Over the last couple of weeks, long time cyclist Phoebe (Bike Auckland’s Volunteer and Events Manager) zoomed about Tāmaki Makaurau on an e-bike. She reveled in a new-found freedom to explore her rural area by bike, and to cycle the big trip into the City Centre from the North Shore.
I’ve used a bike to get around every day basically all my adult life, as a student in Auckland in the early 2010s, then in Wellington since 2016. For me, being able to get around by bike is all about independence, financial freedom and keeping fit and active. On a bike I can traverse the city any time of the day or night, choose exactly where I go and park, at no financial cost. I’ve learned how to repair my bike, so I know that if there ever is a mechanical issue, I can solve it myself- something I’d never consider attempting with a car. I love the feel of independently powering myself on two wheels, and I love the strong arms and legs I get because of it.
But for the last six months I’ve been living on the rural fringes of Auckland’s North Shore with big hills, 80 km/h zones and glaring gaps in our cycle network – most notably Auckland’s Harbour Bridge – between me and central Auckland where I often need to travel to for work. It’s left me feeling stranded, and I’m using my bike way less. So that I can cycle in the city, I’ve been driving my bike over the Harbour Bridge, parking at my aunty’s in Ponsonby, then riding from there. I hate it!
I hadn’t really considered riding an e-bike before this. The days I’m working in town, I’ll still be riding around anywhere between 10-30 kms a day. I enjoy the fitness of riding a non-electric bike. I’ve worked as an e-bike tour guide in the past, so I know what a difference they can make for some people, but I haven’t needed or wanted the extra assistance from a physical perspective so I hadn’t thought about it.
Even so, when Bike Auckland offered the opportunity to try out an e-bike I leapt at the chance. And, I found that riding the Zoomin e-bike was unexpectedly awesome.
Suddenly, the closest shops (which are 9 kms away on the other side of a huge hill) felt accessible by bike. What would take me almost an hour on my heavy non-electric steel touring bike, took me about 20 minutes on the Zoomin. I found I was exploring more of my local area, going down streets I’d never bothered to go down before because all of them are on a hill. While I like keeping fit, what I like the most about biking is that the fitness is a positive side-effect of getting from A to B. With the e-bike though, exploring my neighbourhood without a destination in mind was actually fun.
I wanted to really test the e-bike’s range so this week, I tried the 35km commute into the city from Pāremoremo to Ponsonby round the western side of the Waitematā (crossing alongside the Upper Harbour Motorway, then following the Northwestern). On my non-electric bike, this would take me at least 2 hours, and I’ve never tried it.
The Zoomin bike has 5 power settings, and, at its highest setting, can zoom up to a speedy 40km/hr. For my first attempt, I zoomed into a strong head wind with heavy panniers on the highest power setting averaging about 35 km/h – an incredible speed for those fierce headwinds. It was fun overtaking all the other e-bikers. But the battery ran out at 30 kilometres. The Zoomin is a fairly lightweight e-bike at 19kg, but the last 5 kilometres to my destination was still a very slow trundle without the e-assist.
The next day, successful attempt number two, I did the same route in reverse, in the rain. Using the middle ‘3’ level of power (and with less wind), after 25 km I still had 50% battery left – and just 10 kms to go. So, I dialed the power up to level 5 to zoom the last stretch and still had 25% battery left when I got home. The trip took me 70 minutes and I arrived home feeling happy and energised. By comparison, when commuting by car, I arrive home grumpy and tired after sitting in traffic for an hour or more crawling up State Highway 1.
Trialing the Zoomin e-bike reminded me how much I enjoy longer bike rides, particularly when I can get on a separated cycle route or shared path away from the traffic for long stretches. I loved listening to an audiobook in one ear while I sped along the straight and (not too) narrow north-western cycleway, all the way from Westgate to Pt Chev.
This experience has shown me that, even living on the edges of the city, with a speedy e-bike like the Zoomin, a bike-commute is possible, and given the physical and psychological benefits, preferable to congested car chaos. I was more motivated to get out and about on the bike to explore because riding an e-bike is just a pleasant way to pass the time.
Thinking of getting an e-bike?
If you’re already living your happy non-electric bike life, all power to you and stay the course!
But e-bikes can be a game-changer for lots of different reasons. My little brother has just moved to a flat where it would take him 90 minutes to get to work using the bus because there’s not a direct route, but just 30mins on a fast e-bike. My 70 year old mum has had a knee-replacement and lost a lot of the power in one leg, but with an e-bike she can still get up the hills around where we live.
If you’re thinking about getting an e-bike, we recommend you try out a few different types first to find out what features you like. Ecomatters e-bike loan scheme lets you take home various e-bikes for two weeks for free so you can try them out and see what works for you. The loan scheme is on hold for a bit but when it returns the Zoomin will be part of the pool of bikes available to try.
E-bikes are a big investment compared to non-electric bikes, so you want to make sure it’s the right kind of e-bike for you, and to check that it will work for you and your lifestyle. Have a think about what you want from an e-bike – do you want a step through frame? To be able to carry a lot of things? Suspension for a comfy ride? A longer battery life for longer trips? Does a max speed of 30 km/h sound good to you or would you prefer to zoom up to 40 km/h?
If cost is a barrier, consider the long-term cost savings that buying an e-bike could have for you, as a result of spending less on public transport or petrol. Even better, if the e-bike would replace a car for you then you have a huge amount of savings. Also, because bikes are now exempt from Fringe Benefit Tax, you can also work with your employer to save $$ on a new bike or e-bike purchase. Both WorkRide and The Wheel Deal support workplaces to take advantage of these savings to help their employees purchase e-bikes.
With the help of an e-bike I’ve found I can return to what I’m used to – being able to use a bike to get anywhere I need to go day-to-day.
Thanks to local company Zoomin eBikes for supporting Bike Auckland’s mahi, sponsoring this blog, and gifting a free 1 year Bike Auckland membership to all Auckland-based customers who purchase one of their bikes!
Zoomin is backed by MeloYelo, whose customers frequently rave about the support they receive. Zoomin eBikes come with a 2 year warranty, and customers have access to their 24/7 call centre (staffed by real Kiwis), readily available spare parts, and the confidence of dealing with a company where customer satisfaction is their top priority.
