Power-assisted bikes
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Electric or other motor-assisted bicycles can be great for people who need a bit of extra help to get up hills or carry a heavy load of groceries home, or travel a longer distance.
E-bikes zoom in Switzerland
31 August 2010. Electric bicycles are booming in Switzerland with sales doubling each year and now one in seven bikes sold is electric.
Last year 10,000 more E-bikes were sold than the total number of road bikes.
The battery assisted bikes have caught on for a number of reasons, but their multi functional use is a major attraction, especially in regions where hills are a challenge, but also in cities where the second car is being dumped as a result of sustainability concerns.
So popular are E-bikes that for certain models the wait is up to three months.
At the largest Swiss producer, Biketec company executives are planning to nearly double the size of its factory in the town of Huttwil in canton Bern after only a year into operation. The Swiss-made e-bike is also a success in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria.
“According to experts, sales of electric bikes should make up 30 per cent of all new bicycle sales in Switzerland, compared with 10-15 per cent today,” says Kurt Schär, Biketec managing-director.
In the Netherlands, the electric-bike has a 20 per cent market share, while it is only 4-5 per cent in Germany.
The technical evolution of E-bikes is a major reason they have become so popular. The first lead batteries weighed between 10 and 15 kilograms and needed to be recharged after only 20 kilometres. Nowadays, lightweight (2.5-4kg) lithium batteries allow cyclists to travel around 60km.
The lifespan of the battery depends on how it’s used, but on average it’s three to four years or around 20,000km. Although replacement batteries are expensive it is a cheap mode of transport compared to motor vehicles.
Earlier electric motorized bicycles were mostly be power-on-demand, where the motor is activated by a handlebar mounted throttle.
But new standards favour the “pedelec” (from pedalelectric), where the electric motor is regulated by pedalling. These have a sensor to detect the pedalling speed, the pedalling force, or both.
Range is a key consideration with electric bikes, and is affected by factors such as motor efficiency, battery capacity, efficiency of the driving electronics, aerodynamics, hills and weight of the bike and rider. The range of an electric bike is usually stated as somewhere between 7 km (uphill on electric power only) to 70 km (minimum assistance) and is highly dependent on whether or not the bike is tested on flat roads or hills.
Shimano goes with the current
21 June 2010. The move of e-bikes into the mainstream has got a massive charge with industry giant Shimano releasing a complete range of components for use with standard bicycles.
The system stands out because its use of advanced electronics, but most significantly because the equipped bicycle remains in every respect a standard bicycle with bike handling and ease of use.
The front hub contains a 250 watt motor which also regenerates power into the battery when the brakes are activated, or when coasting downhill.
In line with the emerging world standard, power assist cuts out at 25km/h.
A sensor in the bottom bracket is linked to an eight speed hub-gear which can shift electronically via activation buttons on the handlebar, although standard rear derailleur options will be available.
A bike computer gives you an overview of e-bike functions such as riding mode and battery power, along with a gear indicator, speedometer and odometer.
New e-bike rules in Victoria
29 April 2010. VicRoads has clarified the rules on what can and can't power an electrically assisted bicycle.
The new rules, published in the Government Gazette on 21 April 2010, also clamp down on electrically powered scooters that were pretending to be bikes and travelling in the bike lane.
Under the regulations the maximum power permitted for e-bikes and e-scooters is 200 watts.
A e-bike is referred to as "a bicycle to which is fitted one auxiliary motor that has, or more than one auxiliary motor that have in combination, a maximum ungoverned and continuous rated power output of 200 watts or less."
The new law means that electric scooters capable of more than 10kph will have to be registered to travel on the road.
The gazettal comes just days before the announcement of the new European standard for e-bikes.
It is expected that all Australian States will move to adopt the new European standard.
E-bikes have tremendous potential in Australia, but so far they have failed to take off. The lack of a proper national standard has resulted in the the bike industry delaying the introduction of mass produced high quality e-bikes.
For the industry to be successful these bikes need to be available in every bike shop where maintenance is professional and top brands such as Giant, Trek and Gazelle are available in e-bike models, as they now are in Europe.
Electric bikes to spark tourists
1 April 2010. Melbourne journalist and photographer Murray Johnson has launched Melbourne’s first electric bike tours.
His company Real Melbourne has started daily three-hour “urban adventures” to places like St Kilda and Abbotsford Convent on French-designed electric Easybikes.
