Bike Association Organises E Bike Seminar - November 29, 2010

The Bicycle Association of Great Britain is stepping up the pace with a one day meeting to review the electric bike market in the UK, organized for November 29, 2010 in the Midlands.

The meeting will review recent EU legislation, consumer issues such as maintenance and warranties - as well as try and estimate the potential size of the emerging UK electric bike market. There will also be e bikes available for attendees to try out.

Space is limited to 60 attendees. Companies and industry professionals who are interested in attending or would like more information on the event can call the British Bike Assocoation on 02476 553838. BA members will have priority for the limited number of places available on the event.

Commuting By Bike Saves American $7900 a year!

What would you spend an extra $7900 us a year on?


An American blogger has sat down with a calculator and worked out he cost/ benefit of biking for a commute vs using a car.

Here are the numbers:

• The average cost of petrol is worked out at $2.931 a US gallon
• My commute by car is 8.1 miles.
• My commute by bike is 7.4 miles (a bit shorter as biikes can go place that cars can't)
• My nearest bus stop is 1.1 miles away
• The bus fare is $1.05.
• I burn circa 66 calories /mile on my bike
• My car emits .932 pounds of CO2 per mile.

The fixed annual costs for my car are: (based on my 2002 year Volkswagen GTI, owned outright):

• Vehicle Registration: $32
• Property Tax: $137
• State Vehicle Inspection: $30
• Regular Maintenance: $204 (at Volkswagen dealership)
• Car Insurance: $400 (We have two cars on our policy and this is the difference if one were removed)
• Depreciation: $1646 (straight line depreciation from my car's purchase price to it’s current bottom book market price).

Assuming I commute 220 days per year, these fixed costs work out at about $0.78  per mile.
In two months I have had the following impact:

• I’ve saved $47 in petrol expenses and the equivalent of $457 in fixed costs for a total cost saving of $471.49 when accounting for bus fares.
• Burned 22,356 calories which if I had been eating a normal diet is the equivalent of 6.4 pounds of fat!
• I have kept 543 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere
• Simply multiplying these numbers for the year would equal 3260 pounds of CO2 kept out of the atmosphere, $2542 dollars saved, 134,000 calories burned, and 38.3 pounds of fat. 

If I had a car loan payment for a $20,000 the savings jumps to $7900!


$7900 US is about 5000 quid - that's some saving. Now - can someone translate these figures for electric bike usage? I reckon the saving would be at least 4,000 quid a year plus you don't arrive at work hot and sweaty - unless you want a work out. The choice is yours.

I'm going to talk to my local UK electric bike dealer EBCO and see if they can run the numbers for the UK. $7900 is a few decent holidays!

Reduced From $38M US - Electric Bikes Have Come A Long Way

As we cruise off to work at 10-15 mph on our forty mile plus range e-bikes, let's look back at a pioneer of today's electric bike technology.

Neil Armstrong "made one small step" (we trust, anyway), in 1969 - but following a further two visits by his friends from NASA, the Americans got fed up with walking and decided to take along some "transport".

The lunar buggy - the world's (the Galaxy's? the Solar System's?) most sophisticated electrically driven vehicle to date, made its debut. The cost of the four vehicles was a bargain at $38M US. Only three were ever used, on Apollo Missions 15,16 and 17.

 

That's quite a lot of money for a vehicle with a top speed of 8mph - in one-sixth earth's gravity. 

UK Local Authority Adopts Electric Bikes

- E bikes make economic sense for commuting and local journeys. This electric bike model retails for under a 1000 pounds. (Picture courtesy ebco e bikes)







Good news for e-bikes. I see today in the Burton Mail that they are to issue council staff with electric bikes in a move to improve efficiency and "reduce their carbon footprint".

East Staff's Borough Council’s climate change and adaptation, officer Peter Robinson is quoted in the paper as saying: “We’re committed to protecting the environment and promoting sustainability, but we need to find reliable and sustainable ways to save carbon, congestion and cost while making it easier for staff to carry out their work effectively and efficiently."

Electric bikes are a great way to reduce carbon footprint - but they're also a lot more user friendly than a person powered bike when rushing around between appointments. In this age of austerity let's hope the economies of using e-bikes translate into lower council Tax rates for local residents too!



http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Power-bikes-bid-to-cut-down-carbon-footprint.htm

Should Boris Bikes Go Electric?

Why did Mayor Boris have to copy the French? And the Spanish (well Catalanyans) in Barcelona too?

London: Centre of world trade, innovation and home of West Ham United - is playing second fiddle and missing a great opportunity. Boris bikes need to go electric.

Think about it. London is one of the world's most commutable cities. Hundreds of thousands - millions even - of workers live within a ten mile commute of their workplace. Plenty of us want a nice work out or some exercise to or from work. But not all the time.

E Bike News says extend the Boris Bikes out to the suburbs - have pavement charging points where bikes can only be released subject to having a full charge. It's not rocket science. There are plenty of electric bike options coming onto the market that would be perfect for adaptation to permanent street life.

Earls Court London Bike Show 2010 - Spot The E Bike!

I spent a pleasant enough afternoon at the London Bike show this year. Kudos to the organisers for managing such an efficient and secure bike park, albeit round the back from the main entrance. If only more exhibition organisers, employers and local authorities would recognise that bikes and electric bikes deserve the same consideration as train commuters and car drivers. But that's not for here, or now.

The usual bike companies put on a great show, although I did have a sense of deja-vu for much of what was on offer. People powered bikes (PPB) have evolved enormously over the last decade and I guess there's a limit to how many wheels and snazzy decals on frames I want to look at this year (or next), that I didn't see in 2009.

But where were the electric bicycles? Why no dedicated section? Newbies EBCO launched a v cool selection of electric bikes, cleverly hidden away towards the back of the exhibition hall- although in fairness they had a couple of electric bikes on the 'have a go yourself" track. I got to ride one of them - although it meant a 30 minute wait. Thanks fellas.

Let's hope the organisers will make a big effort at the 2011 London Bike Show - and inject some real life into proceedings - with a dedicated electric bike section and track.

Moon Buggy Meets E-Bike?

If you've got $5,500 US to splash on an electric bicycle and are the sort of person who likes to - well - let's just say "make an impression".......then this bike might be just the thing.

Does anyone know if this "all terrain" bike is available in the UK? If you spot one, please send me a pic!

It reminds me of the moon buggy back in the Apollo days. Apparently those buggies cost tens of millions (back in the days when that was still alot of money) - makes $5,500 seem a bargain. Almost!