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Gary Fisher Talks E-Bikes on Interbike TV
Gary Fisher is truly one of the founding fathers of the sport of mountain biking. In this video Gary Fisher is Interviewed on interbike TV at the 2009 interbike in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gary shares his enthusiasm for electric bikes, discusses molding e-bike legislation and describes how he sees the electric bike fitting into today's fast growing cycling landscape.

 

BikeBiz.com E-Bike Discussion Panel at Interbike 2009
E-bike consultant Ed Benjamin; David Cabanban of Sanyo; and Rob Brady of Robrady Design discuss electric bikes with BikeBiz executive editor Carlton Reid. 29-minute show was filmed at Interbike Las Vegas in September 2009.

The E-BikeKit Company, Makers of The E-BikeKit Complete Electric Bike Conversion System is Announcing a New 'Cash for Conversions' Program

Lambertville, New Jersey (PRWEB) August 27, 2009

The Cash for Clunkers campaign may be over but the E-BikeKit™ company is leveraging the success of the US government subsidized car trade-in program to entice people out of their gas guzzlers and onto electric bicycles (e-bikes). E-BikeKit™ is promising customers who purchase their E-Bike Complete Conversion Systems up to a $100 cash back refund on their purchases good towards service at their local bicycle shop for installing the system on their existing conventional bike.

Lambertville, New Jersey (PRWEB) August 27, 2009 -- During the month of September 2009 The E-BikeKit™ Company (PRWeb Press Release Newswire is using the US government's highly successful Cash for Clunkers campaign to spread the word that e-bikes are a viable form of inexpensive green transportation for US commuters.

The program is slated for the month of September with tentative plans to become an ongoing campaign based on its initial success. E-BikeKit™ is hopeful that sharing in the conversion process with their customers will help to spread the product among conventional bike shops and increase the number of authorized E-BikeKit™ dealers throughout the United States. With the Cash for Conversions program customers get the benefit of professional installation and dealers get paid while learning to service electric bikes.

"People in the US are embracing the idea that bicycles are no longer just for exercise. With new breakthrough LiFePO4 battery technology e-bikes are now a viable and enjoyable alternative to driving your car to get from point A to point B.

We're convinced the Cash for Conversions program will entice people to share their enthusiasm for electric bikes with their neighborhood bike shops. Having experienced bicycle technicians installing our conversion systems is a win win for everyone involved."
- Jason Kraft, owner E-BikeKit LLC

The E-BikeKit™ Complete Electric Bike Conversion System empowers riders of all physical abilities and ages to easily convert their own conventional bike into a battery-powered electric bicycle providing the convenience to ride farther and faster with less physical exertion.

The demand for electric bikes in China, where e-bikes are most popular, has swelled from fewer than 200,000 eight years ago to 22 million last year. And with over 90 million on the road in China alone, globally, electric bike sales are growing at a rapid pace. In the U.S., sales are up by 60%, and the e-Bike movement is building momentum. With US commuters seeking more Eco-conscious transportation alternatives, e-bikes are catching on and the future is bright for electric bike businesses.

China drives electric bike, scooter boom
Millions get easier transportation, but battery disposal a big concern

Workers assemble electric scooters at the Hanma Electric Bicycle Co. in Tianjin, China.

Mon., July 27, 2009

SHANGHAI - It's a simple pleasure, but Xu Beilu savors it daily: gliding past snarled traffic on her motorized bicycle, relaxed and sweat-free alongside the pedal-pushing masses. China, the world's bicycle kingdom — one for every three inhabitants — is going electric.

Workers weary of crammed public transport or pedaling long distances to jobs are upgrading to battery-powered bikes and scooters. Even some who can afford cars are ditching them for electric two-wheelers to avoid traffic jams and expensive gasoline.

The bicycle was a vivid symbol of China in more doctrinaire communist times, when virtually no one owned a car. Even now, nearly two decades after the country began its great leap into capitalism, it still has 430 million bicycles by government count, outnumbering electric bikes and scooters 7-1.

But production of electric two-wheelers has soared from fewer than 200,000 eight years ago to 22 million last year, mostly for the domestic market. The industry estimates about 65 million are on Chinese roads.

Car sales are also booming but there are still only 24 million for civilian use, because few of the 1.3 billion population can afford them. And unlike in many other developing countries, Chinese cities still have plenty of bicycle lanes, even if some have made way for cars and buses.

"E-bike" riders are on the move in the morning or late at night, in good weather or bad. When it's wet, they are a rainbow army in plastic capes. On fine days, women don gloves, long-sleeved white aprons and face-covering sun guards.

