Why should I buy an e-bike?

There are dozens of reasons you should consider getting an electric bike. In this article we will look at the different reasons for going electric, and in the next we will help you through the decision making process of what to look for.

Who are you?

In a previous article we looked at how people who are 50 or over are the biggest single group of electric bike customers here. This is because the e-bike will give you a boost to a similar riding speed as you might when your bones and joints were younger. You may want something for pottering about like the Greenedge CS2 Electric Bike.

There are other groups who might need that extra kick from an electric motor. Research has shown that people with diabetes start losing weight and their symptoms subside when they start riding electric bikes.

Even if you don’t have diabetes, you may be sick of having a spare tyre around your waist or bum and want to get burning off the excess. Don’t worry – e-bikes aren’t motorbikes and you will still have to put a bit of effort into riding on those bigger hills. The great thing is that from quite a low level of fitness you will be able to conquer many of the hills that would have left you red-faced and panting as you pushed from less than halfway up on traditional bikes. Getting fit is about fun, and fun comes in part from winning – why not start winning earlier?!

Do you worry about the environment? Yes, these machines use energy from the electricity grid but a microcosm of that of a petrol or diesel car, and a tiny amount by comparison to that of an electric car. E-bikes could well be one of the answers to decarbonising logistics, and really are the best answer to private car driving.

Utilitarian or fun?

You may well be fed up of getting high blood pressure sitting in your car at walking pace on the way to work. How about going 12mph riding an electric bike on your commute instead of 3mph in a car? Even retired, you may find it quicker to pop into town than to spend 10 minutes at the other end looking for a parking space. Utilitarian reasons for riding an e-bike are shown in academic research time and again to be a major reason people use them. They aren’t just for fun! If you’re looking to replace the car for many journeys, do consider one of the Haibike Trekking series of e-bikes with 500 Watt hour batteries that will see you for a good 70-90 miles of mixed riding. Or how about a slick yet fun electric bike from the Emu Electric Bike Range

Fun? On a ‘cheater bike’? There are stories all over the internet of how older riders were falling behind their club peloton and found that the e-bike would put them in the mix again. While I have been told by an over-competitive 86 year old they are ‘cheater bikes’, in many cases, people reach an age where they don’t care who’s watching. I’m 43 and am already at that that stage! Fear of lagging behind affects people of all ages and even a cheaper electric mountain bike to get you up to speed in the first year or two of riding could get you onto the trails or cross country riding without feeling too embarrassed.

Connected to the fun aspect is that you may be very serious about your mountain biking yet want to put more effort into the single tracks or downhill sections and less effort into getting back to the top. A bike like the Haibike SDURO FULLSEVEN LT 4.0 will tick all your boxes of a top end mountain bike that happens to have a motor…

Want to see the world differently? As a youngster in West Wales someone told me ‘the slower you go the more you will see’. How about a bike trekking holiday in the Welsh mountains, Lake District or the Highlands? A decent trekking bike with the right gear could see you doing 50 mile legs even with some memorable hills on the way.

Are you a fleet manager? Courier companies and police forces around the world are looking into e-bikes as a serious alternative to internal combustion engine vehicles, we ourselves have supplied Sussex Police with a range of Electric Bikes…

What electric bike’s best for you?

That was a jaunt through some of the biggest reasons people have to use an electric bike. We will get a little more technical and make some suggestions as to who should ride what and when in our next article.