VIDEO: Benefits of Electric Bikes and a Great Way to Afford One
I just watched this video and I was impressed with the way that they presented the benefits of using an electric bike as an alternative to traditional means of transportation and what the UK has done to help employees afford buying an electric bike.
One of the points they make is that as kids we enjoyed riding a bicycle, but as adults many people have forgotten about bikes. The electric bike is a cool way to get back into riding a bike for some fun and to use it as a practical hybrid electric vehicle to get around.
Another issue is the when riding to work, in general, people don’t want to arrive sweaty and dirty. The electric assist really helps with giving you enough help so you won’t sweat much at all, but get a little exercise to wake you up before work :). In addition, most commuter electric bikes these days come with chain guards and fenders that keep water, dirt and grease off of your clothes.
I also like the point of getting out on a bike on a warm summer day and really enjoying the place you live in. If you work in an office all day, this can literally be a breathe of fresh air!
In the video they also discuss a UK government program where employees are allowed to have a certain amount of their pretax salary withheld to go towards the purchase of an electric bike. This is a great way to promote the ownership of electric bikes and hopefully it will catch on in other countries as well!
I think one of the concerns that many people have is the cost of an electric bike. It is true that a good quality electric bikes can seem expensive, but really we need to look at them as one of the most energy efficient hybrid electric vehicles, not just bicycles. This is the topic of a separate article, but I just wanted to mention it here.
The electric bicycles shown in the video are Gocycle bikes and they are some of the more refined electric bikes that I have seen. I hope to be able to review one of these soon and give you all the details!
Checkout the video. I think you will like it!
Did you like the video? Would you be interested in buying an electric bike through a pretax a payment plan? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
Thanks!
Pete
P.S. Don’t forget to get sign up for updates from the electric bike world, plus ebike riding and maintenance tips! (upper right hand corner of this site)
Bert Cebular says
I test rode this bike about a year ago and was impressed by the pickup this little motor provides. It uses a RC-plane type electric motor that does make a bit of an annoying noise.
The bike is very well built but could fold a bit smaller for our NYC flats. Lets see if it will make it to the US, we will for sure offer it, great product.
Bert, electric bike enthusiast
http://www.nycewheels.com/bikes.html
Bert Cebular says
I test rode this bike about a year ago and was impressed by the pickup this little motor provides. It uses a RC-plane type electric motor that does make a bit of an annoying noise.
The bike is very well built but could fold a bit smaller for our NYC flats. Lets see if it will make it to the US, we will for sure offer it, great product.
Bert, electric bike enthusiast
http://www.nycewheels.com/bikes.html
Richard Thorpe - Designer of G says
Actually the noise you are hearing is not the motor, it is the high performance and lightweight gearbox. A key design brief we have is light enough to carry the product up stairs for city usage. With this, you must use gears with the electric motor to get the power and weight compromise balance right for the urban environment which comes with higher levels of background noise than the country – so gaining in light weight and performance is a good trade off to make since you are more likely to hear cars and bus noise than anything from the vehicle. Interesting and exciting new choices to make and understand for the consumer of these new class of products. But we are working on new developments all the time including more efficient gearing and new models that will operate beyond the city environment – same breakthrough looks and performance as Gocycle – but with emphasis on a different usage and biased more to riding greater distances in less-urban dense settings :).
Richard Thorpe - Designer of Gocycle says
Actually the noise you are hearing is not the motor, it is the high performance and lightweight gearbox. A key design brief we have is light enough to carry the product up stairs for city usage. With this, you must use gears with the electric motor to get the power and weight compromise balance right for the urban environment which comes with higher levels of background noise than the country – so gaining in light weight and performance is a good trade off to make since you are more likely to hear cars and bus noise than anything from the vehicle. Interesting and exciting new choices to make and understand for the consumer of these new class of products. But we are working on new developments all the time including more efficient gearing and new models that will operate beyond the city environment – same breakthrough looks and performance as Gocycle – but with emphasis on a different usage and biased more to riding greater distances in less-urban dense settings :).
Pete says
Bert and Richard,
Thanks for your comments. It’s great to hear more about the Gocycle bike.
Richard, are you planning on selling the Gocycle in the US?
Pete says
Bert and Richard,
Thanks for your comments. It’s great to hear more about the Gocycle bike.
Richard, are you planning on selling the Gocycle in the US?
Richard Thorpe - Designer of G says
Gocycle will come to USA at some stage in the future… and will have benefitted from years of experience and knowledge gained operating within the EU and servicing our passionate and growing Gocycle customer and dealer base. Sorry, no NA launch date yet:)
Richard Thorpe - Designer of Gocycle says
Gocycle will come to USA at some stage in the future… and will have benefitted from years of experience and knowledge gained operating within the EU and servicing our passionate and growing Gocycle customer and dealer base. Sorry, no NA launch date yet:)
Michael K. says
Ebikes in general will pay for them selves in about a year with the savings in gasoline and maintenance on your car. This in addition to getting out and getting some exercise are great benefits to using a ebike. It can keep seniors from being stuck at home if they can no longer drive. I have installed a ebike kit on a trike for one our seniors living in our town and they use it every day to get mail or visit friends.
I do not know why they do not have tax incentives for ebikes since they have it for electric cars. Maybe we should write our congressman and ask if this could be done for ebikes as well.