Electric Bikes – Motorised transportation for 5 cents a day
Electric Bikes – Motorised transportation for 5 cents a day
Is the price of petrol (gas) and all the wild weather occurring across the global with its resultant increase in serious discussion on global warming and its consequences making you think twice about going out in your car?
Or maybe you are still using it as you think there are few alternatives out there and you don’t want to spend your life waiting for a bus.
Ok I should admit up front that I am a self-confessed Greenie, I was raised that way. I have never owned a car, partly because of the environmental impacts they have but also the running cost of them. I would just rather spend my money on other things and you don’t miss what you have never had.
But lately I’ve been looking around for some sort of personal transport. I’m over the bus thing and I’m still waiting for an environmentally friendly car. So far I haven’t found one I liked and so I went in search of other things.
I need to get to and from work which is about 18km round trip – if I was young and fit I would cycle it, but unfortunately I am neither. For about 8 months I have been catching buses, I need to get two buses to get there and it just takes too long waiting around for connections and I have to leave work early to make the connection for my last bus home.
Today I took a ride on an electric bike, I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to ride and I had heard that they did not do so well on hills.
I was delighted with the ride, it was quiet and smooth. It wasn’t very fast, the maximum speed was about 25km/hr and a distance of 50km on a full battery. You can increase your speed by peddling on this particular bike. And the best news is that it is classified as a bicycle so here in Australia they don’t need to be registered and you don’t need a license for them.
I tested it out on some hills around here and I did have to help it by peddling but it was easy to peddle, it has 6 gears and I never needed to be in first gear. I was comfortably sitting on the seat going up hills that on a normal bike you would have to stand up and peddle hard.
It will take about 5-8 hours to fully charge the battery and I was told it would cost about 5 cents a day for electricity. I will need to replace the batteries in about 18 months at a cost of about $180. So my total running cost will be $11.50 a month. It also has side mirrors, turning indicators and a huge head light
I calculated that buying this electric bike will actually put about $70 a week back in my pocket, that is for bus fare, and lost time at work, and while I am waiting for my connecting bus in town I am usually bored and end up going shopping and buying junk I really don’t need.
Update: It’s a few weeks since I wrote the above and yesterday I purchased the bike. I am delighted with it. After it was delivered I planned to go out on a short ride and ended up riding most of the way to work – to check the route and see how long it would take. As I was peddling on the bike track around the bay, enjoying the sunshine, the seagulls and the boats resting in the bay I had to wonder why I did not make this purchase years ago. A little later as I went flying past the cars edging there way home in peak hour traffic I also had to wonder why anyone would buy a car when my electric bike is so easy, fun, cheap and faster than a car during peak hour.
Want to find out more about electric bikes or get on for yourself? If so ckick on the link below and it will take you to one of amazons electric bikes. If you already have a bike, amazon also has electric bike convertor kits. Jusr click on the link below and you will find links to different bike and kits
2008 EZIP Trailz Men’s Electric Comfort Bike (26-Inch Wheels)
Happy cycling
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Tags:alternative transport,electric bikes,fossil fuels,global warming,green transport,reducing energy,reducing greenhouse gases
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