The electric bike sounds good, but…
The environment is hot, hot, hot and marketers and innovators are rushing to deliver green products to planet-conscious consumers. But as we all hurry towards this goal it’s possible to see every green-tinted product as a good thing, and not…
The environment is hot, hot, hot and marketers and innovators are rushing to deliver green products to planet-conscious consumers. But as we all hurry towards this goal it’s possible to see every green-tinted product as a good thing, and not all of them are.
Case in point: Dorel Industries’ improved electric bicycle. At first glance this looks like a good idea: people who ride an electric bike instead of driving a car will dramatically reduce their carbon footprint, and that’s good for the planet.
And to the extent that people climb out of a car and onto an e-bike, this is a valid argument. But I wonder how often that is going to happen. Anyone who sees a bike as a suitable replacement for a car is probably already pedaling one. The rest of the population will still drive cars.
Now the electric car is a different thing, because people who want to drive a car may view an electric model as a viable alternative, and the Chevy Volt actually has a shot at mainstream success.
But the electric bike just seems like an answer in search of a question. It’s not big enough nor versatile enough to replace a car for most people, and it doesn’t have the health benefits or — at US$3,200 a pop — the economic benefits of riding a real bike.
I acknowledge that lots of people apparently want these things, because Dorel reports that 20.8 million e-bikes were sold worldwide in 2007 (according to the Electric Bikes Worldwide Report). But I just don’t get why people would buy one. I would, however, love to hear from anyone who has an e-bike or is thinking about buying one.
Peter Wolchak
Backbone magazine
I have had an electric bike (Giant Lite) for about 3 years and love it. I think for many people an e-bike is in fact a potential replacement for many types of car trips. Here are the high points:
- You do get some exercise, but it terms of level of effort its more like walking than running.
- You don't sweat, unless you want to.
- You have more power to pull a trailer or other load carrying device.
- You get all of the traffic benefits of a bike, such as use of bike lanes and bike paths. This means that my commute time is about the same whether I e-bike or drive (and is faster on the e-bike than a regular bike).
Types of car trips that the e-bike replaces
- commuting (I have always bike commuted, but the e-bike is great for those low energy days when you just don't feel like riding up that hill and might otherwise be tempted to drive).
- grocery shopping. With use of a child trailer, there is no problem carrying a full load (4+ bags) of groceries.
- taking kids to school, either in the trailer or on a tag-a-long.
I could, of course, do all of the above using a regular bike, but any kind of heavy load carrying is much more pleasant on the e-bike, especially if you live in hilly area. Finally, e-bikes are a lot of fun to ride, so people ride them instead of driving just in order to have fun and get some fresh air.
A great web site on this topic: http://www.electricvehiclesnw.com/ (this is where I bought my bike).
There are many other e-bikes or really, mopeds, for those of us who recall them from decades ago, that cost much less than $3200.
Canadian Tire sells two. One for $600 and another for $700.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/e-bike/
I agree that e-cars are much more of a viable option. It's finally about time that the car manufacturers are making them rather than their underhanded tactics to prevent them from going mainstream.
Zenn has been around for a while but now may finally be available.
http://www.zenncars.com/
Vancouver has finally allowed electric cars
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/10/01/bc-electric-vehicles-legal-vancouver.html
Hopefully it will catch on with other metropolitan cities.
Mike's comments above are entirely accurate.
Not every one has legs and lungs of Athletes.
Wtih an ebike, non athletes can get some exercise while riding to work, not worry about being too sweaty, still get the heart rate up, burn some calories, save some money, and enjoy it all.
IN case folks havent noticed, there is a big health problem in the USA, and epower assisted ebikes are not only green, they help fight obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. The pills to treat these illnesses dwarf the cost of reasonable ebikes.
to see topnotch ebikes at quite a lower price try Bionx :
http://www.birdrv.com/electricbike.php
some peolpel will ride them because you don't need a license,or insurance.
I commute by regular bicycle to my office in casual business attire (I ride at a comfortable pace rather than sprint), but I'll soon be switching to a new job that is further away. I'm looking at adding the Bionx system to my bike so I can still ride in my work clothes without sweating. From what I have heard, it may even be a shorter commute time-wise with the electric assist.
The Bionx system was recommended by my aunt who uses it to go on rides with my uncle – she has bad knees and the electric assist helps her keep up.
