Electric Bikes

Whilst I was looking for ways of cutting down on car journeys to work (I went for a combination car sharing and cycling in the end), one of the options I considered was an electric bike. I thought some of you might like to hear what I found out.

The term 'electric bike' can refer to a bicycle or scooter. I didn't really bother with scooters but they were priced from £1500 to £4000 and look pretty cool (See here for more).

Electric bicycles are useful if you've got hills on your route (as I have), don't want to arrive at work in a sweat, or have a longer journey than you're prepared cycle. You can still get some exercise when you want to though, as you've still got pedals and the motor is under your control.

They're priced at between £390 and £1900. There are plenty of models to choose from and even include folding varieties.

If you want to, you can even adapt your existing bike for around £350. Though I'm not sure how universal the kits are.

They seem to have a range of between 20 to 35 miles on a single charge. Each charge costs around just 5 to 7 pence. The batteries give around 2000 charges and cost about £190 to replace.

The bikes are limited by law to 15 mph. Kids under 14 are not allowed to use them.

Disadvantages: They don't usually go up hills without some help via the pedals (so no free ride there!); The battery makes the bike noticeably heavier than the non-electric equivalent; Relatively short range per charge; Relatively expensive way to buy a bicycle; Because of their relatively high price, they may be a preffered target of bike thieves.

Ideal for the commute to work. A possible cheap alternative to buying a moped.

More to look at here.