Electric Bikes - Nothing Against, But No Thanks, Well, Not Yet Anyway...

Recently, whilst at a supermarket, another cyclist looked over my Kettler Spirit: he asked if it was an electric bike because of the internal hub rear and the dynamo front, which do look quite large compared to other bikes.

We got talking and he related his experiences of test riding an electric bike at a local bike shop. He was impressed, telling of how it made short work of one of the local steep hills.

Electric bikes are becoming more and more popular - especially in Europe, if the increasing number of new models available from established manufacturers is anything to go by.

On the face of it, electric bikes or more accurately, pedal assist (they have to be peddleable in the UK otherwise they get classed as a motorbike, I understand), are the perfect town bike, built for effortless, everyday cycling in your everyday clothes. Maybe more so, as there's less chance of perspiring due to less effort needed to pedal. Typically, just like the non-electrics, they come with hub gears, racks, all the accutrements per the town bike that I get excited about. And they look like them except for the big box thing behind the saddle or on the rack or wherever (think it's a battery) and extra large wheel hubs that made my acquaintance think my Kettler was one.

And yet, somehow, there's something missing in it for me...Nothing against them, but for some reason, they just don't seem to be the real deal. I expect a pushbike to be a pushbike. There's also the cost for some, usually a hefty premium over the non-electrics (as you would expect) although they're likely to get cheaper as they get more popular. Of course, you're still saving money compared to other modes of transport - motorbikes, cars.

I also think some of them are a bit ugly, obviously subjective, although I do like the electric display console thingy they have - like an elaborate bike computer.

Of course, I don't have a problem with anyone else riding them. They can meet a real need for some people according to individual circumstance; for example, one acquaintance where I used to work used to ride one because she had problems with her legs, ruling out non-electric bikes. So they suit some. They also add to the choices we have in personal transport.

They are still in their infancy and, like a lot of new things (remember when a mobile phone was the size of a house brick, came with its own base, and only made calls instead of like now, more powerful and doing more stuff than a desktop PC 25 years ago?), they'll likely improve some and become a lot more attractive - the Sunstar below, shown at the Japanese festival in Geneva last year, isn't bad aesthetically. Technological advances could even mean you could power them just by pedalling in the same way it powers dynamo headlights, instead of charging them up externally. I'm sure someone's working on it right now. I predict, like other things, they won't actually replace the pushbike, but complement it.

Not bad...not bad at all - looks like the battery is disguised as a 2 litre water bottle but you won't get thirsty because it's motorised...
photo taken by Clément Bucco-Lechat and sourced from Wikimedia Commons.

So yeah, I'm glad they're there.