There are many benefits to riding an electric bike whether health, hygiene or practicality related so we will have a look at the quite substantial list. You don't have to be new to cycling to enjoy the benefits either, electric bikes can give benefits to experienced cyclists also.
All electric bikes in the UK are known as pedal assist which requires you to be pedalling in order to receive assistance and most models will have between 3 and 5 assist levels - the higher the level, the more assistance you will receive up to the UK legal cut off of 15.5mph or 25kph. Even if you were to select the mode for the highest level of assistance, you are still moving your legs which will result in a raised heart rate thus improving fitness and as you reduce the assistance, the more of a workout you will get.
From an article in CyclingUK, cycling (physical exercise) reduces the risk of some types of cancer, Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
This is particularly relevant to commuter cyclists who do not want to exert themselves before arriving at work. Compared to a non-electric bike, an electric bike will reduce the amount of effort you will need to exert to get from A to B.
Another benefit of e bikes that applies to commuter cyclists is that you will arrive at your destination free of sweat due to an electric bike reducing the amount of effort you are required to give. This benefit applies to many of the situations you could use your e bike for such as:-
Work commute - If you do not have access to a shower at work or if you would prefer not to have to use a work shower.
Shopping - it's definitely better to wander around the shop fresh and free of sweat.
School run - dropping the kids off at school on a cargo bike with the potential for running into other parents or friends and you are fresh as a daisy
Parking stress is real! In Edinburgh, like many other large UK cities and towns, parking is either impossible to find, expensive, or you end up parking miles away. With electric bikes, you can usually park very near your destination or inside, as many workplaces now offer secure bicycle storage.
For those that do not have secure bike parking at or near work, a folding ebike can be folded and stored under a desk or in a small closet. Broompton electric bikes would be ideal for this as they ahve the smallest folding mechanism of any electric bike and he battery is easily removed with the push of a button.
One major barrier to more people cycling are hills. Also, honourable mention goes out to the wind too - many a time have I been cycling and wanted to scream in frustration at a strong headwind right in the face. With an electric bike, the hills and the wind are not there. You simply select the appropriate assistance level and breeze through everything mother nature has to throw at you.
Top tip: If you are planning on doing steep hills on an electric bike, it is definitely worth considering a more powerful electric bike motor to ensure you get plenty of assistance. Speak to us for questions on this.
Everyone has their limit of what is considered a long cycle. if you live 5 miles from work and would never dream of cycling this, you could definitely do it on an electric bike. This goes for most distances whether you consider 5, 10, 15 miles a lot. The only consideration then becomes time rather than effort.
For leisure cyclists, you can cover a greater distance and see more of the countryside and maybe explore parts of the country you have never seen by bicycle.
An upright sitting position, such as that on Kalkhoff electric bikes, add to the comfort particularly on longer distances.
Another barrier to starting cycling we find when talking to our customers is that they are worried about their lack of fitness when starting out in cycling. Oftentimes, this will discourage people from even starting as they perceive there to be a certain level they need to be at before taking it up. There's no doubt that any form of physical exercise is more enjoyable when you are relatively fit so this is an incredibly valid point - almost no-one enjoys feeling like their lungs are going to burst (I say "almost" no-one as I do actually know some people that do enjoy it).
Electric bikes remove or vastly lower this initial level of fitness required as the bike can do a lot of the work when you are starting out. As you get fitter, you can lower the amount of assistance you need to get more of a workout and get fitter over time.
Cycing in cities can be quite a daunting experience especially if you are new to cycling, particularly pulling away from a stopped start in and around vehicular traffic like at junctions and traffic lights. Electric bikes help build this confidence as they give you that initial boost when starting up and you can accelerate up to speed very quickly getting you away from junctions and traffic lights with ease.
Compared to driving, getting the train and travelling by bus - there are many ways an ebike can save you money compared to other more popular methods of transport such as cars, trains or buses.
No recurring petrol purchase (the cost to charge an ebike is so low it is practically negligible). The shorter the car journey replaced the better as MPG goes down significantly for shorter journeys.
Vastly less upkeep charges
Insurance is lower for a bicycle and there is no recurring tax bill
An electric bike journey costs less than the equivalent bus ticket.
It is much cheaper to replace a short train journey and you can rely on your electric bike to turn up.
Most electric bikes come with a rear rack for lighter luggage but with incredible new cargo bikes you can carry even more luggage or up to two passengers and further replace the need for car journeys. Many of our customers are using their cargo bikes for transporting the kids to school which is quicker, more fun (for all of you) and you do not have to worry about the car carnage that inevitably appears outside the school gates. With the added cargo space, you can easily fit the weekly shop on a cargo bike as well as any other large items you fancy. I use mine when I'm playing golf and use the rear space to carry my golf clubs.
