Why Choose An Electric Bike?

We love cycling regardless of whether we're powering along under our own steam or we've got an electric motor giving us some assistance. The great thing about electric bicycles is it doesn't matter if you are old or young, they enable pretty much anyone to enjoy the freedom that riding a bicycle brings.

If your daily commute to work is less than 25 miles, and where circumstances allow, an electric bicycle is certainly worth considering as an alternate mode of transportation. Not only are E-Bikes green but they're also cheap to run. And if you still need convincing we've come up with a list of our top 10 reasons why you should choose an electric bike.

#1 No bureaucracy

An electric bicycle doesn't have a log book and doesn't need to be registered with the DVLA. It doesn't need to be taxed or have insurance to be ridden on the road, and it will never need an MOT. You don't even require a licence to ride an electric bike, but even if you did you'd never need worry about speed cameras and fixed penalty notices ever again - or fines issued by wheel clampers or parking attendants for that matter.

#2 Free parking

If your local council is anything like ours then the cost of parking can be more than the ticket you purchased. How many times have you heard a story where a traffic warden has issued a ticket where a motorist has been a minute late? And the price of parking goes beyond the pound in your pocket. How often have you driven round and round looking for a space to park your car? An electric bicycle can often be parked right outside your destination at no cost, just like a conventional bicycle.

#3 Quicker commuting

Despite making cars that are faster and more powerful than ever before the average road speed of peak time commuter traffic in our cities is less than 10 mph. Anybody that spends most of their daily commute either sat stationary in traffic, stood at a bus stop, or waiting for a delayed train, should seriously consider getting an electric bicycle. If your daily commute is about 25 miles an E-Bike is the only form of transportation where your arrival time is guaranteed.

#4 Cheap transportation

If you consider that electricity costs about £0.15 per kilowatt and an electric bicycle uses approximately 24 watt hours per mile, it costs around 15 pence to travel 40 miles on an electric bike. Translate that into a litre of petrol costing £1.10 and it means you could go up to 300 miles for the price of a litre of petrol. Even excluding servicing costs and depreciation, the savings made by riding an electric bicycle instead of driving a car are even greater when you factor in there's no tax or insurance premiums to pay.

5# Go green

The type of transportation we choose directly impacts the world we live in. An electric bicycle is a low impact form of transportation and in the UK almost 60% of all journeys to work are 10 miles or less, and a staggering 90% are 30 miles or less. An electric bike is well placed to make many of these journeys, replacing the high impact of a single passenger car travel. The choices we make today will determine the world we live in tomorrow and choosing an E-Bike is a healthy step in the right direction.

#6 Personal fitness

Most people would argue that an electric bicycle defeats the object of getting fit, and if fitness is your objective then a conventional bicycle would be better. However, the reality is the majority of bicycles are only used a couple of times a month. The advantage an electric bike has is it can still be pedalled while using the power of the motor to take the strain out hills and headwinds, arriving at your destination without sweating or you legs aching. Forget expensive gym memberships and get an E-Bike instead.

#7 Flatten hills

Riding up hills on an electric bicycle is a lot easier and safer than riding a conventional bicycle. Unless you are a keen cyclist hills are the main reason people don't like riding bicycles. They either think they won't make it to the top or don't feel safe because they're travelling so slowly. If you do some of the pedalling to share the effort, an electric bike makes light work of riding up hills where the electric powered motor does most of the work.

#8 No sweat

Sweat may not be a problem if you are out on a leisure ride, but if you commute to work on a conventional bicycle it will be. While times are changing and some forward thinking employers now provide showers and other facilities for cyclists, the vast majority do not and have no intention of doing so. If you want to commute to work by bicycle, choosing an electric bike will eliminate the problem of sweating.

#9 Hassle free

If you are looking for a convenient, healthy and fun form of local transport, look no further than an electric bicycle. They remove the hassles of being stuck in traffic and searching for a parking space, and because the majority of local journeys are only a few miles they are often capable of faster door-to-door journey times than alternative forms of transport. We accept that they have limitations but even if you have shopping to carry or a child to transport, these can be overcome by fitting a rack or child seat.

#10 Low depreciation

Although it's still early days, and electric bicycles are relatively new technology, but all the evidence is pointing to good resale values for electric bikes, especially where a good quality bike has been purchased. The main reason for this is new developments are slow coming to market and models tend not to change radically from year to year. Our advice to you is set a budget, choose an electric bike that best fits your requirements, and spend as much as you can afford.