One of them is Xu, on her Yamaha e-bike, making the half-hour commute from her apartment to her job as a marketing manager. She had thought of buying a car but dropped the idea. "It's obvious that driving would be more comfortable, but it's expensive," she says.

"I like riding my e-bike during rush hour, and sometimes enjoy a laugh at the people stuck in taxis. It's so convenient and helpful in Shanghai, since the traffic is worse than ever."

 

Inroads elsewhere
The trend is catching on in the U.S. and elsewhere.

In Japan, plug-in bicycles are favored by cost-conscious companies and older commuters. "Many company workers are beginning to use them to visit clients instead of driving, to save fuel costs," says Miyuki Kimizuka of the Japan Bicycle Promotion Institute, a private industry group.

Australians use electric bicycles in rural towns without bus and train service. Tony Morgan, managing director of The Electric Bicycle Co. Pty. Ltd., the continent's largest manufacturer and retailer of e-bikes, says he has sold about 20,000 in the past decade, priced at about $800-$1,600.

In the Netherlands, an especially bicycle-friendly country, the industry says sales passed 138,800 last year.

In India, Vietnam and other developing countries, competition from motorcycles, as well as a lack of bike lanes and other infrastructure, are obstacles.

Indian sales have risen about 15 percent a year to 130,000 units, thanks in part to a $150 government rebate that brings the cost down to about the cost of a conventional bicycle. But they are far outnumbered by the millions of new motorcycles taking to India's roadways.

In China, electric bikes sell for $250 to $450. They require no helmet, plates or driver's license, and they aren't affected by restrictions many cities impose on fuel-burning two-wheelers.

It costs a mere 1 yuan (15 U.S. cents) — about the same as the cheapest bus fare — to charge a bike for a day's use, says Guo Jianrong, head of the Shanghai Bicycle Association, an industry group.

They look like regular bicycles, only a bit heavier with the battery strapped on. Some can be pedaled; others run solely on battery. In China, their maximum weight is about 90 pounds, and maximum legal speed is about 12 mph.

"For us, these are tools for transportation," Guo said. "We're not like Americans and Europeans, who tend to bicycle for fun or exercise."

The e-bike doesn't emit greenhouse gases, though it uses electricity from power plants that do. The larger concern is the health hazards from production, recycling and disposal of lead-acid batteries.

 

Problems with lead batteries
Although China is beginning to turn out more electric bikes equipped with nickel-metal-hydride and lithium-ion batteries, 98 percent run on lead-acid types, says Guo.

A bike can use up to five of the batteries in its lifetime, according to Christopher Cherry, a professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville who researches the industry. A Chinese-made battery containing 22 pounds of lead can generate nearly about 15 pounds of lead pollution, he says.

"Electric bikes result in far more emissions of lead than automobiles. They always use more batteries per mile than almost any other vehicle," Cherry said in a phone interview.

In China, owners are paid about $30 to recycle old batteries but the work is often done in small, under-regulated workshops.

With price competition brutal among China's 2,300 electric bike and scooter makers, manufacturers have shied away from embracing costlier, cleaner technology. But bigger foreign sales and demand for better batteries may speed improvements.

"We are trying to upgrade to lithium battery technology to be able to sell internationally," said Hu Gang, a spokesman for Xinri E-Vehicle Group Co., the country's biggest e- bike manufacturer, with sales of more than 2 million units last year.

The goal is to boost production to more than 5 million units by 2013, he said.

"It's not that we're that ambitious," Hu said. "It's just that the industry is growing so quickly."

 

E-BikeKit Founder on Energy2Travel
Interviewed By Sandy Dhuyvetter
Travel Talk Media June 14, 2009 Segment 10

On the Streets of China, Electric Bikes Are Swarming

By Austin Ramzy / Beijing Friday, Jun. 12, 2009

A woman rides her electric bicycle past a residential block in Beijing, China
Andrew Wong / Getty Images

Of all the things that have changed in China over the past 30 years, transportation has undergone one of the most obvious of transformations. Where city streets once swarmed with bicycles, they are now full of automobiles. Cars clog intersection and expressways. Their exhaust clouds the sky and the air is full of the sound of horns. But zipping through the congestion is the vanguard of another transportation revolution: vehicles that use no gas, emit no exhaust and are so quiet they can surprise the unwary pedestrian.

In China, electric bicycles are leaving cars in the dust. Last year, Chinese bought 21 million e-bikes, compared with 9.4 million autos. While China now has about 25 million cars on the road, it has four times as many e-bikes. Thanks to government encouragement and a population well versed in riding two wheels to work, the country has become the world's leading market for the cheap, green vehicles, helping to offset some of the harmful effects of the country's automobile boom. Indeed, as engineers around the world scramble to create eco-friendly, plug-in electric cars, China is already ahead of the game. Says Frank Jamerson, a former GM engineer turned electric-vehicle analyst: "What's happening in China is sort of a clue to what the future will be."