As for load carrying – do a quick search online for cargo bikes and you will see many, many ways people carry loads on bikes – from DIY panniers made using 5 gallon plastic buckets to beautiful dutch bakfiets.
For serious load carrying bikes with electric motors take a look at the Xtracycle and the Stokemonkey products: (http://cleverchimp.com/products/stokemonkey/). It may be a little expensive to buy a cargo bike initially, but they have cargo capacities of up to 200lbs and often cost about the same or less than insuring and maintaining a car for a year.
Yeah, it takes a bit of will power to start, but I have never heard of a cyclist who has willingly gone back to commuting by car (gas, electric, or otherwise).
I think that there are many people whose fitness level interferes with riding a pedal bike. Or take people who can't shower or change after pedalling 3 miles but would now be able to ride in their work clothes.I believe this offers them a less polluting option and allows for their contribution to being green. If you look at the savings in insurance over three years, less the times you find it necessary to borrow or rent a car, and the savings in fuel, it is absurd to not consider an electric bike as desirable. Various forms of taxing carbon emissions will provide further incentives. Bikes are evolving again, breath deeply and go with the flow.
I've been riding an electric bike for over 1.5 years and call it the limo of bikes. Mine only cost $600 and I've only put $600 in repairs ($200 was for a new battery) in the whole time I've used it. I couldn't get my car off the hoist for less than $1000 every few months. Don't have to worry about insurance, gas, oil, major repairs (after all you can always just get another bike) cost of plates etc. I travel 40 minutes to and from work-have recently done it with my regular bike when my electric was in for repairs and I was almost in tears walking up the hills suffering with a bad back, knees and head cold. I haven't had a car for the whole time I've been riding and although I do miss getting a car load of groceries, I even save money on those because I have to be able to pack them into a panier, a couple of hanging bags and a backpack. I've thought about the trailers but because of my motor I can't attach anything to the frame and haven't found one that goes under the seat yet. I would definitely consider this option if I ever wanted to do any longer travelling with the bike-can't carry much in the way of clothing after you add the battery charger, tire repair kit, pump, snacks, water, first aid kit, etc. By the way, I come to work absolutely dripping so I know I'm getting a workout but at least I don't have to wait for buses and ferries. I get home before the bus does.
I live in London and absolutely hate the public transport here, driving a car is out of the question so I cycle the 4 miles to work. I'm not the fittest person in the world and used to turn up to work sweaty and worn out.
I recently bought a Kalkhoff Pro Connect from http://www.50cycles.com and it has made my commute to work so much easier and enjoyable. The great thing about this bike is that it weighs not much more than a regular bike so if I'm not feeling lazy I can ride it without the power. At the press of a button I can get exercise or ease and like the poster above me I always beat the bus home!
Can we do a mention of the ZENN Electric Car. Like the Chevy Volt it's made here in Canada.
It's getting the run around by the supposed Ministry Of Transport while its goes through a "safety review"
The electric bike? Maybe more of 1 or 2 seat electric / compact transport. What about the SEGWAY?
We should protect local industry / products only if those products are better than the alternatives.
ZENN / SEGWAY, a WINNING TEAM
I wouldn't buy an electric bike. I prefer to get the health benefits of biking. I was surprised to read in the posts that people are using them to commute 4 miles. I was also surprised to read that one person had to put major money on repairs after only a year and a half. That being said, I see people driving them around my small town and they seem to enjoy using them. They have carriers and trailers and use them for shopping etc. If it means not using their cars that's great and I support it. They do look kind of cool zipping around and they are not that expensive.
I have had both types of electric bike, the scooter type and the commuter bicycle type. I rode both to work all year except for a couple months of deep winter.
I would recommend both, but especially the commuter bicycle, as you get the health benefits of cycling and it is small enough to get out of parking fees, insurance and has a much smaller carbon footprint.
As a commuter bike, it has great front and back lights (I ride at 6am and have ridden home at 10pm), a good pannier rack, and a comfortable seat.
The price in Canada is not $3200 US, but between $800-1500 Canadian. In the year that I've had the commuter bike the cost of the bike has been paid back through not paying insurance or parking fees.
If people knew how easy it is to ride this bike and how quick it is, (it takes almost the same length of time to bike or use the car) a lot more people would use this mode of transportation.
By the way, my commute is about 10km one way, the way home is 8km of serious hill.
The reason someone may purchase an electric bike is because they travel a very far distance to work. Maybe a 1/2 hour drive through the country to get to the city. A pedal bike would just take too long, on an already tight schedule.
