Are electric bikes practical

by Larry Lagarde

Electric bikes are becoming a recurring topic online.

Take 3 random stories from today for example.

1. Ecological Urban Living mentioned a variety of electric bikes (including the promising CMYK light weight/short distance city commuter).

2. There was an RV forum discussion concerning the Yike (a $5000, extremely short range electric scooter masquerading as a bicycle - no pedal drive option at all).

3. Build Your Own Electric Vehicle posted an advertorial from Go Green Electric Bicycle that would be somewhat informative for newbies.

What all the above (and most posts in general) fail to address are the underlying issues electric bikes have concerning practicality.

For example, I have been evaluating the IF Reach DC, a new, high performance, folding bike with passive electric assist. As electric bikes go, the DC has just about everything going for it - great performance, range, cruising speed, lightweight, quick, on demand foldability, compact folded size and the ability to roll when folded. In fact, the DC performs so much better than other electrics that I now sell it. Nevertheless, as much as I love the DC, with a $2500 purchase price, chances are that the bikes' true value will only be appreciated by first adopters, green thinkers and bike fanatics - at least for now.

When can we expect to see the perfect electric bike (or simply the perfect bicycle)?

As demand for practical, personal transportation increases, more resources will be put towards addressing this issue and a bicycle will be available with all the right features (sub $500 price, light weight, compact for transporting or storage & strong performance/durability). Any date I give would be an educated guess but I expect this to happen by 2020.

Should you wait until that perfect bike is available?

Naturally, this is also a matter of personal opinion; however, I'd rather benefit from obtaining the best bike I can afford now rather than put off cycling until that ideal bike comes. Frankly, the health, environmental and financial benefits of cycling far outweigh the negatives already.