Ride that e-bike for fun, health, and a better world
Electric bicycles can greatly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and provide other benefits
The view from my writing desk overlooks a somewhat busy street. Cars and trucks whizz past by the minute. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the street has been adapted to include bike lanes and increased bicycle access. And as the years have passed, I see more and more e-bikes zipping by.
You may have noticed the changes, too. Or you may be among the thousands who now get around on an electric bicycle. E-bikes have been around for years, commonly used in Europe and other parts of the world, yet they were rarely seen on American streets. Almost overnight, e-bike use skyrocketed. From 2019 to 2022 e-bike sales more than doubled. Some folks surmise the pandemic brought about the change. Commuters switched to e-bikes so they could get where they wanted to go without being cooped up with bus and subway riders. Furloughed employees needed ways to occupy their time. Tooling around on an electric bike seemed like a good thing to do.
E-bikes are green
According to a 2016 report from the European Cyclists’ Federation, e-bikes are almost as climate friendly as regular bikes, emitting over their entire lifecycle just a tad more carbon than the use of a regular bike. Over its lifecycle, riding a regular bike emits about 33.4 grams of CO2 per mile. Besides the manufacture of the bike, this figure includes the carbon footprint of the extra food needed to pedal a bike. By comparison, even including the carbon from charging the battery, an e-bike emits 35.2 grams of CO2 per mile, just 1.8 grams more. Though hard to believe, this means e-bikes could in some cases have a smaller carbon footprint than walking. By comparison, cars emit about 347 grams of CO2 per mile, about ten times as much as an e-bike.
When the rubber meets the road, e-bikes can make a difference. Scientists in England looked at the feasibility of electric bikes replacing cars. They looked at a multitude of factors, including the “bike friendliness” of the country’s present infrastructure. They looked at demographics of England’s e-cyclists and potential e-cyclists, including their ages, overall health, and other things affecting people’s ability to get around on two wheels They found that if able-bodied persons substituted cars with electric bikes for many short trips it could reduce England’s CO2 emissions by nearly 27 million tons per year. This is a dent of about five percent into 540 million tons of CO2 emitted by England annually.
When people have e-bikes, they use them. In another study out of England, two companies in Brighton lent employees e-bikes for six to eight weeks. Three quarters of the participants said they used their e-bikes at least once a week, and the overall average use per person was from 15 to 20 miles per week. Among participants, overall use of cars dropped by 20 percent. Other research indicates that e-bikers take longer trips than regular bikers and overall double their use of biking to get around.
There are two types of e-bikes: ones with throttles and the pedal-assist kind. Pedals and motors work independently on throttle bikes, enabling the cyclist to power down the road without pumping the pedals. Pedal-assist bikes augment the leg power applied to the pedals. Users say pedal-assist bikes work more intuitively, and for folks wanting exercise, they are the e-bike of choice. Besides helping the environment, e-bikers receive health benefits; riding an e-bike bumps up the heart rate and provides some good exercise.
If you’re on the fence over getting that electric bike, John MacArthur, a transport researcher at Portland State University, has taken the time to publishthis Google Docs spreadsheet of the incentives offered in states and municipalities in North America to individuals interested in buying electric bicycles.
But you gotta be careful
Soon after the big spike in e-bike sales and ridership, hospitals reported an uptick in injuries associated with the bikes. Anytime there is more of anything—surfing, skating, jumprope jumping—there will be more injuries from those activities. Still, safety experts surmise that with their greater weight and ability to go faster than regular bikes, electric bikes can be more dangerous than purely pedal-powered bikes. This is pretty much common sense. Your mom could have told you this. And you really should wear a helmet when riding an e-bike.
Lithium ion batteries power the new e-bike craze because they are lightweight and can hold powerful charges. They are the same type of batteries used in cell phones and electric cars. Because the batteries have so much energy crunched into a small volume, if there is an electrical problem, these products can cause fires.
In 2021, London experienced 70 fires due to electric bike batteries. That same year, New York City recorded 104 fires resulting from batteries for e-bikes or scooters. In 2022, that figure rose to 202 fires. Fire officials add that blazes sparked by the batteries are violent, fast moving, and hard to extinguish.
Contamination and defects can cause short circuiting or other problems. Earlier this year, Pacific Cycle, the parent company of well-known bikes such as Schwinn and Mongoose, recalled about 1,700 e-bikes because they contained improperly assembled wiring harnesses, which manage the charging of the bikes’ batteries.
One thing I can tell you, I worked in electronics manufacturing for a number of years. The quality standards needed to receive a UL Solutions (what I grew up calling Underwriters Laboratories) label are pretty rigorous. Don’t buy an e-bike unless you see that label on the device.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends to only use the charger that came with the bike and FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!!! The New York Fire Department advises that you stay in the room or garage while you are charging the battery, keep the charger and battery away from flammable material, and never charge it while you’re sleeping. Once it’s all charged up, unplug it.
I’m hoping these two problems get ironed out a little more. My wife and I are planning on becoming a one-car couple upon her retirement this year. I’m hoping to get an e-bike then to help me get around.( My wife, who proofs and edits this Substack, just reminded me that she’ll let me use the car from time to time.) Wish me luck. And see you in the bike lanes!
Many, many e-bikes in our city. A good solution to the parking and congestion problems at the city core. Two inherent problems that need to be worked on: cargo capacity and exposure to the elements. Also dangers to the riders from collisions with other vehicles, including other e-bikes, range and operational limits in cold weather. But they are excellent and the problems will be ironed out. Another nail in the fossil fuel coffin.