Flying home along the NW cycleway yesterday, I knew there was a head wind – but it felt like a tail wind. At one point, I was going faster than the mid-afternoon motorway traffic. Hills didn’t bother me at all. And when I had to stop for a red light, I got kind of cranky… till the light changed and I burned off the car next to me with a twist of the throttle.
That’s the power of an electric bike.
At Cycle Action, “If you build it, they will come” has long been our mantra for bike lanes and cycleways. And we’ve watched the numbers tick up in response to good infrastructure (and, recently, flat-line in response to slow progress).
But turn that mantra around in the face of a new product. What if they’re already here?
What if, for far less than the price of a crappy second-hand car, any old commuter could swap sitting in traffic for a zippy fresh-air ride to work, getting 50km of power-assist for less than fifty cents, and arriving at your destination fresh as a daisy?
Electric bikes aren’t new – the first patent was filed in 1895 – but they’re freshly relevant. They’re replacing petrol-powered mopeds in China at an impressive rate, and booming in Europe, where they account for 10% (and rising) of new bike sales.
What if the electric bike is poised to become the new “single-occupancy vehicle” – in a good way?
Cycle Action reckons Aucklanders in particular are primed to take up electric bikes. People who love bikes but don’t like hills. Older people. Students. Daily commuters. Those whose homes, workplaces and schedules aren’t well linked by public transport.
With their range and versatility and affordability, electric bikes could be the – nah, let’s not say “killer app”, let’s say “lifesaver app” – for our city.
And a great boost for infrastructure. Because what if we could say to those in charge of creating our cycle infrastructure: “They’re coming – have you built it?”
Let’s find out. Cycle Action plans to test-ride different kinds of electric bicycles over the next couple of months, and talk to a bunch of people who are already plugged into the power of e-bikes. We want to hear about the basics, the benefits, and the bugbears (if any!) of this bike revolution.
Huge thanks to Chris and the team at eCyclesNZ for setting me up with a pre-loved SmartMotion eMetro to tool around on for the next few weeks! Where will it take me? Watch this space!
Got an e-bike? Got questions about e-bikes? Tell us below, and we’ll follow up.
