Whether it’s animal friendly fabrics, energy-saving light bulbs, or hybrid cars - people everywhere are trying to make their lives a little more “green” and environment conscious. The e-bike may be the next trendy “green” product.
The e-bike or electric bike is a cross between a regular bicycle and a dirt bike except it runs on
electricity from a wall outlet. Without the hard work or the harmful air pollution of a car,It still has a normal bicycle seat, handlebars, gears and pedals, but uses a little motor to give riders more speed.
Ultra Motor, based in London, is one company that creates light electric vehicles (LEVs) to give customers a fun, new way to get around that’s also good for the environment. LEVs also include scooters,tricycles, folding electric bikes, motorcycles and commute cars. Ultra Motor’s latest product is the 72-lb A2B Metro(,700), which uses a lithium ion battery and reaches a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour,according tothe Ultra Motor Web site. The site states the battery, located behind the seat, can take riders as far as 20 miles on a charged battery and “costs as little as 10 cents to charge - that’s a half cent a mile”.
In Europe and China,so far the e-bike trend has really caught. In an August 2009 Business Week article,the Electric Bicycles Worldwide Reports, a publication that follows e-bike sales, said 23 million e-bikes were sold worldwide, and it predicts that figure to be doubled by 2012. However, in the United States, the trend hasn’t gained a lot of speed just yet. Read Business Week article.
According to Ed Benjamin of Light Electric Vehicle Association, about 200,000 electric bikes were sold in 2008 - doubling the amount sold in 2005 - but this year, sales reduced by about 10 percent because of the recession.
American buyers of e-bikes want to be eco-friendly, stay healthy or get to work quickly without breaking a sweat,In a CNN Web site article by Steve Almasy, Brent Meyers, Ultra Motor US director of sales, said so far. Meyers said his company sells more e-bikes when oil prices are at its peak. Read CNN article.
Electric bikes are legally considered bicycles and must adhere to U.S. bicycle laws and therefore, not exceed 20 miles per hour. Some states have even issued laws that wear a standard bike helmet while riding and riders must be a certain age to use e-bikes.
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