“They Should Call This “ElectricBike” | Interbike 2012 Recap

I overheard this comment while walking the lower floor of Interbike, where most of the electric bikes were displayed. With 80 different brands featuring a variety of models of electric bicycles, and a test track to boot, it was clear that e-bikes are important to the cycling industry. As reported on CleanTechnica, sales of electric bicycles are projected to hit 47 million per year by 2018. There were plenty of battery and motor suppliers displaying as well.

To get a more holistic view of the electric bicycle industry, I spoke with Eric Fingerhut of the International Cycling Law Association after LEVA’s seminar on opportunities and challenges for the Asian e-bike industry in the US. Next I spoke with a retailer. It seems service support is the biggest issue. He was frustrated with some of the electric bikes he’d carried because when problems arose he had a manufacturer say “Well, it’s supposed to just work.”

With that in mind, I’d go with one of the more established, reputable companies like Pedago, Stromer, or even new entrant Polaris. Sure, Polaris is new to this field, and what if they decide to abandon the electric bicycle market in a few years? Companies like Pedago and Stromer have years of experience and large global customer bases. Stromer was just bought by BMC, which will help them lower production costs.

I test rode most of the bikes available and enjoyed riding them all. They all have great torque off the line, although the Grace had a bit of a delay due to the throttle free play being more lax than the rest. Some had pedal assist, some had throttles, most had both. Because there is still no industry standard for such configurations, each bike had a different way of accessing the power and switching from one mode to the other.

Most of them had a variety of power modes so you could get more power assist from the pedals. It was an interesting feeling. The peppy torque on these bikes made it easy to forget I was on a bicycle with skinny tires and not a motorcycle, so I low-sided the 2nd one I tested, the Energie, while powering out of a corner at way more lean angle than is necessary on a bicycle or advisable on a slick convention floor. Oops. It was red, what can I say. Two days later, after some quality jacuzzi time at the MGM Grand, I took a few more bikes out for a spin. Enjoy this entertaining video compilation of those test rides, then go try one out for yourself! But please, not on a slick convention floor. Real pavement is a much better surface for these bikes!