BIKE: Electric bikes start to catch on

[Thorne]

I'm in favor of motor-assisted bikes for those who want to use them.  But the
idea of segregating bike or motorized bikes from the rest of traffic for
safety reasons is a false hope.  Cyclists are safer mixed in with traffic
following traffic laws than they are on the segregated facilities.  Getting
bike-centric isn't a matter of facilities so much as a matter of getting out
and riding.  Surely, the roadways should be designed with bicycle traffic in
mind, but I'll remind you that every lane you see is a bike lane.

------ Original Message ------
Received: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 01:51:40 PM CST
From: Roger Baker <rcbaker>
To: Austin Bikes <forum>Cc: 
Subject: BIKE: Electric bikes start to catch on

[This article announces the arrival of the motorbike; the more sensible 
and practical alternative to the Segway. From my point of view, the 
city ought to take the lead in making MANY Austin streets into VERY 
safe streets for both bikes and electric motorbikes (I consider bikes 
dangerous in Austin and I think Lance Armstrong agrees) in accord with 
the safety standards described below. Discouraging and slowing commuter 
traffic through central Austin ought to be a major concern, IMO. One of 
the best ways to do that is to calm and slow down traffic on most 
central city roads and streets by design, with bike room reserved and 
marked off. This will encourage infill, denser and more 
transit-friendly development, and the goals of Envision Central Texas. 
Plus help us survive peak oil.

Screw TxDOT and their racetrack arterials!  (These are designed to 
facilitate inefficient land use and cut-through suburban commuting 
while bleeding the core city of the property taxes so important in our 
state with its creaky quaint reliance on property taxes). Go watch "The 
End of Suburbia" if you still don't see the big picture and why TxDOT's 
policies are doomed to fail, as many of us think they already are.

In short, I think Austin city policy should evolve toward bike-centric 
road standards, with cars increasing being permitted to travel as 
guests who are allowed to visit so long as they are well-behaved. -- 
Roger]

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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/31/automobiles/31SCOO.html?oref=login

  By CHRIS DIXON
  
  


Published: December 31, 2004

YOU just turn the key," said Kevin Penrose, pointing to the L.E.D. 
controls on a flat-black, well-wired mountain bike outside Electric 
Cyclery, his tiny, nondescript shop on the Pacific Coast Highway in 
Laguna Beach, Calif. "The thumb lever is the throttle, and this button 
is for turbo mode. If you go downhill, the blue light will show when 
the regenerative charging kicks in."

  These days, a visit to Costco, Wal-Mart, a local auto-parts store or 
even eBay will present you with what may seem a baffling array of 
two-wheel electric vehicles that promise to make commuting a breeze, or 
serve as the best toy a kid ever had. Aside from having two wheels, the 
common thread among these personal electric vehicles, or P.E.V.'s, is a 
24- or 36-volt lead-acid or nickel metal hydride battery, a 250- to 
1,500-watt electric motor and the ability to go as fast as 40 miles per 
hour and as far as 40 miles on a single charge.

  Sales of P.E.V.'s, have increased anywhere from 40 to 200 percent 
annually over the last three or four years in the United States, said 
Seth Leitman, an alternative transportation consultant for New York 
State and, more recently, a P.E.V. retailer. And even though much of 
the market is made up of inexpensive imports that can be unreliable (in 
September, Target stores announced the recall of nearly 75,000 of its 
$200 Chinese-made Red Dragon and E-Scooters), a significant portion of 
it is composed of more expensive, powerful machines that offer the 
range, sturdiness and reliability to serve as genuine transportation 
aids. Mr. Penrose said that at his store he was having no trouble 
finding customers for his two-wheel stand-up electric scooters, larger, 
sit-down electric motorcycles and the wired-up mountain bike he was 
showing, the WaveCrest Tidal Force.

  With the exception of its wires and a pair of foot-diameter black 
disks at the center of each wheel, the Tidal Force is a high-end, 
front-suspension mountain bike whose folding frame was designed for 
military use. The front disk holds a 36-volt nickel metal hydride 
battery, and the rear contains a 750-watt direct-drive motor that runs 
at 89 percent efficiency.

