I used to think that electric bikes were for crazy old guys with headphones that swerve down the bike path singing their own eccentric tunes. But recently, two of my friends have converted their commuter bikes to electric and they say they’re never going back.
My friend Jesse (pictured with his bike above) is an engineer at a local company. Before converting his bike, he describes his daily routine.
I was usually biking one way and busing home, spending almost two hours a day commuting.
I bet that many of you UBC-ers can relate to that. My own commute from Richmond to UBC is about 20km. In the morning, it takes me one hour by bus. During my best weeks, I’m able to bike commute 2-3 days per week. The short story is, that for most people, it’s too long of a commute to do on your bike every day.
Another friend of mine, Bruce, says it’s a different story after converting his own bike to electric.
Commutes that used to take too long are now perfectly suited for ebikes. Since I got my ebike I have been using it for 80% of my traveling needs and I only fill up my car’s gas tank about once a month.
Bruce is the first one of my friends to convert his bike to electric. A UBC engineering alumni, Bruce knew some friends who own a local company called ebikes.ca that started out of the UBC electric bike club. Justin and Zev, also former UBC engineering students, followed-up on some interesting engineering projects from their senior design courses and started their own company. Justin from ebikes.ca describes how they started,
For the first year and a half this was run out of my basement/ garage, and included importing, testing, and selling batteries and hub motors to people in the community who wanted to build custom ebike parts, as well as designing and fabricating our own line of ebike electronics. In January 2007 we moved into a commercial space on Main St. and we currently have 6 people working here on various aspects of the operation.
Justin says that he sells to all kinds of people including die-hard bicycle commuters. In addition to the older folks, he says that he’s also selling to young people who are excited about new green technologies. When he was first thinking about converting, Bruce calculated the costs of commuting by car ($4 in gasoline) versus traveling by electric bike (7 cents in electricity). He figures it’s a good return on investment. If you want to know more about electric bikes, you can check out this FAQ.
Whether you’d like to electrify your bike to be green, or to go further, to go up hills faster, or to be able to pull a heavy trailer, my friend Bruce, offers another reason to convert.
It is kinda fun passing elite road bikers in spandex full of sponsorship logos.
At first, I thought my friends Jesse and Bruce were just crazy. But now, I’m not so sure… especially when they pass me on my road bike.
Joanne often gets really excited when she talks about Science. Luckily, she works in the Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory, the educational arm of the Michael Smith Labs. She likes all kinds of science but has a special spot in her heart for biology, technology, and well, sports. As a scientist and educator at UBC, she hopes that she never becomes so specialized that she loses her global perspective. (When she gets around to writing an intro post, I'm sure that she'll link to it here).
Are you Crazy if you Electrify Your Bike?
By Joanne Fox,
I used to think that electric bikes were for crazy old guys with headphones that swerve down the bike path singing their own eccentric tunes. But recently, two of my friends have converted their commuter bikes to electric and they say they’re never going back.
My friend Jesse (pictured with his bike above) is an engineer at a local company. Before converting his bike, he describes his daily routine.
I bet that many of you UBC-ers can relate to that. My own commute from Richmond to UBC is about 20km. In the morning, it takes me one hour by bus. During my best weeks, I’m able to bike commute 2-3 days per week. The short story is, that for most people, it’s too long of a commute to do on your bike every day.
Another friend of mine, Bruce, says it’s a different story after converting his own bike to electric.
Bruce is the first one of my friends to convert his bike to electric. A UBC engineering alumni, Bruce knew some friends who own a local company called ebikes.ca that started out of the UBC electric bike club. Justin and Zev, also former UBC engineering students, followed-up on some interesting engineering projects from their senior design courses and started their own company. Justin from ebikes.ca describes how they started,
Justin says that he sells to all kinds of people including die-hard bicycle commuters. In addition to the older folks, he says that he’s also selling to young people who are excited about new green technologies. When he was first thinking about converting, Bruce calculated the costs of commuting by car ($4 in gasoline) versus traveling by electric bike (7 cents in electricity). He figures it’s a good return on investment. If you want to know more about electric bikes, you can check out this FAQ.
Whether you’d like to electrify your bike to be green, or to go further, to go up hills faster, or to be able to pull a heavy trailer, my friend Bruce, offers another reason to convert.
At first, I thought my friends Jesse and Bruce were just crazy. But now, I’m not so sure… especially when they pass me on my road bike.
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Joanne often gets really excited when she talks about Science. Luckily, she works in the Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory, the educational arm of the Michael Smith Labs. She likes all kinds of science but has a special spot in her heart for biology, technology, and well, sports. As a scientist and educator at UBC, she hopes that she never becomes so specialized that she loses her global perspective. (When she gets around to writing an intro post, I'm sure that she'll link to it here).