Editor's note: this is part four of a five-part series from Coast Reporter and Transportation Choices (TraC ) concerning commuter cycling on the Sunshine Coast during the annual Bike To Work Week May 27 to 31.
A new wave of alternative transportation is taking hold in the Lower Mainland, and it's spreading to the Coast, with good reason. Imagine biking to your work or a doctor's appointment in regular clothes, on time, and without a drop of sweat?
Quiet, fast, easy to ride and pennies to recharge, electric bikes take the grunt out of hills, and that's got to be good news for Coasters! You get to pedal for exercise, but with a boost. In B.C., 500W motors with top speeds of 32 km/h are permitted. That's two thirds of a horsepower under your saddle with a torque sensor that measures and boosts your own effort.
Purists contend bikes are already efficient, so why mess with a good thing?
A Dutch study showed that a bicycle use about three times less energy than walking and 40 times less than driving the same distance. E-bikes utilize an electric assist to enhance that efficiency and encourage higher ridership.
For $1,200 to $5,000 you can retrofit a bike with a BionX kit; assemble your own using resources from www.ebike.ca or choose from brands like Giant, Trek, Pedego, eMotion, Stromer, iZip, and Eflow. Our local bike retailers are already offering several options. Local Kranked filmmaker Bjorn Enga has also designed a downhill version with no trucking needed! (www.krankedbikes.com/erides).
With such a focus these days on transportation solutions that reduce congestion, improve health, lower emissions and air pollution, e-bikes are worth a second look.
For free registration to Bike To Work Week 2013, go to www.biketowork.ca and click on the tab "Register Team"
