Why choose an electric bike?

Nowadays, green driving, green travel and green transportation are inevitable for vehicle industries for both cars and bikes. In EU, even now in US, riding a electric bicycle is not only a matter of transportation-choice, but it is a matter of lifestyle. So, the questions come as follow, why e-bike? There are 5 elements that will show you if ebike is the answer.

1. Get exercise

In this increasingly sedentary world, more exercise would be a good thing for many us, and building cycling into your routine is a good way to get exercise. Even on a bicycle with a motor powered for you, you will still get fit unless you choose to run it entirely on the motor. Many electric bicycles require you to turn the pedals for the motor to work anyway, and just turning the pedals will keep joints mobile and burn more calories than sitting in a car or on a bus.

If you want a no-pain-no-gain workout, a standard bike will make you work harder. But will you keep it up? Like a crash diet that leaves you feeling hungry all the time,taking on a long commute or a hilly locality probably means you start off with good intentions, but then start to find excuses to back out, and leave the bike in the shed. An electric bike, like a sensible balanced diet, could help you to maintain your level of activity, meaning that you get more exercise in the long run, using it several times a week. And of course, as you gain fitness, you can choose to use the assistance less and less, perhaps only on the worst hills, or into the strongest headwinds. And with assistance, you might feel able to travel further, increasing the amount of time you spend exercising. Cycling isn't just about physical fitness either - there can be huge benefits in terms of well-being, just from being out in the fresh air, seeing the countryside at a human pace, hearing the birds and experiencing the seasons. An electric bike can help you to do all that, just as a standard bike can.

2. Save money

With the cost of motoring or public transport ever rising, cycling for regular transport is one way to make your money go further. AA figures for petrol or for diesel suggest that the cost of running a car,including fuel, parts, servicing, tolls and so on, is between ￡ 0.26 and ￡ 2.38a mile. For non-assisted bikes, the cost is around 4.2 pence a mile, and for electric bikes it's between 5 and 8 pence a mile. So even assisted cycling is much cheaper than running a private car. Electric bikes do cost a little more than non-assisted bikes to buy in the first place, but they often hold their value well, and if you replace regular short car journeys with cycling, you can recoup the money quite quickly, and gain all the advantages of cycling. In places like London, where congestion charges apply, you will be exempt from them, and you won't have the expense of parking charges. It might be wise to make sure that your bike is insured against theft or damage, of course, and this may be possible through your household insurance, or a specialist scheme such as the ETA which explicitly covers electric bikes.

3. Save time

As with non-assisted cycling, electric bikes can offer door-to-door convenience for commuting and shopping. Rows of cycle parking stands are usually available in the middle of town or outside supermarkets, and if not, you can often find a lampost or sturdy railing to lock your bike to. There's rarely any hunting fora parking space, or finding the right change for the ticket machine. With a basket on your handlebars, you can easily pick up a few odds and ends, and with a good set of panniers on your rack, you can fit in a few carrier bags of groceries. And if you're really keen, then just like a regular bike, an electric bike can tow a trailer, for even more shopping, or a couple of kids!

4. Go further, faster, fresher

Even if you already cycle a little, an electric bike could extend your range,allowing you to do regular trips that you'd struggle to manage otherwise, such as a long commute, or a route that can't avoid the big hills. If you'd like to cycle to work, but are afraid it would leave you too hot and sweaty on arrival,electric assist could allow you to moderate your effort, and still arrive on time. And in the rush hour, bicycles are often faster than cars, because although a car can achieve a higher speed, it's more often stuck in a jam,while the bike filters past or takes advantage of cycle paths and short cuts.For the same reason, journey times by bike can be more reliable, and less subject to delay due to roadworks, or a set of faulty traffic lights.

5. Go green

While electric bikes obviously consume some energy, that consumption is still far less than even the greenest car or motorbike - the only CO2 emitted in use is from your lungs, and there are no fumes from an exhaust pipe. And if you get your power from a green supplier, or even generate your own with a wind turbine or solar panels, an electric bike is truly sustainable. There are also embedded energy costs to an electric bike - and a few nasty materials in some batteries - but the quantities are small, especially compared to most other modes of transport.