Right now the future buzzes along at a sedate pace. Government regulations limit the top speed of e-bikes to about 12 mph. But manufacturers are building bigger and bigger machines with speed regulators that are easily removed. E-bikes that are basically pedal-powered machines with an electric boost are common in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but e-scooters with heavier motors and top speeds of around 30 mph, fast enough to rival mopeds, are growing in popularity.

The e-bike boom owes much to Chinese policy. The government made developing e-bikes an official technology goal in 1991. Major Chinese cities have extensive bicycle lanes, which means riders can avoid the worst of rush-hour congestion. In cities such as Shanghai, local governments have drastically raised licensing fees on gas-powered scooters in recent years, effectively driving hoards of consumers to e-bike manufacturers.

The relative simplicity of the machines and their components has encouraged a huge number of e-bike companies to open in China. In 2006 there were 2,700 licensed manufacturers, and countless additional smaller shops. Rising to the top of the heap is not easy. Leading manufacturer Xinri (the name means "new day") was founded in 1999 by Zhang Chongshun, an auto parts factory executive who recognized the potential of the field. In its first year Xinri built less than 1,000 bikes; last year it churned out 1.6 million.

Xinri's Zhang puts in thousands of miles on the road a year, visiting as many as six cities a day to investigate local market conditions. But ultimately what makes Xinri successful is that electric bikes have hit a sweet spot in the Chinese economy. As Chinese grow richer, they want more convenient means of transportation. But not everyone can afford a car. "Motorcycles are too dangerous, cars are too expensive, public transportation is too crowded and pedal bikes leave you too tired," says Hu Guang, Xinri's deputy general manager. "So people buy e-bikes."

The company's ads show Jackie Chan riding an e-bike alongside a model in a glamorous European capital. Reality is much more mundane. E-bikes are commonly used by migrant laborers who schlep across town from their quarters in the suburbs to work sites across town, with their drills and saws strapped to their bike racks. Police stations are often fronted by a row of blue and white patrol e-bikes. Delivery workers from McDonald's and KFC haul plastic cases stuffed with Big Macs and fried chicken to office parks. "At first, I picked an e-bike because I couldn't stand the sickening smell of gas from my scooter," says Zhang Dengming, 50, a construction supervisor in Shanghai. "But after a while, I realized that e-bikes are actually much safer than motorcycles, and better for the environment. Although e-bikes are generally slower than gas scooters, I find them fast enough for my daily commutes. Their price, which is typically just over 2,000 renminbi ($290) is also more acceptable, so I don't feel as bad when they get stolen."

Last year Chinese bought about 90% of the 23 million e-bikes sold worldwide. Experts say that next regions to likely embrace e-bikes are Southeast Asia, where gas-powered scooters are popular, and India, where rising incomes mean personal transportation is starting to be in reach of hundreds of millions. Japan has seen steady annual sales of about 300,000 for several years, and in the cycle-crazy Netherlands e-bikes are beginning to take off. In the U.S., where bikes are still overwhelmingly used for recreation rather than transportation, e-bike sales are expected to break 200,000 this year, or about 1% of China's sales.

E-bikes weren't always so popular on the mainland. Early models were even slower than today's; range was limited and batteries died in less than a year. Now they can travel as far as 100 km on a full charge, more than enough for a day's riding. But batteries remain the weak point. Most e-bikes rely on lead-acid batteries, cheap century-old technology unsuitable for the growing demands of daily commuting. "The battery is the key limiting factor," says Jonathan Weinert, a transportation expert who wrote his doctoral dissertation on electric bikes in China.

While lead-acid batteries are improving, Weinart says that electric bikes will create a larger market for lithium-ion batteries — a newer, lighter technology whose development is key for the future of electric vehicles. Already Giant, the world's largest manufacturer of pedal bicycles but a small player in the Chinese e-bike market, has made headway in northern Europe selling high-end e-bikes that use lith-ion batteries. "To the extent that the electric bike industry can help get battery costs down, test the technology and get it in the market, that may lead" the development of electric vehicles with more than two wheels, Weinert says.

Chinese market leaders like Xinri and Yadea have partnered with top schools like Tsinghua and Peking universities to improve battery technology. And like a slew of other Chinese companies, some e-bike makers are already working on electric cars. Yadea plans to create electric cars for special uses such as shuttling sightseers at tourist destinations. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Xinri provided e-bikes and an electric car for use by police at the Bird's Nest stadium.