  On a recent test run, the bike almost silently shot up the steep 
incline of a street near the store with no pedaling whatsoever. Shifted 
into pedaling gear as it reached the crest of a hill and started on the 
downgrade, the bike hit around 30 miles an hour. Without pedaling, it 
easily held 20. Then, on a steeply inclined fire road, the sensation of 
quietly flying up an unpaved mile-long hill that normally requires a 
granny gear was amazing. The bike's solid feel on the way down was just 
as impressive.

  At $1,500 to $3,000, a WaveCrest can be an expensive option for those 
looking for an electric bike. There are many other options, ranging 
from other electric bicycles to stand-up scooters to Vespa-style 
e-motorbikes. Miles per charge and power to the ground vary greatly, 
but a good bike or scooter should take you at least 10 miles on a 
charge. It should also be able to recharge in three to six hours.

  One of the country's largest P.E.V. dealerships is NYCE Wheels in 
Manhattan. The manager, Mike Dolan, said that business at the store, 
which sells and services higher-end P.E.V.'s, is growing. "More people 
want these," he said. "Gas prices are going through the roof and taxis 
are more expensive. Once people realize that they can get anywhere in 
the city on their own terms, it becomes a really attractive option."

  Mr. Dolan said that he had just sold a WaveCrest 750 mountain bike to 
a trail rider from New Jersey and a Goped ESR 750 stand-up scooter to a 
city messenger. Both these American-made products and the 
Taiwanese-made eGo electric motorbike are among Mr. Dolan's 
best-sellers.

  Although local laws vary, there are generally three legal 
classifications for P.E.V.'s. The simplest two-wheel P.E.V.'s are small 
stand-up scooters that occasionally offer seats. In most parts of the 
country, these machines may be ridden on public roads where the speed 
limit does not exceed 25 m.p.h., so long as their own speed cannot 
exceed 20 m.p.h.

rash of miniature "pocket rocket" motorcycle accidents led to an 
ordinance that outlawed all gas-powered scooters and mini-motorcycles. 
In a last-minute appeal, electric scooter riders were able to persuade 
the city to make an exception for riding on public streets so long as 
speeds were electronically limited to 15 m.p.h. They may not be used on 
sidewalks.

  Depending on the jurisdiction, riders of electric bicycles are 
generally able to avoid any legal restrictions if their bikes do not 
exceed 20 or 30 m.p.h., and larger, Vespa-size electric motorbikes must 
generally be lighted, blinkered, insured and licensed just like their 
gasoline-powered counterparts.

  The Web site visforvoltage.com, perhaps the best clearinghouse for 
information on P.E.V.'s, and a few calls to Mr. Penrose's customers 
suggested that range and power are the keys to happy cruising.

  For Julie London, 43, of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., a WaveCrest has 
meant freedom from the ravages of early-onset Parkinson's disease. 
Formerly an avid cyclist and racer, Ms. London was forced off her bike 
a few years ago by fatigue from Parkinson's. "I was absolutely amazed 
when I rode one," she said. "I was literally overcome with emotion 
because it was like getting my life back again. I was laughing 
uncontrollably for, like, 15 minutes. Now I ride mine pretty much every 
day. It'll go 20 miles per hour, and if I'm too tired to pedal, I don't 
have to. It's actually easier for me to ride than driving my car."

  Ken Trough, a Web developer from Bellingham, Wash., was so taken with 
P.E.V. technology that he created the visforvoltage Web site. Mr. 
Trough makes a five-mile daily trip to work aboard a powerful Badsey 
Hotscoot stand-up scooter. "I like personal electric vehicles because 
they don't directly challenge the automotive manufacturing base," he 
said. "It's very subversive technology. It gets people thinking about 
electric vehicles. Once people find out what a good product this is, 
what it can mean in their lives, in their living spaces and what it can 
do for their transportation budgets and quality of life, I think it's a 
no-brainer. You get more smiles per mile."







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