These passengers are usually younger people on a school run but you can also carry one adult up to a maximum weight of approximately 75kg. This is an excellent option for dropping the kids off at school as this replaces a very short car journey and will absolutely reduce stress.
Numerous studies have shown the positive effects of aerobic exercise (of course, we are biased towards cycling) on mental health. Cycling does tend to be an incredible form of aerobic exercise due to being low impact and is less strenuous on the joints as activities such as running. Cycling and aerobic exercise have been shown to reduce stress and reduce anxiety including boosting your mood.
This one is for the mountain bikers and electric mountain bikes in particular. A lot of mountain bikers love the downhills while the uphill portion is an inconvenient hurdle to achieving these downhills. Enter the electric mountain bike - ire up the assistance lever, power up the hill quickly and with little effort and then enjoy the downhill.
Being on an electric mountain bike also means that you can usually fit in more loops of your favourite trail as the uphills are so much faster. This is why electric mountain bikes are becoming so popular and you are seeing more and more of these on the trails.
Cycling in larger cities and towns, particularly during rush hour is that the same journey will be just as quick as driving (quicker in cities like london and Edinburgh) and is often quicker than getting a bus. This is moreo if you are in an area that you need to get two buses to where you are going.
This is only going to get better and better as cycling infrastructure improves and more paths are available around cities.
To make your electric bicycle even less maintenance, there are various gearing options such as the Enviolo internal stepless gearing with carbon belt drive that does not require oiling and intensive maintenance. These systems are cleaner too.
Many electric bikes will also come with puncture resistant tyres to reduce the need for roadside repairs and a strss free ride.
With low emission zones appearing in many major cities, it could be worth considering getting a bike rather than replacing your car if it doesn't fall under the emission standards required. We hope that these low emission zones will only help to speed up the development of more cycling infrastructure in order to get more people cycling.
In order to tackle climate change, we need to reduce the amount of CO2 produced and based on articles from 'European Cyclists Federation' and 'Energy and Sustainable Solutions' provide some very significant statistics on the production and running CO2 costs from cars, buses, bicycles and electric bikes. Based on these studies, we will have a look at the numbers below.
The two studies above show that the average production cost of a car is 42g of CO2 per kilometer driven while the production of a bicycle is only 5 grams per kilometer cycled. The study unfortunately does not state what the production cost of an electric bike is but the numbers below provide an overall figure for production and running CO2 costs.
Both of the above studies state that cars have the highest per kilometer CO2 running cost at an average of 271 grams CO2 per passenger kilometer for a petrol car (this takes into account average use, average occupancy and production costs). According to ESSmag, this number drops to 168 grams per kilometer for a hybrid car and 104 grams per kilometer for a full electric car. Taking the bus would use 101 grams per kilometer per passenger.
There is a significant drop in CO2 emissions per kilometer when looking at bikes and electric bikes. A non-electric bike emits 21 grams per kilometer of CO2 and en electric bike emits 22 grams per kilometer of CO2.
It seems clear to us that any 'net zero' plan should include more use of bicycles and electric bicycles.
Sources
Cycling UK
ESSMag
European Cyclists Federation
We couldn't possibly claim that there are only benefits of cycling (although the benefits far outstrip the drawbacks) and sometimes overcoming these drawbacks are the hurdles that cast dounbt to people who are considering moving to an electric bike. We will also provide some ways to overcome these obstacles that will further help inform your decision on whether an electric bike is for you.
The cost of a good electric bike will start about the £2000 mark for a reputable brand with reliable and safe electric bike batteries and motors and for some of the more powerful options can go for quite a bit more money. Our suggestion here would be to weigh this up against the cost of the transport option that you currently use and see how quickly the bicycle will pay for itself. For example; you spend £100 per month on petrol so a £2000 bike will have paid for itself in approximately 20 months without even taking into account servicing, tax, insurance etc.
One of the ways to mitigate this initial cost is to opt to spread the payments out. There are two main options to do this when purchasing a bike with us. The first way is to apply for credit through V12 finance which is available at different terms depending on the price of the bicycle. There are interest free options or, if paying the loan off over longer, there are interest bearing options too.
The second way to purchase e bikes is to use the Cycle to Work scheme that is offered through many employers and allows you to lease the bike from your employer with a monthly salary sacrifice over a certain term with the idea being that you will eventually own the bike. The terms are usually specific to individual employers so please get in touch if you would like to discuss this further.
