Why Ride an Electric Bike?

An Article From: Liberty Electric Bikes

http://www.iloveebikes.com

The electric bicycle is the transportation of the future - available today. An electric bicycle can replace your 2nd or 3rd car, in some cases even your only car. Your electric bicycle can do a good amount of the trips you're using your car for. Customers use their electric bicycle to go to work on a daily basis, to go across college campus, to go to the tennis court, to go for a joy ride around town or for shopping at your local Walmart.

"Electric bicycles are the new way to get around.."

Your electric bicycle can really do most of your trips as well as or even faster than your car. Make a list of how you use your car. I bet you don't go more than 8 miles 8 out of 10 times and don't have to haul anything but your briefcase, backpack, and a shopping basket of extra stuff. Our new generation electric bicycle is becoming very affordable and is now priced as low as $400 to $ 900 for a reliable vehicle. Electric bicycles are the new way to get around. Electric bicycles will replace your car, bus or train ride for all those shorter distance commutes.

Our typical electric bicycles travel at around 18 mph for about 10-25 miles per charge. Electric bicycles cost about $5 worth of electricity a year. Nothing beats driving one of our electric bicycles past a traffic jam. Electric bicycles take away the hills, the headwinds and getting the thing up to speed part. We carry two types of electric bicycles, power-assist and power-on-demand. Power-assist electric bicycles are designed to do 50% of the work for you. This does not seem like a lot but really works great. They electric bicycles are much lighter than power on demand electric bicycles - they ride and feel just like a non-powered bike. There are no controls, just ride your bike and the system does the rest for you. What a great way to get back in shape or just help out on hills. Power-on-demand electric bicycles can climb a hill without any help from the rider.

"Electric bikes work by assisting your pedaling..."

A twist grip throttle is used to control speed. Power-on-demand bikes are often a bit heavier because of the more powerful motor and battery. Electric bikes work by assisting your pedaling. Electric bikes are heavy-duty bicycles with an added battery-powered electric motor. Although capable of pushing you along without your help, electric bikes perform noticeably better when you pedal, especially with the 24v models. The average "couch potato" can also expect a range of up to 25 miles with minimal effort, with a recharge time of several hours. Do you remember that easy pedaling after you get your bike up to speed? That's the cruising feeling you get all the time with an electric bike. Power, when activated by a switch on the handlebar (power-on-demand) or in response to your pedaling (ped-elec), gives you an immediate, nearly silent push. When you release the switch (or stop pedaling), the motor coasts or "freewheels" like when you stop pedaling a regular bike.

Standard bicycle hand brakes and gearing round out the controls. "Power-on-demand" means just that - no pedaling required! This is how our 48 volt super heavy duty bikes operate. I rode these with a passenger on back for 30 miles with hardly pedaling at all! Although all electric (or "electric-assist") bikes are designed to work with your pedaling, power-on-demand allows you to break the rule. Most of our bikes offer a variable speed control. A "ped-elec" won't deliver motor power unless it senses you are pedaling. Some bikes offer through-the-gearing power assist - i.e. the force of the motor goes through the bike's gearing system which provides better hill-climbing and top-end speed than direct drive systems with the same size motor.

A purpose-built e-bike is designed from the ground up

In the industry, electric bikes come in two basic designs - adaptive and purpose-built. The adaptive type starts with a bicycle and adds a drive system to it. These kits are on ebay for about the price of our purpose-built bikes. A purpose-built e-bike is designed from the ground up. Purpose-built bikes have innovative designs, heavy duty frames, reinforced suspension, heavy-load tires, and built-in features (like head lights and tail lights). Users of both types enjoy easy acceleration, hill climbing, and cutting through headwinds.

Rechargeable batteries, usually sealed lead-acid, provide power for the electric drive motors. Charging costs less than 5 cents of electricity from common 110 VAC wall outlets. Charging time is normally 3 - 8 hours. Most electric bikes have a standard lead acid battery. However, in order to make it lighter, our folding bike (EB-441)comes with the Ni-Mh batteries standard, and with our mountain bike (EB-443), we do have avaiable at an option the Ni-Mh batteries which are last longer and work better in temperatures below freezing. Gasoline bikes, often refered to as mopeds, differ from e-bikes in that they generate more speed, risk, range, noise, pollution, and in some states, legal issues.

Top speed of mopeds is limited by law to 30 mph. Often, a driver's license and registration is required. Also, these gas bikes usually have two-cycle engines, requiring you to mix oil and gasoline. They are nortorius for head gasket and other mechancial problems. The electric bike is much more simple. An electric bike, which by law is limited to a top speed of 20 mph, reduces the risk of serious injury. (For off road, some have speed limiters that can be removed). Its shorter range of 15 - 40 miles (depending on model) is plenty for errands and short commutes. E-bikes are the cleanest motorized vehicles both in terms of air pollution and noise. Their disadvantage compared to gasoline bicycles is that they are slower, and do not work as well with very cold temperatures. If you own a bike, you can motorize it for $500. Or buyone of our purpose-built e-bikes for $600 - $1200. Either way, you can ride your e-bike without a driver's license, vehicle registration, or insurance (check with your local state for their specific rules).

To find out more about Liberty Electric Bikes go to: http://www.iloveebikes.com