The large resistance I see locally is the concept of what a bike "should be". Bikes are for exercise only, right? Using them for transportation is a strange concept to the major bike shops (one appropriately named triathletics). Ebikes allow the use of a bike for transportation easy to any person. I ride bikes for exercise, make no mistake. I own 10 normal bikes. But I can also hop on one of my Ebikes and get to my destination FASTER. Whether or not I break a sweat is up to me. Sit back and let the motor handle the hills while my suit and tie flap in the breeze, or pump those pedals and scoot up the hill at 20mph. I still sweat on my Ebike, but I can cruise that last mile with minimum effort to cool down too.
I love Ebikes for what they are. Cheap, fast, reliable transportation. The addition of movement and exercise is an added bonus (and fun factor for me). If only we could get people out of the mindset that bikes are only for exercise. They are transportation, and I will certainly twist a throttle to go an extra 10mph.
I forgot to mention that I would buy a neighbourhood electric vehicle (NEV) if I could drive it on Ontario streets.
There are actually two Canadian manufacturers of electric cars, ZENN as mentioned here, and Dynasty Electric Car Corp., makers of the IT car.
Write to the Transportation Minister of your province, maybe if enough people write they will change the legislation quicker.
i have had an e-bike for 2 years now and it is great and i use to get to work and back and to work for me is 3 miles away and i use it even in the night time to because i work the night shift alot and when winter is not to bed have used it then too and bought it at canadian tire here in canada it was made by strongbicycle but they went under as they say.But thank god for DOREL they have parts for this great ebike that is so great to drive.
I am really glad I wrote this post and glad too that I asked for stories from e-bike owners, because I have learned a lot from all of you. Please keep your opinions coming.
The one thing that tends to get lost in any discussion of green products is the environmental costs of production, distribution and disposal. All of these products are composed of parts that are (likely) made in different areas of the world, shipped to another site for assembly, and then shipped to a sales location. These steps all have a carbon footprint. Also, once these products reach end of life they must be dumped in a landfill or go through a recycling program.
The disposal issue is especially relevant when it comes to batteries, which are hazardous both to build and to dispose.
So any time we consider green alternatives, we also have to factor in the production costs of the new item.
I recently bought a push lawnmower, even though my electric one still works fine. I believe that over the years I will use it, the non-electric product will deliver an overall green benefit, but I did consider the fact that it was made in Asia and shipped over here.
E-bikes are not zero footprint. There is manufacturing, shipping and disposal to consider, and the pollution created by the electricity used to power them. Because cars create so much pollution, e-bikes are probably still a good idea but environmental issues are never simple.
Thanks again, everyone.
Peter
No need to blow thru stop signs to conserve energy either. You can cruise that last mile home to cool down.. yup. If the temp is 95F outside, no problems going for a ride. When its cooler out you can pedal just as hard as you did without assist but guess what? You end up going farther or getting there faster. Is that such a bad thing?!
In our family we have got regular bicycles, a scooter, a motorcycle, a car , a truck, and an ebike. I don't see where all the negativity is coming from. Use the best one suited to the type of trip you happen to be making.
I love how these articles quote the high end bike prices, these things do not have to cost you thousands of dollars people. Go pickup an Currie for $350 or a conversion kit for about the same.
I had an electric bicycle. No car. Loved the bike but found my model (ECO CYCLE) heavy and awkward. Also, the battery charge did not last very long and, the battery totally expired too quickly for my liking. New batters would have been expensive, so I sold the bike at a huge loss. The bike was pedal and motor but the pedaling did not recharge the battery. Good exercise. The care and directions booklet were somewhat contradictory/confusing in terms and the translation poor. However…..I would buy another electric bike in a flash….after all the kinks are ironed out and the bikes made lighter. This would never replace a car, but with a backpack for shopping around your neighborhood, and doing local errands, it can't be beat.
Dear Peter,
I have one electric bike and enjoy riding it. It is perfect transportation for short distances (corner store etc.) After returning from work and enduring rush hour drive just to take a joy ride around the block it is pure pleasure. It is quiet and on hot sommer day the wind cools you down. There is practicaly no maintence. You just have to remenber from time to time to plug it.
I would highly recommand you to buy one!
One of the greatest benefits of riding an electric bike (or peddle bike for that matter), is getting fresh air and enjoying the scenery around you! But you are indeed right, there will be a percentage of consumers who are stuck driving a car to work.