This is one of the main drawbacks to electric bikes as adding the motor and battery adds a significant amount of weight compared to a normal bike. For this reason, people living in flats for example have to consider where they are going to store the bike before commiting to a purchase.
When discussing this with our customers there are actually a few ways around this issue. If you need to get the bike up stairs or manoeuvredinto sheds or tight spaces there are two main options available. The first is to go for one of the new lighter electric bikes that can weight as low as 16kg while still supplying decent assistance and battery life. The downside to these bikes is that they are not as powerful as some of the heavier e bikes and do not have the battery life.
The second option for a lighter and more manoeuvrable e bike is to go for electric folding bikes - Brompton bicycles produce a lightweight and compact foldable electric bike that can be folded and stored under a desk, in a cupboard, car boot etc. These electric folding bikes can be a great option for those that want to take the car to a point and cycle the rest of the way.
This ties in closely to the extra weight point above but for a different reason. Handling is king on electric mountain bikes and adding the extra weight of the battery and motor affects handling so you will not get as sharp handling as a non electric mountain bike. That's the trade off of being able to blast up hills. It is worth mentioning that despite the extra weight, an electric mountain bike will still handle well due to the advanced design and keeping the weight low and the centre of gravity lower to still get a fun ride.
One way to mitigate this and still have some assistance uphills is to opt for a 'superlight' electric mountain bike, such as the Specialized Turbo Levo range, that reduces the weight to as low as 16kg to get the best of both worlds - handling vs assistance. These bikes come with a slightly less motor power and a smaller battery to reduce weight. Most of these superlight bikes have the capacity to add a range extender to get more battery capacity for a longer assisted ride.
This is definitely one of the frequently discussed issues when discussing purchasing e bikes. Since the covid 19 pandemic, bike theft has increased at an alarming rate and because electric bikes are more valuable, they are targeted more by thieves but thankfully there are a few options to protect yourself and your electric bike.
With the increase in bicycle theft, bike lock companies have also upped their game by producing incredibly strong locks with added features such as 'anti angle grinder' technology. Some of these locks are rated Diamond Sold Secure that are also rated for motorcycles. These locks cost more but we feel this is a small price to pay to protect your £2000 plus electric bike.
Due to the significant investment to by an electric bike, we would always recommend insuring e bikes against theft as no lock is impenetrable.
We mentioned folding bikes earlier in the article and these can be a great option for protecting yourself against theft as folding bikes can easily be taken indoors into an office, your home and public transport. If you are keeping your bike indoors, you would vastly reduce the chances of getting it stolen.
Recently, there have been numerous reports in the media about electric bike fires and the damage caused by these so it is a topic we have to cover here.
These fires have beeen caused by aftermarket or inferior batteries and motors. All of the electric bicycles we choose to stock have rigorously tested their batteries and motors to the highest standards and we are absolutely confident in all of the batteries and motors on all of the electric bikes we sell.
To be confident in the safety of your electric bike, we would recommend only buying reputable brands from reputable companies. Manufacturers such as Bosch, Shimano, Yamaha, Brose and all of the brands we stock have exemplary records when it comes to electric bike motors and ebike batteries.
Here, we check the internet to check the most frequently asked questions about electric bikes and attempt to answer these as best we can. Here are the top ficve that woul found related to buying e bikes.
There are a wide range of electric bike prices available but the lowest priced electric bikes we feel confident in the quality and safety of are £1999 and come with rear hub motors but some of the best electric mountain bikes can cost you more than £10,000. There are various price points in between that offer different specifications depending on your electric bike needs.
For more money you will usually get a more powerful motor assistance, mid drive motors, a larger battery capacity and the componentry of the bicycle such as the gears and the brakes will improve (disc brakes are definitely worth the money). For electric mountain biking the forks and shock account for a large portion of the price.
A two part question here as I take this in two ways - 'How long does an electric bike last on one charge?' and 'How long does an electric bike last for a lifetime?'.
This question depends on the size of the battery capacity. The sizes of batteries on the bikes we sell start from 320Wh (Watt Hours) and go up to 1250Wh for some of the larger Riese & Muller cargo bikes (double battery). The largest single battery bikes we sell are 750Wh.
The rough way we calculate how far these batteries will go is to divide by 10 and that's the approximate mileage that they will provide. So a 500Wh battery will give approximately 50 miles on a charge.
Top Tip: When looking at manufacturer websites, they will always quote a best case scenario when listing the range a bike will get; e.g. flat route, only eco assist mode used, dry roads, lightweight rider etc. The method described above is much more valuable in determining an approximate real-world mileage the bike will give.
