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ELECTRIC-BIKES | 2018
are set to embrace the new technology in a big way. “Earlier this year we sold six e-bikes to Bristol City Council for their workplace travel programme,” Jake Voelcker at Bristol Bicycles tells us, “and workplaces in the city can borrow an electric bike for free for up to six months to encourage their staff to cycle (check out bristolbicycles.co.uk/for-business). Bristol Bicycles e-bikes are ideal for this kind of workplace use because they look pretty smart, understated and business-like, and they are lighter than most e-bikes. Even if you need to carry a heavy laptop or lots of paperwork, it’s no problem because the electric motor helps with the weight. The scheme has proved so popular that the council ordered another 10 e-bikes from us a couple of months ago.” Also pushing for change is transport minister Jesse Norman, who’s contemplating an e-bike version of the incentive given to those who buy electric cars; at present people buying electric cars receive up to £4,500 off the purchase price. But many locals are already converted, citing health benefits as just as key as the ecological ones. E-bikers will burn, on average, 350 calories an hour, and a recent Norwegian study, undertaken to better understand the intensity of exercise a cyclist gets from pedalling an e-bike, found they were almost as active as conventional cyclists, even when resting. Of course, going via peddle also means you don’t have to negotiate the city’s parking charges. “Once people try them, the benefits are so huge that they never look back,” says David Tod. “Who knows, in five years’ time we could give Amsterdam a run for its money.” If it all sounds too good to be true, there are opportunities for you to find out for yourself. Better By Bike (betterbybike.info) and the Create Centre (createbristol.org) can both help you get involved with trying an e-bike, and there are even salary exchange schemes to help you get your first bike on the road. The e-bike makes cycling more practical and accessible than ever before and may even be able to turn your commute into a traffic free, money saving, health boosting pleasure. So leave the car at home and enjoy the freedom of the city... ■
Need to know • As a rule, the more you pay for your e-bike the longer your battery will last. So a full charge will take you between 25 and 70 miles. Of course, how you use your bike (i.e. how much you peddle, your weight and how many hills you encounter) will impact the number of miles a fully charged battery will do. • You can buy one for as little as £600, for a no-frills commuter bike (expect a 25-mile run on a six-hour charge) to a to a limited edition Blacktrail BT-01 for a touch under £60,000. • For a stylish ride, try the Faraday Cortland. Built to look like a Dutch roadster, it has an unobtrusive 306-watt-hour battery behind the seat and is lightweight at 42lbs. If you’re a fold-up fan, Brompton have just released their first electric bike with prices starting at £2,595. • Riding an e-bike cost costs just 0.4p per mile, while a mediumsized diesel car costs 34p per mile. They can travel at up to 15.5mph with the motor on, and some bikes can cover 70 miles on a single charge. • An e-bike is like a normal bike, with the addition of a built-in electric motor and battery. Riders still have to pedal, but the motor will kick in to help. E-bike batteries are much lighter in weight than they used to be, thanks to the introduction of lithium batteries. • With the modern systems on e-bikes, you can choose how hard you want to work yourself and how much assistance you want from the bike. The electric motor won’t assist you when you’re travelling more than 25km (15.5mph) making it no more dangerous, speed-wise, than a conventional bike.
THE ANATOMY OF AN E-BIKE 1/ Weight Most e-bikes are heavier than traditional pedal bikes due to the added weight of the motor and the battery. On the road this is not a problem as the motor assists your ride. However it may be worth spending more on a lighter bike if you need to lift the bike regularly. e.g. if you live in an apartment.
2/ Controller Sensors constantly communicate ride data to a built in computer that calculates how and when torque is required, and then activate the motor to assist the rider.
3/ LCD Display, and power indication Depending on the bike, the power options, digital displays and switching will vary. Most now have a digital dashboard that will display things like speed, distance, power and battery life. 5/ Lights Many e-bikes now come with lights as standard built in equipment, powered directly by the main battery.
4/ Battery Top of the range e-bikes are now incorporating the latest Li-ion battery technology housed into the frame. Some can be charged in under two hours, and will have a range of 75Km on a single charge. 7/ Gears Most e-bikes have gears. These are either traditional manual pedal bike gears operated by a gearshift on the handlebars, or fully automatic.
Model shown is the Trek Super Commuter 8+. One of the latest generation of e-bikes. Featuring the new Bosch 500 wH Powerpack battery and a powerful 250w CX motor which is fully integrated into the frame, RRP: £3,800. For details visit: Mud Dock 40 The Grove, Bristol BS1 4RB. Tel: 0117 929 2151 Web: mud-dock.com
6/ Brakes Like traditional bikes, the braking options are generally disc or calliper. The latest in e-bike technology senses when the brakes are engaged and will cut the e-bike motor motor to increase safety.
8/ Motor There are two main types of motor: hubdrive and crank-drive. Hub driven motors deliver power to the front or back wheel. Crank driven motors are housed in the frame and deliver power to the pedal crank.
9/ Connectivity The trend is now integrated connectivity with bluetooth chips built in and smartphone apps starting to become available, such as a find my bike app, map tracking and remote central locking and anti theft control.
THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK
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JANUARY 2018
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THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 63