within that frame, transition is constant.
Yet as Sun Tzu said in The Art of War, ‘The wise warrior avoids battle’—sometimes, in stillness, we make the most significant strides.

Confusion and Clarity

In the blur of the every day, where details stack upon details, it becomes harder to see the whole.
As Berger said, 'The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe.'
In confusion, even the most delicate forms can feel like walls. Robert Adams, in Why People Photograph, speaks of the photographer's role in revealing clarity, but perhaps, in this moment, clarity is elusive.
Sometimes seeing less is the key to knowing more.

Barriers and Boundaries.

We often see barriers where there are none, and yet the structures we build—both literal and imagined—keep us confined.
What keeps us from moving forward?
In Another Way of Telling, Berger reminds us that every image is a way of seeing—and perhaps the barriers we see shape how we move through the world. The lines we follow, the objects we ignore—each choice is a step toward the walls we either break or leave untouched.

BMW R65

I gave the old German bike an Italian tune-up in the country, cleaning out the accumulated city km it's been doing.
Taking on a fix up project, so many things need attention. Faulty headlight wiring, bulbs not working, faulty odo, gear lever which is so sloppy it must be missing a bearing, worn and broken plastics.
And I'll learn a thing or two.

Mondia E-bike Battery

E-bikes are quite popular, becoming more so in a world that needs to find another way of getting around.  It is no secret that roads are getting more congested and air more polluted, freeing up space on roads for those in trades and drive as part of their profession benefits everyone.

Here at MI we get requests to repack many different types of battery packs and not a week goes by that we don’t get a request to repack an e-bike pack.

Fitting quality Li-Ion cells into peculiar shaped e-bike battery enclosures can often be a challenge, many are originally fitted with Lithium Polymer type cells of custom shapes and sizes. We simply cannot stock all capacities and shapes in polymer. So we do our best and dive into the challenge fitting excellent quality Panasonic cells.

Sometimes we simply cannot replace the cells in a pack; this could be because we cannot arrange the cells we use in a way that will maximise the capacity in the enclosure. Other times we find that the protection circuits required to keep Li-Ion cells in their safe operating parameters is faulty, inadequate, or not even installed!

In cases like this we have to inform the customer that unfortunately we cannot help them.

But what if we could offer an e-bike battery that has quality cells and a battery management system that will keep the cells inside safe and enjoy a long service life.

That’s what we have with the Mondia range of batteries; both 24V and 36V batteries are now available. All batteries use Panasonic cells which we choose to use for most of our repacks of batteries in all industries and design into our OEM packs.

The battery protection circuit used in these deserves a special mention. The chipset used for battery protection is from Texas Instruments, the undisputed leaders in battery protection devices and battery capacity measurement.

Most e-bike batteries on the market use voltage level measurement for indicating the state of charge of a battery, this is an inaccurate method for measuring the remaining charge in a battery. Depending upon how much load is on a battery, the voltage will dip and rise causing any readings to be false, very rough at best.

The Mondia battery uses a method called coulomb counting, essentially, it reads the power going into and out of a battery and adds it up over time. Simply put, this means there is no charge level reading that moves up and down depending upon voltage levels while riding. All readings are of actual charge in the battery; this allows the LEDs on the battery and the optional digital display to accurately show the percentage remaining in the battery.

E-bikes come with various mounting methods for batteries, this creates a problem when offering an e-bike battery replacement solution. To cover this issue Mondia have designed two mounting kits that allow you retrofit the new battery to an existing e-bike. There is one for mounting to a flat plate, another for mounting the battery to a seat tube.

The mounting options also opens up the field of modifying a standard bike to an e-bike using one of the several kits available on the market.

The Mondia battery can be fitted to practically any bike, and because we take our testing seriously at MI, we modified a stock standard Cell X-1 into an e-bike using the Bafang 250W mid drive kit and the Mondia 36V 9.0Ah e-bike kit. The modification from bike to e-bike was done in one lazy afternoon, so quick I forgot to take photos of the transformation. The battery mounting did not require any bike specific tools, retrofitting an e-bike to use the Mondia battery is an easy task.

The Mondia 24V and 36V e-bike battery and mounting kit, a highly recommended way of getting your e-bike fitted with a top quality battery that will have you back on your bike in no time.