For short haul transport the bicycle has always been a favourite. But as we try to travel further, get older or become more unfit cycling is a difficult option. With the use of electric powered bicycles,this is now changing. Unfortunately, as with any new products, there are some misnomers surrounding electric bikes.
This article intends to briefly cover the types of batteries, motors, drives technology and bike choice that is currently available on the Australian market.
When related to weight, electric bikes are best stated as the less you get the more it costs. With lead acid batteries,a full size aluminium electric bike weighing in at around 22kg will cost a lot more than a 40kg steel bike. It is also fair to say that the lighter the bike the more advanced the technology.
In addition to bike “off the shelf” electric bikes there is the option to buy a bike that better suits the rider and then ‘electrify’ it.
So what to look for? Let’s start with the more important factors.
Bike – Ironically when people are looking for an electric bicycle the last thing they tend to look at is the bike itself. Bikes now come in frame sizes and gear ratios and a variety of wheel. There are also a number of styles of bikes. If the bike is too heavy, too big, too high, uncomfortable, etc,there is no point having the best drive technology. So the number one prioritys shuold be bike comfort. For comfortable usage the following considerations need to be prioritised in order of, size of rider, size of wheel, weight, type of bike.
Nothing else matters if the electric bike frame is too big or too small. Bike frames range from 17” right up to 24” for 26” wheel bikes. For the rider to stand feet flat on the ground and cross bar at least 1-2” below crotch,the frame height should be comfortable. Larger wheel bikes are the go if reasonable distances are to be covered. Consider two wheel sizes; on a 26” bike a rider pedals to cover 8km approx, the same rider on a 20” bike will only cover 6km approx due to less distance covered for each rotation of the wheel. This can be a significant difference in the course of a days ride.
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