Until recently, the very idea of combining pedaling and motor power which is termed as “electric bike” was just considered as a fad in the transportation world. But with healthy lifestyle and easy travel gaining more prominence, e-bikes industry is all set to take off and the whopping sales figure over the past few years is a clear testament of this.
Electric bicycles hit the road: Statistics
A recent study on this industry predicts global sales of e-bikes to reach approximately 40 million units by 2023. Electric bicycles are already widely used in Europe and China, going to the extent that there are more e-bikes than cars on their roads. Moreover, from past few years, e-bike manufacturers are aggressively marketing this new generation technology in the U.S. as a “green” alternative to driving. Consequently, there has been some outstanding outcomes, as Americans bought as many e-bicycles as they did electric cars last year.
Read more on electric cars and autonomous driving
E-bicycles: The sustainable mode of transport
The outstanding growth and progress of electric bikes raise one common question: Can electric bikes help solve big environmental issues? The industry which is striving to enter the emerging economies says e-bikes will reduce air pollution, traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, while encouraging the overweight and obese people to become lead a more active life. Thus, not only do E-bikes help in better management of one’s health, but it also brings down the carbon footprint. This is why developers are efficiently marketing E-bicycles are one of the most sustainable modes of transport.
How are E-bikes revamping the urban mobility?
With cities growing at an unprecedented rate across the world, it is quite obvious that urban commute needs a complete revamp with the dual goal of easy travel and healthy lifestyle. Combine this with the importance of combating climate change and increasing sustainable mobility, the need for electric bicycles is no doubt more and more in the modern-day world. A bicycle attached with a motor, control system and batteries is surely changing the way we commute.
This game-changing technology is growing into a ubiquitous alternative to cars for city commute in Europe and steadily catching up in North America. E-bikes offer several benefits over bikes and cars in short city commutes and takes away the downside of a standard bicycle. The motor built in the electric bicycle assists in riding the bike by taking a percentage of peddling loads, making riding fast, comfortable and tackling the steep terrain.
The modern e-bicycles use powerful, rechargeable, and lightweight lithium-ion batteries, which are stronger, lighter and safer than previous battery types. A fully charged battery can last between 30 and 100 kilometers, based on the bicycle model, general relief of the terrain, and weight of the cyclist. Similarly, digitization, connectivity, and Big Data will give this groundbreaking invention a massive boost in future, and all of the aspects of the bicycle will be easily controlled with a simple engine control unit (ECU).
Wrapping it up
There is no denying the fact that the state of transportation is changing globally. The car-driving bubble has burst, and now people are looking for alternatives which can deliver clean and sustainable ways of travel. With this radical shift in transport and immense growth projections globally, it is quite safe to say that e-bicycles are here to stay and perhaps the future of urban mobility.
