As the world’s population grows and the roadways become more crowded, electric bikes are becoming increasingly popular.  While electric bike designs have been around in one form or another since 1890, they only started seeing rapid worldwide growth in 1998.  There are an estimated 120 million of these bikes in China alone!  European sales are projected to exceed 1 million and the United States’ sales are looking like they will double year over year.  There is one thing for sure – electric bikes are here to stay!

Electric bikes, also referred to as power-assisted bicycles, are cycles with motors attached.  They aren’t considered motorcycles because they can be peddled and often need to be when they are starting up.  The motors are very limited and can’t put out the horsepower that a motorcycle’s can.  Electric bikes generally come in two variations; specifically designed ones for this purpose or a traditional road bikes that have had a motor added.

Obviously, the most interesting and important component on this bike is the motor.  Here are some features commonly available in the category:

Power source:  While some motorized bikes use small gasoline powered engines, most power-assisted bikes use an electric motor.

Batteries:  Like anything electric that stores power, electric bikes have batteries.  These are usually some form of lead-acid, nickel-cadium, nickel metal hydrite or lithium ion batteries.

Range:  The range of your electric bike depends on a host of factors like terrain, average speed, aerodynamics, the quality and efficiency of the motor and batteries, the weight of the rider, how much the rider is assisting with pedaling and so on.  Under the worse conditions, the average range of a battery would be around 5 miles.  However, on a flat road with just minimal assistance from the rider, many bikes can go 40+ miles.

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Speed:  How fast your electric bike can go will depend on the motor and the laws of your country or state, but most can go up to 20 mph without much problem.

Easily Added:  Electric motors can be easily added to pretty much any pedaled bicycle that uses a chain drive, belt drive or friction drives.

Security:  Like a motorcycle, most electric bikes come with keys that can be used to lock the motor in an “Off” setting.  Standard bike locks should still be used to stop thieves from removing the entire bike though.

Depending on the quality of the bike and the motor, prices can range pretty widely for electric bikes, just like their human powered cousins.  The price range is usually somewhere between 0 to 00 and while that may seem like a lot, compared to high end bicycles these prices aren’t too far out of line.

There are other factors to consider when considering buying an electric bike.  Many people use them to commute to work if the distance is short enough or ride their motorized bikes on the weekends instead of driving their cars.  This has long term savings written all over it, when the price of electricity and battery replacement is compared to gasoline and general wear and tear on your car.

Compared to automobiles, electric bikes are angels when it comes to pollution and emissions, with most being classified as zero-emissions.  There is no internal combustion, so there is nothing released into the atmosphere.  To maximize these benefits many local and national level governments have set up solar charging stations for electric bike riders.  The battery packs are so small that they could quickly recharge, making such stations much more feasible for bikes than for electric cars.

Compared to regular bikes the electric bikes do have some environmental downsides.  The battery creation, storage and disposal can have some negative environmental consequences.  Even when considering those, electric bikes are seen as the environmental friendly alternative to automobiles, especially in crowded metropolises like Beijing.

Laws governing the use and licensing requirements of bicycles depends on your government and can vary widely.  These laws can be national or more local and can change from state to state or even city to city.  The popularity of these bikes is relatively new so many governments are still struggling to develop laws for them.

Here are some of the most notable electric bike regulations around the world:

Canada:  In seven of the eight provinces in this country, electric bikes are limited to an output of 500w.  They also aren’t allowed to go faster than 20 mph.  Alberta however, allows an output of 750w and speeds of 35 mph.  Guess where all the electric bike fans in Canada are moving to?

China:  Bikes under 20kg and that can’t go faster than 30kph can be driven without a license.  Some provinces or cities have banned their use in certain places like downtown areas.

United Kingdom:  Electric bikes are treated like regular cycles is the output doesn’t surpass 250w, the power cuts out when it hits 15mph and is under 40 kg.

United States:  There is a federal law that regulates electric bikes in the United States.  They are only allowed to have motors capable of top speeds of 20 mph and don’t produce more than 750w of power output.