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Commuters beat the high price of gas with hybrid electric bikes

By John Lehndorff, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 14, 2008 at 3 p.m.

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After his workday at Denver Wastewater, John McLinden rides his electric bike 6 miles to his home in northwest Denver.

Video Video: After his workday at Denver Wastewater, John McLinden rides his electric bike 6 miles to his home in northwest Denver. Watch »

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At the beginning of the summer, John McLinden had a problem. Actually, make that two or three problems.

The 59-year-old Denver resident wanted to get some exercise.

He was annoyed at high gas prices.

He was also committed to finding a greener way to commute six miles to work as a plumbing-inspection supervisor at Denver Wastewater.

However, the obvious solution - riding a bicycle - was out of the question.

"I've got problems in both knees. Pedaling a regular bike was too painful," McLinden said.

He discovered the answer online: a power-assisted bicycle, or "e-bike."

An e-bike is not a motorcycle, a moped, a scooter or a Vespa. It's a hybrid electric vehicle that looks very much like a standard bicycle.

The battery-powered motor helps riders accelerate and go up hills, but they still have to pedal.

The National Bicycle Dealers Association estimates that 10,000 electric bikes were sold in the U.S. in 2007, up from 6,000 in 2006. According to the Electric Bikes Worldwide Report, about 300,000 electric bikes are in use in the U.S. By comparison, about 70 million are on the road in China.

When McLinden looked for a local source of e-bikes, he said, he was surprised that there were none in Denver.

Zero, zilch, nada.

The nearest dealer was Bird Electric Bikes, in Aurora. There's also a shop in Boulder, 21 Wheels, and a dealer in Longmont, Small Planet E-Vehicles.

Dale Barnes, owner of Bird Electric Bikes, had McLinden test-drive several models before he settled on a comfortable, slightly recumbent bike.

"It leaves me sitting upright like in a chair, not bent over at all," McLinden said. He likes the fact that it has an adjustable built-in torque sensor or power controller that gives riders as much or as little assistance as they desire.

"I keep on pedaling anyway to get a workout," he said, adding that he sticks to designated bike paths when commuting or going to the grocery store.

Pedaling with resistance recharges the battery, as does putting on the brakes when going down a hill. McLinden figures he saves $25 to $30 a week on gas.

Barnes said Denver-area bicycle stores don't offer e-bikes, only real bikes.

"Most bike shops won't sell them. The purists - we call 'em the bike Nazis - think it's sacrilegious to ride an electric bike. When someone asks for one, they don't just get a 'no,' they get a rude 'no,' " said Barnes, who's as much an enthusiast as a retailer. He actually makes his living renting RVs.

"I've been riding one of the bikes to work every day since we started selling them," he said. "It's so easy you feel like you're a kid again riding around the neighborhood."

He's sold an average of 100 bikes a year since he started in 2002 and expects the number to double this year, in part because the technology has improved so much.

"Some of the early bikes were hard to pedal without power. They weighed 80 or 90 pounds - now they're half that. The batteries are much lighter and stronger and can go 20 to 60 miles on one charge."

The cost is a modest 10 to 20 cents a day for recharging the battery, and the carbon footprint is relatively small.

Because of high demand, many brands of factory-made e-bikes are hard to find at shops and online. Barnes now primarily takes regular bikes - ones he sells as well as favorite bicycles that riders already own - and installs a conversion kit made by a Canadian company, BionX.

For the nascent e-bike industry, the road ahead looks promising if only because of one painful statistic: Nearly 45 percent of U.S. adults will develop arthritis of the knee, according to the journal Arthritis Care & Research, reported by Reuters on Sept. 3.

That's a lot of potential riders who want to hear "yes," not "no."

lehndorffj@RockyMountainNews.com, 303-954-5103. The Associated Press contributed to this story.

How they work

Electric bikes function like typical two-wheelers, but with a battery-powered assist.

The principle behind electric bikes is akin to that behind hybrid cars: Combine the conventional technology - in this case, old-fashioned pedaling - with a battery-powered motor.

The net result is a vehicle that rides a bit like a scooter, with some legwork required.

Most models have a motorcycle- like throttle that gives a boost while going up hills or accelerating from a stop. On some models, the motor kicks in automatically and adjusts its torque based on how hard the rider pedals.

Most models can go at least 20 miles before plugging in to recharge. Although the cost of electricity can vary, fully recharging the battery on a typical model costs less than a dime.

Electric bikes: A shopper's guide

Electric bikes range in price from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand, with many brands and models available online. Kits that convert standard bicycles into electric bikes are also available. Denver-area resources include:

* Bird Electric Bicycles, 23954 E. Archer Place, Aurora; 303-363-6887, birdebike.com

- Giant brand electric bicycles, about $2,100

- Giant, Fuji, Montague and Swiss brand bikes retrofitted with BionX kit, $1,425 to $2,520

- BionX bike conversion kits (not including bicycle), $1,095 to $1,695

* 21 Wheels, 3970 Broadway, Suite B4, Boulder; 303-544- 0025, 21wheels.com

- IZIP bikes, $750 to $1,500

- Wilderness Energy Bike Conversion Kits, about $600

- Also: solar bike headlights, electric bike charging stations, Segways and pedicabs

* Small Planet E Vehicles, 1811 Hover St., Longmont; 303-532-2879, smallplanet earth.com

- A2B, Europa, Portia and ElecTrec bikes, $999 to $1,799

- Also: electric scooters, trucks and cars

* OptiBike, Boulder; 303-443- 0932, optibike.com

- Custom-built, high- performance electric bikes, $5,000 to $13,000

* NYCeWheels is a Web site that offers a variety of electric bikes, including Rayos, Xootr and Ezee brands, as well as conversion kits. nycewheels.com

For more information:

The best Web site on electric bikes that we've found is electric-bikes. com/bikes. It includes details on personal and environmental advantages, brands and models, traffic law and e-bike repair.