The reason these distances are approximate is because there are many factors that affect this number which we will list below:
Rider Weight - carrying more weight on your bicycle will inevitably use more battery.
Assistance mode used - Using a higher assistance mode will run the battery down a lot quicker as the motor is working harder and hence draining more battery. It is important when riding e bikes to manage the motor power by changing to the appropriate mode rather than just leaving this in a high mode for the duration of your ride. Giant and some of the Bosch smart system motors have an automatic assist mode that will adjust the output depending on your input to the pedals and will help manage the battery capacity.
Cargo carried - Similar to how rider weight affects the battery, so does the cargo carried. The heavier the cargo, the higher the mode of assist that will be required and the more battery that will be drained. There's not so much you can do to mitigate this aside from choosing an appropriate battery size when purchasing the bike and being on top of charging the bike.
Hills climbed - Uphills will require more motor power delivery to get you and your cargo up there so a route with more hills will require more motor power and battery capacity so this will drain the battery quicker.
Cadence - I always tried to discuss this with anyone I sold an electric bike to as this is really important in maximising the life of your battery on a single charge. Your cadence (speed your legs turn) is a major factor in determining how much battery is drained. The higher the cadence (faster legs) the less stress there will be on the motor and battery and less battery capacity will be used. Many people use a very low cadence and do not understand how their battery is running down so quickly.
Battery Health - A new battery will provide more mileage than an older battery as all batteries will naturally degrade over time regardless of how well you look after electric bike batteries.
Here we will discuss the lifetime of an electric bike and further in this section we will provide some tips on how to maximise the life of your battery.
As we mentioned in the last point in the previous section, all batteries will naturally degrade over time so the capacity will gradually reduce over the years so this is the main factor in determining the lifetime of e bikes. Literature from the main electric motor and battery brands states that after approximately 1000 charge cycles, the battery will have around 60% capacity remaining if it is looked after. One charge cycle is a full charge from empty so assuming you charge the in full bike twice a week, you battery would be down to 60% in 500 weeks or just less than 10 years. After this time, all of the best electric bikes brands would still have replacement batteries available if you wanted to just replace the battery and continue to use the bike.
E bikes are very good for day to day use and as this entire article has explored, are better for physical health, mental health, cost, reducing your carbon footprint, increasing heart health and many more.
Due to the electric assistance, you can easily use an e bike every day due to the reduced effort between A and B so you can still have extra energy left over and still have cycled all week.
More and more people are opting for e bikes for commuting, leisure riding, shopping and dropping kids off at school thus replacing more car journeys with a healthier, less stressful, greener and more fun alternative.
The answer to this is that it is a lot less than most people think. Using a formula from the Raleigh website, the way to work out the cost is to multiply the kWh of your e bike battery by the unit price per kWh (kilowatt hour) from your energy provider.
For the purposes of this, I have used my bike battery which is 650Wh (0.650kWh) and multiplied this by the current average unit price per kWh (24.5 pence per Kwh as of 20th August 2024) so the total cost to me to fully charge my 650Wh battery is 15.9 pence. It is worth saying that a 650Wh battery is one of the larger sizes so most batteries will be less than this.
Thanks internet - this is one heck of a vague question and we would usually concentrate on what you can do rather that what you can't but here goes. We will keep it to things you shouldn't do in order to avoid damaging yourself or your bike.
Don't submerge the motor and/or battery - Unfortunately this is actually quite common. Just because the motor and battery are water resistant, does not mean they are waterproof. Please do not ride through streams or puddles deep enough to submerge any of the electrics.
Don't ignore the rules of the road - Please be a responsible road user and look out for other as well as yourself.
Don't take the bike where it is not designed to go - Sticking to the electric bike's intended purpose will proling the life of the bike and electrics. Hybrids can go on light gravel buit best to keep them off mountain bikes trails and so forth.
Don't deregulate - Deregulating the motor will result in the bike going faster than the maximum speed of 15.5mph but this will then not comply with UK reglations of what makes electric bikes legal. As well as now being illegal, it will void any warranties with the bike and it will vastly reduce the life of the battery and, most likely, the motor.
Don't leave it unlocked - Electric bikes are well sought after by thieves so always err on the side of caution when leaving your e bike unattended. This particularly applies to universities, hospitals and stairwells (in fact, we wouldn't recommend leaving any bikes in stairwells as there is nothing substantial to lock them to and any would-be thieves have uniterrupted time to get at the bike and lock.
