Electric Bikes Are Kinda Cool!
By Jenn (TinyChoices.com) | March 16, 2010
I’ve been noticing a lot more of those electric bikes around town lately, and they’ve got me a’pondering. I’ve not really been sure of my feelings towards them, but after reading this Treehugger article, I think I get the point a little bit more than I did.
The way I see it, they’re a bit like a cross between a moped and a bicycle– pedal when the going’s easy, and get some electric assistance when paths get steep or long. It’s kind of a win-win I guess– electric bikes get people out and about, perhaps making the decision to leave their car at home or skip public transportation for shorter trips– and even a little pedaling is a healthful thing.
As biking in NYC has proven, when there are more cyclists on the street, the streets become safer for cyclists. The number of city cyclists rose 66% in the past two years, and I can understand why– it’s really the best way to get around– air, exercise, smiles, and the relief of avoiding mass transit. If electric bikes get a few more folks on the road, it’s good for them and good for the rest of us.
As an enlightening exercise, I punched my address into the Two Mile Challange mapping tool, and was really surprised at what’s encompassed in a 2-mile radius around my home. I don’t currently own a car, so it’s not like I’m driving to all those places now– but I know lots of people who do drive everywhere in the city… 2 miles is walkable and bikeable for most folks in decent shape, and it’s inspiring to see what’s so close by!
Karina had sent me the link to the new Google Maps Bike Directions feature, and it’s really neat– it provides bike directions for safer, flatter routes in many cities– and check out this video for more features, like drag-and-drop re-routing:
What do you think about electric bikes? Are you, like me, looking forward to de-rusting your ride once Spring hits?
Topics: Transportation | 5 Comments »
Do you know if there are any electric bikes that charge when you pedal them? Some guy I was waiting with at a train crossing a few years ago talked and talked about how awesome his electric bike was. But when I asked him if the battery charged when he pedaled, he sheepishly said “No, I have to plug it in at night.” As this was a while ago, I am hoping that someone has gotten around to making a self-charging model.
Google bike maps still have a lot of um… room for improvement in New Orleans. Their suggested route for my morning commute went right through some very rough housing projects!
Hey Daniele! The bike discussed in the Treehugger article I linked to does charge while pedaling, though it sounds like there’s still room for improvement.
And re: Google Bike Maps– yea, I agree that there’s room for improvement! But I think it’ll just get better with time, especially if we all use their comment form to suggest better routes!
Hi Daniele,
Some models are self-charging, but at the moment most models you find use a combination of your own power and the motor. Surprisingly, there isn’t that much energy left to recharge the batteries even when slowing down — bikes, unlike cars, don’t need that much energy to move them. Remember that last time you had to push a car ;-)
I guess if you had a pedal system that charged the battery on its own, then it would kinda work, but it’d feel kind of odd pedalling at speeds which aren’t proportional to how fast you’re going!
I’ve considered an e-bike as a “get to the train station” option that could leave me un-sweaty for work (if I was to wind up in a commuting job). One of the problems is the laws are varied and messy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_bicycle_laws In NY they are illegal right now. There is a law that passed the NYS assembly and is in the state senate awaiting the next step, so I’m hopeful. I think generating while braking or going downhill has promise, it seems to be a controller thing http://www.ebikes.ca/store/store_controllers.php , but I’m not so sure I’d like to generate and haul my keister around at the same time.
I’d love to have something like http://www.brammo.com/home/ , but that’s getting away from the whole power assist bike concept (and way expensive!). Which is maybe what I’m more interested in getting out of an e-bike. I’d love something like this http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/10/schwinn_2007_electric_bik.html or even better this super-snot beach comber http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/01/48v_electric_flat_tracker.html
OOohhhh that Brammo is awesome! Is it a bike? is it a motorbike? Who cares!
PS- stick with your work-from-home deal, it’s way better than commuting, even with a Brammo.