Source: www.electricbicyclereviews.co.uk

Regulated by the Consumer Safety Product Commsion, an eBike is a bicycle with an electric motor & battery that makes bicycle transporation easier and more enjoyable for riders by helping them power up hills, commute with less sweat and run errands without a car. While the maximum speed and power limits vary by state, eBikes must have operable pedals. In Orgeon, eBikes are legal anywhere a bicycle is permitted

About Rechargeable eBike Batteries

Pros: Cheap to produce Virtually maintenance free Low self discharge rate

Cons: Heavy Slow to recharge Must be stored in a charged state

Pros: Lightweight Fast to recharge Low toxicity High energy density

Cons: Reduced performance in cold weather Needs discharges at set intervals Can suffer from memory effect

Pros: Very lightweight Maintenance free Fast to recharge Longer lifespan

Cons: Expensive Can be unstable

Pros: Very lightweight & maintenance free Fast to recharge & very durable Longer lifespan More stable with lower levels of discharge

Cons: Very expensive Little history of use to refer to

Pros: Very lightweight & maintenance free Fast to recharge & very durable Longest lifespan - eventually lifetime More stable with lower levels of discharge

Cons: Most expensive Virtually no history of use to refer to

Source: www.electricbicyclereviews.co.uk

Bicycles are such an efficient form of transportation, they do not have a large amout of additional mass that is readily available to to convert back to enegy as found in automobiles.  The rule of thumb for the hub motors that have 'regen' is that a rider has to pedal 35% harder for 10 miles to get enough electricity to propel them one mile, without pedalling.

For geeks (like me) who want to dig deeper....Have you ever used a generator light on a bike?  The most efficient electricity generating hubs take 8 watts of your energy to make 3 watts of electricity for use in lights and that is with you pedaling 20 MPH!  To charge a 36V 10Ah battery, the 2.2 amp charger that comes with most eBikes uses 242 watts... for 5.5 hours (for a full charge)!  Besides the energy used to move the bike, the most the average cyclist could produce to recharge their battery in the real world conditions about 5 watts.

Looking at this theorhetically,Ondrej Sosenka holds the world's record for pedalling the highest number of watts in one hour.His world record, 430 watts, would charge the average 36v 10Ah batteries I sell to about ¹/₃rd capacity if there was no energy loss to heat or voltage drop.

For all of the Tektronix and Intel EE's out there... You are correct that boosting the voltage up to 110 and then back down to 36V (actual 41.5V for a 36V LiIon) is an inefficient way to get there.  If there was an efficient way to charge the battery at 41.5V with no loss, then a rider would only need to pedal 415 watts for one hour!  Almost a world record, but achievable...Not feasible when using watts for moving a bicycle, but still theoretically possible...

An electric bicycle would get the equivilant of approximately 1500 miles per gallon for a 250 watt, throttle-activated model. That is, if it used gas.

1 kWh = 3412 BTU
1 gal (US) gasoline = 114,500 BTU

EDIT: and the electric efficiency figures quoted are energy use "at the wall" (including charging inefficiencies), not just energy drained from the pack.

Yes.  However, you may still get wet¹

We have chosen to carry only the highest quality eBikes and while they would not be appropriate for exploring underwater environments, riding in the rain will not harm them.  As with any bike, we recommend that you towel them dry when you get home.

The figure generally quoted including running costs - such as consumables (tyres, batteries, etc) and depreciation - is approximately $.05 per mile.

A pedal-assist has a pedal sensor that will cut the electric motor if you are not pedalling - you are only assisted by the motor. An eBike generally has a thumb or twist throttle and while we recommend peddling, an eBike can be powered along without having to pedal.

I suggest using a larger (at least 11 inches) Ulock to secure your frame and front wheel to a bike rack.  I personally use a smaller cable lock which I girth hitch around the rear wheel and through the seat to keep any parts of my bike from rolling away without me.

The rate of bicycle theft in Portland is unacceptable.  That being said, my expereience is that electric bikes are not stolen more frequently the   In fact, pedal-only counterparts.  In fact, the only electric bike that I know to be stolen was one from my shop floor - a customer who went for a test ride and didn't come back.  When I said 'have a good time' that was not exactly what I had in mind...Now you know why I will ask you for ID before you go for a test ride!

Yes. In Oregon, the electric motor is restricted to 1000 watts and cannot propel a 180 lb. rider more that 20MPH on level ground without peddling.   Pedal-assist bikes (that require peddling) currently appear to be exempt from this requirement. Lastly, in Oregon, riders cannot use their motors while riding on sidewalks.

For your eZee battery to charge propery, the charger needs to to be plugged into the wall and battery and then turned on.

If the charger is turned on before it is plugged into the battery, then it will not 'know' to read the battery charge level and will just sit there with its little green light giving you the impression that your battery is all set to take you on your next adventure...