The law and electric-assist bike

In general, motor-assisted bicycles go no faster than 20 mph (under power) and may travel any route their pedal-only counterparts traverse, including bike-only lanes.

That is, unless a particular state, county or city passes a law specifically banning "motorized vehicles" from designated bike paths, as is the case in Boulder and Denver.

"The city of Boulder does not allow electric bikes on the bike paths unless the motor is off," said Martha Rozkowski, program manager for Go Boulder, the city's alternative-transportation department. "But you can use electric-assist bikes on bike lanes on streets."

For those whose job it is to promote alternative transportation, the plethora of new vehicles is "a big headache," she said. "It's really pretty complex, which vehicles you allow where.

"We're seeing many more electric bikes, more Vespas, Segways, scooters and toy vehicles (like motorized skateboards) since the price of gas went up. I think we're going to have to revisit the issue soon."

Comments

  • September 14, 2008

    5:13 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jamesdenver writes:

    ebikes are nice - but any able bodied person can cover the same distance in about the same time on a regular bike at far less cost and better health gains.

    I average about 12-16 miles an hour, which may not sound like much, but downtown its really not much slower than driving. And I always have a place to park.

    james http://www.futuregringo.com

  • September 15, 2008

    8:40 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    kodijack writes:

    One more type of transportation to be ridden on the streets, blocking the people that actually pay for the road. Please, make sure and use the bike paths, that is what they are for.

  • September 15, 2008

    9:04 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    ashanab writes:

    "kodijack writes:

    One more type of transportation to be ridden on the streets,blocking the people that actually pay for the road. Please, make sure and use the bike paths, that is what they are for."

    All taxpayers pay for the roads, not just people that drive cars. Bicycles, electric or not, are legally required to use the streets when there isn't a bike lane present.

  • September 15, 2008

    9:07 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Hambone writes:

    I think your Hummer blocks the way far more than any electric bike.

  • September 15, 2008

    9:08 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    CWW writes:

    Many of us have the same problem as Mr. McLinden----bad knees, so biking is not an option. The ebike sounds like it could be a viable answer.

  • September 15, 2008

    9:24 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Cwillyrun1 writes:

    ashanab writes:

    "All taxpayers pay for the roads, not just people that drive cars. Bicycles, electric or not, are legally required to use the streets when there isn't a bike lane present."

    That's only as long as they can maintain a safe minimum speed. Bike riders are also supposed to obey traffic laws that vehicles have to obey, like not going through a red light, or using hand signals to let others know what the bike riders intentions are when they're in traffic lanes. Bike riders also like to use crossing signals even if they're supposed to dismount the bike and walk it across the intersection when they're on sidewalks. I really don't see bike riders doing any of that often.

  • September 15, 2008

    9:48 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    NeilT writes:

    Dan2,

    Good point!

    DOW Chemical raised prices across the board ~50% not long ago. Their CEO said they wouldn't look at lowering prices unless oil dropped below $100. Well, what say you now, King of Chemicals?

    This is every bit as significant as the price at the pump. DOW pricing effects everyone of us, because their chemicals are in everything.

  • September 15, 2008

    10:13 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    robinbird666 writes:

    I grow weary of people calling those who strictly disagree with someone's view as an "(insert here) Nazi."

    It's annoying and disrespectful to those who were killed and especially those who survived the Nazi regime and its death camps.

    There's simply nothing funny about it.

  • September 15, 2008

    10:21 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jamesdenver writes:

    robinbird666: Agree 100%

    kodijack: Unless I'm sitting the traffic lane playing backgammon, I'm not BLOCKING the road.

    Bikes are transportation. I go to the grocery store, work, do errands, all by bike. Most bike paths access trails and fields rather than roads, where businesses I frequent are located.

    Deal with it.

  • September 15, 2008

    12:38 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    FU writes:

    Cwillyrun1 - you're wrong about the minimum speed. Read the law: <http://bicyclecolo.org/page.cfm?PageI....

    Drivers break plenty of laws as well.

    I'd also like to add that you'll almost never see a biker text-messaging while riding...

  • September 15, 2008

    8:35 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Francesca writes:

    Cool for McLinden and his e-bike. Great you've found an alternative mode of transportation. Good on you!

    jamesdenver and FU: All good points, but the vehicle vs. bicycle argument never goes anywhere beneficial.

    The anti-bike poster(s) rant because they cannot possibly relate to being out there on a bike, on the road, where it can get pretty dicey at times. They point fingers at careless, inconsiderate -- and now even those that don't meet minimum speeds -- (ROTFLMAO!) cyclists as a flawed argument to not allow bicycles on roadways. True there are some bad apples, but most cyclists are law abiding and pretty careful because one can lose one's life otherwise. A 19 lb. Motobecane against an 8,500 lb. F250? Doesn't matter whose fault it is.

    Flip the coin. To use the anti-bike logic, the same can easily be said for bad drivers out there, so is that a reason then to ban cars? There are more than enough crappy drivers running red lights and stop signs, not using turn signals, speeding (that's exceeding maximum speed for you CWilly) and road raging. How about road damage, pollution, demand for gasoline?

    What's even more amazing is how certain drivers feel entitled to the road by virtue of tax payments alone, even though the vast majority of cyclists also pay taxes on registered vehicles and property they own.

    I'd love to get on my horse and ride him to work, but there is no place to leave him for the day. Dang it.

    If we could all just get along.