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E-bikes are the fastest-growing segment of the bicycle industry. They're popular with commuters and baby boomers who might not otherwise be able to get out on a bicycle.
The bikes, which can cost $2,000 or more, combine the frame of a regular bike with lightweight batteries and electric motors for extra zip.
Their sales jumped 72% to $144 million in the U.S. last year, helping to breathe life into bicycle sales that have been relatively flat, according to the NPD Group, which tracks retail bike sales nationwide.
Their popularity has led to conflict.
In bike-friendly southern California, as local land managers take cues from agencies like the National Park Service, some are banning e-bikes from bicycle paths. That has angered riders, said Morgan Lommele, of PeopleForBikes, a bicycle advocacy group and trade association.
[...] Maine and 21 other states have adopted laws that classify e-bikes into categories. Most are treated like regular bicycles under such laws, said Lommele, who has been working with states to create uniform definitions. Only the fastest e-bikes are restricted to roads.
At Acadia National Park, the e-bikes are welcome on paved roads inside the park and even on dirt roads where cars and trucks are allowed.
But they're not allowed on the 57 miles (92 kilometers) of carriage roads funded and built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. that meander throughout the park, offering stunning views of lakes, mountains and the ocean. The carriage paths are popular with bicyclists.
The only exceptions for e-bikes are for people who qualify for mobility devices under the Americans With Disabilities Act, said Christie Anastasia, park spokeswoman.
Should E-bikes be treated like bicycles or motorcycles when it comes to roads, bike paths, and access?
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(Score: 4, Touché) by takyon on Thursday June 27 2019, @05:26PM (7 children)
I haven't used an e-bike yet, but I have been uphill on a normal bike. That's the killer app. Maybe the overall lower exertion and lower trip duration will allow some people to bike commute without becoming a sweat monster.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Thursday June 27 2019, @05:41PM (4 children)
Yeah with fresh batteries on a shortish commute where they can be plugged in so they're ready to go again for the journey home, I can see the market for them. For the more serious cyclist that wants to do longer, faster rides, I can also see how flat batteries quickly become unwanted weight to haul around.
I have to wonder when it says they're popular with boomers, whether that's just because they're the only ones that can afford them!
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday June 28 2019, @03:28AM (2 children)
$200 will get you a cheap bike, or an electric scooter with plenty of power and range to provide a substantial assist for a bicycle at most any cost-consious store (Walmart for example)
And yet there seems to be a severe shortage of readily available sub-$400 electric bicycles.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 28 2019, @04:56AM (1 child)
Part of the price problem for e-bikes is the bike part. Consider the chain drive--the chain tension when you stand on a pedal (at 3:00 or max torque) in a low gear is several times your weight (ratio of pedal radius to front sprocket radius). The parts in the driveline have to be fairly strong and stiff to resist this force.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday June 28 2019, @08:21PM
And? Those are already included in the price of a non-e bike. All you need to do is add a small motor, battery, and voltage controller.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 28 2019, @10:14AM
I'm afraid your numbers are off.
Flat batteries are like an empty gas tank. Yeah it can happen. But it takes super minimal foresightedness in my experience. Most trips for groceries or to work are 20km or less and don't even take 1/4 of my charge.
The use case here is urban cyclists, not tourers taking a week or a month.
Tourers, too, are not so bad as ebikes now. Have regen breaking, and be smart about wind and your own pedal power, and off the shelf setups will happily get you 100km in 5h with charge left over through moderate hills and flats.
I used https://www.ebikes.ca/tools/trip-simulator.html [ebikes.ca] and with 100W of human power - lighter than walking - and a 52V 16Ah Downtube battery on flat ground, a tucked mountain bike tourer can get 160 km on a charge, ripping along at 50kph. Further, if slower.
Have you compared the price of a new ebike to a new car? Or of an ebike conversion to a used car? Have you read anything about lifetime cost per distance? Ebikes are cheap as dirt in their class - powered vehicles.
Super biased source claims $18k cheaper over the lifetime of a car: https://pedegoelectricbikes.ca/cost-savings-electric-bike-versus-car/ [pedegoelectricbikes.ca] I personally estimate ebiking instead of driving has saved me about $12,000 and 300 hours over the last three years and change. (I didn't buy a used car, don't pay for gas, and my area is prone to heavy traffic and I beat busses and cars handily during rush hour. I estimated a 15min savings/trip but really that's before finding parking or waiting for the first bus to show so that's an underestimate. I don't get to listen to podcasts though. I do lose to dedicated tramways with rights of way but none match my normal routes.)
Ebikes are dirt, dirt cheap for what they provide.
Expect that to change as regulation drives up cost/unit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 27 2019, @08:27PM (1 child)
I bought an e-bike. I always used to ride bicycles, but when I moved, I just didn't have the endurance for the kind of hills they have here. With the e-bike, casual rides just for the fun of it are possible again. A hill? No problem, just turn on the assist. And for the not so hilly or flat areas, I often ride without any assist at all.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 28 2019, @02:06AM
You're exactly the type of person bicycle purists hate. Stop enjoying yourself and live by their rules!!!