The Easybikes feature a twist-grip throttle like a motorbike, as well as “pedal assist technology” which kicks in automatically as you pedal.
Murray says it is like riding a normal bike downhill with the wind behind you – even when you’re going uphill.
Real Melbourne Electric Bike Tours will initially run 2.30 to 5.30pm, and include a sociable drink for $110 per person. They start and finish from Rentabike @ Federation Square – Melbourne’s dedicated bike hire business since 1976.
Regeneration is new e-bike buzz
21 January 2010.
The bike world was abuzz recently with the release during the COP15 Copenhagen conference of a revolutionary new bike wheel that stores kinetic energy from braking for later re-use.
The development promises to save legs as well as conserve battery power and lower hills.
The wheel was developed at MIT's SENSEable City Laboratory, and has other features such as remote locking via iPhone.
Japanese electronics giant Sanyo already has an e-bike on the market which utilises regenerative breaking, although it stores the captured energy in the battery rather than in the wheel.
MIT claims its wheel can be fitted to any bike.
The 'electronic flywheel' has been a dream for generations of transport engineers.
As Einstein and his predecessors elaborated, kinetic energy is a combination of velocity and mass, so the more mass the more kinetic energy to be captured. But who wants a heavy bike?
Sanyo has revealed that its regenerative technology gives a claimed 18 percent increase in battery life on its 250 watt machine, which weighs in at about 23 kilograms.
New electric bike standard proposed
3 June 2009. A new standard for power assisted bikes has been proposed that could result in advanced European and Japanese products, which have been a smash hit with consumers, coming to the Australian market.
The new standard has been proposed by the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority. Bicycle Victoria has assessed the proposal and will support it.
The crux of the proposed standard is: power limit be lifted to 250 watts; maximum assisted speed at 25kph; auxiliary power only available when pedalling.
E-bikes are good for Australia in that our cities are low density and typical utility transport trips are longer as a consequence. Modern e-bikes provide a middle ground for citizens who would find a bike trip too strenuous, but a car trip too wasteful.
The e-bike concept
Electric or motor-assisted bicycles can be great for people who need a bit of extra help to get up hills or carry a heavy load of groceries home, or travel a longer distance.
They are particularly useful for people with arthritic knees or other physical constraints that can restrict cycling opportunities on an ordinary bike.
Power-assisted bikes with a power output of up to 200 watts are defined as bicycles and covered by the same road rules as ordinary bicycles.
Bicycle Victoria supports an increase in the maximum power output currently allowed, from 200 watts to 300 watts. This increase will help get more people with physical constraints riding. It will also have the added benefit of making it more affordable as the 300 watt motors are generally cheaper. Bicycle Victoria believes a motor with a maximum output of 500 watts is too powerful.
To put the power output in perspective, elite cyclists like Lance Armstrong and Cadel Evans can manage 800 watts in short bursts.
Power-assisted bicycles should have a performance equivalent of no more than a normal cyclist on a normal bicycle under normal conditions. Bicycle commuting speed is around 25 kph but varies according to the conditions.
Read the road rules around electric and petrol driven bikes.
The PDF (right) has information on purchasing electric bikes.
No petrol bikes on trains
Note that petrol-powered bikes, because of the flammable power source, are not allowed on trains for safety reasons. In Victoria, the Connex rules state:
"Which items cannot be taken onto the train?
For safety reasons the following items/devices/vehicles are not permitted on trains:
- Explosives, flammable liquids, corrosive and poisonous chemicals, liquefied and compressed gas or other dangerous goods.
- Petrol driven vehicles such as motorcycles and lawnmowers.
- Other large items such as supermarket shopping trolleys, washing machines etc."
Feb 05 New laws for powered bikes
In late 2004 the Minister for Transport Peter Batchelor announced new laws for powered bikes, skateboards and scooters. Now the illegal use of motorised scooters and miniature motorbikes can attract penalties up to $818.
These changes in legislation are based on concerns for the safety of those using these products and other road users.
See the VicRoads website for a clear understanding of these changes in legislation. This link clearly defines the legality of each of the various powered recreational products.
These new changes in legislation do not effect pedal powered bicycles whether they are fitted with a motor or not as long as the power output of these motors does not exceed 200 watts.
Bicycle Victoria welcomes these changes to legislation.
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