Electric cars will require more powerful recharging stations than the standard wall outlets used to juice up bikes. But when four-wheeled technology becomes road-ready, it will find a willing customer base in China. "The Chinese have a hundred million people on electric bikes," says Jamerson. "That means a hundred million potential customers" for electric cars. When he worked at GM, which filed for bankruptcy on June 1, Jamerson said he once suggested the company give away an electric bike with every new car, just to get customers used to the idea of a means of transportation you plug in every night. His bosses thought he was joking. When the electric revolution final comes, China's e-bike makers could have the last laugh.

—with reporting by Jessie Jiang/Beijing and Natalie Tso/Taipei

Electric Avenue
IS IT FINALLY TIME TO STOP HATING ON E-BKES?
By Ian Dille
Bicycling Magazine May, 2009 Issue Page 23

Modern Electric Bikes Are Here!
But They Ain't Cheap
(Compare the cost of these WIRED reviewed electric bikes with conversion)
WIRED Magazine March, 2009 Issue
Jackson Lynch

Commuters beat the high price of gas with hybrid electric bikes
By John Lehndorff, Rocky Mountain News
Published September 14, 2008 at 3 p.m.



At the beginning of the summer, John McLinden had a problem. Actually, make that two or three problems. The 59-year-old Denver resident wanted to get some exercise. He was annoyed at high gas prices. He was also committed to finding a greener way to commute six miles to work as a plumbing-inspection supervisor at Denver Wastewater. However, the obvious solution - riding a bicycle - was out of the question.>>>Read More>>>

Electric Bikes Remove Strain Of Riding
August 25, 2008

The Whole World’s Hopping on Electric Bikes
Monday, 18 August 2008
Jaymi Heimbuch

E-Bikes, Soon Everyone will be Riding One!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Joel Hood Tribune reporter

Riders say 'e-bikes' give them extra spark

Dave Kennedy is part of a two-wheeled revolution. Or so it seems some days.

Fed up with $4 gas, the war in Iraq, America's automotive obsession and the seeming reluctance of leaders to fully embrace alternative energy, Kennedy bought an electric-powered bicycle for his 2-mile commute to and from work in Tinley Park. And if it were up to him, he'd probably never step on a gas pedal again.

Whether their reasons are financial, political or both, Kennedy and others are at the forefront of a new era in two-wheeled transportation: the "e-bike." Widely used in Europe and parts of Asia for a decade, battery-powered bicycles have found a home in America.

It's a trend that has some in the industry thinking big.

While some cycling purists might be turned off by the notion of battery-assisted riding and others by the cost—starting at about $2,000—the e-bike's fans say they're practical, fun to ride and make it easier for non-cyclists to leave their cars in the garage.

"You don't know how great it feels to be able to hop on a bicycle and ride it to work," Kennedy said. "It's total freedom."

Yes, those statements could be said of a traditional pedal-power bicycle. But at 50, and admittedly heavyset, Kennedy is typical of a lot of e-bike customers in that he didn't want his physical limitations to dampen his enthusiasm for riding and for the outdoors.

The Schwinn model he owns looks like a typical recreational bike but is powered by a slim lithium-ion battery that fits on the rear-mounted rack above the back wheel. The battery, which can be fully charged within three hours at home or work, powers a small motor inside the front-wheel hub. Riders engage the motor by pedaling but must continue pedaling, even slowly, to keep the motor running. That's an important distinction that makes e-bikes different from scooters or mopeds, which are not allowed in bike lanes.

The motor makes the rider's legs feel supercharged; it takes the slightest effort to breeze past joggers and other cyclists. It's an unfamiliar sensation at first, but soon the rider settles in to enjoy the ride. The motor shuts off the instant the rider taps the brakes.

But most riders can pedal without motor assistance, which increases the range, said Brian Poncin, owner of My Bike in Tinley Park, the top selling dealer for Schwinn e-bikes in the country. "We liked the technology from the beginning, and so we committed heavily to these early," he said. "We didn't know gas would do what it did. That's been a bonus."

Schwinn, based in Madison, Wis., had sold electric bicycles in Europe for nearly a decade before it rolled out a limited number of the bikes here last year. Schwinn declined to release overseas numbers, but Giant alone has sold 15,000 e-bikes in Europe.

"We're in our 50s now, and we wanted to remain active and outdoors," said Frankfort resident Joe Popik, who recently bought an e-bike after falling in love with the one his wife, Margorie, bought last year. "I've ridden bicycles all my life. But now, if we go on a long ride, I don't have to worry about how I'm going to get back."

The Popiks frequent the network of paved bike trails that wind through the south suburbs. They also use the e-bikes to run errands around town and have taken them along on trips.

"My first thought was, 'Man, these bikes are expensive,' " Joe Popik said. "But after riding one, I just thought it was great. These things are really going to take off."