Early last year we bought a new bike for the first time in ages. Danielle has had her bike for about 20 years, and I’ve had mine since I was doored in 2013. László has a 16″ he may grow out of before he learns how to ride it. Even though we love biking and we do it a lot, we have hewed more toward a mantra of the correct number of bikes being n+0, not the more traditional n+1 formula. I really believe you can do most things with the bike you have. The exception is when you need to do something highly specialized: Biking on snow, in rugged mountain terrain, racing, or in our case, hauling.
We bought a Tern GSD and we’ve already put 1000 miles on it (this despite losing about a third of the first year to being out of the country and a warranty issue compounded by a supply chain issue on the brakes). Our goal with this rather expensive e-bike was to prevent us from needing a second car. It primarily hauls László around from school, day care and back, but it can run errands. We can fit a pretty full grocery shop if we pack the bags well enough and make good use of the front rack. I even used it to haul two bags of manure and some mulch recently.
So far, this is a more-than-capable machine for our needs.
I want to rhapsodize about the electric assist piece though. The first e-assisted bike I rode was probably a Jump bike, one of many brands of bike sharing that broke onto the Denver scene in 2018. These multi-user bikes have gotten a little better. I rode a Lime in DC recently that had a full throttle, which can the exercise out of the equation; nice on a scorching hot day. Regardless, they are fast. A lot faster than their non-elecric counterparts, and that help with road confidence at busy intersections.
The second e-bike I rode was my mother in-law’s since-discontinued and since-stolen Giant, which she purchased in 2020. It was smooth, the assist had a mode that changed dynamically based on the power on the pedals. It was really fun. E-bikes like these fill some important gaps in American casual cycling: Accessibility, confidence on the road, and fun.
And now there are loads of e-bikes on the market. All the big players have them and some new companies have come on the scene. They come in all different styles and sizes, and they’re affordable, especially if you live in a place with a government subsidy you can take advantage of. (These are extremely successful, by the way.) Cargo bikes have followed the trend of and, even some of the higher end brands have sub $4k bikes now.
Universality
I’ve heard story after story of people who thought they’d never bike again due to an injury, or just getting old. Biking is work, especially if you have anything other than ideal riding conditions. Battery assist, geometry, and good components help a lot with this.
Instead of rim brakes, they tend to use mechanical or hydraulic disc brakes which give better breaking power with much less squeeze and fiddling. These are more essential for a bike that can move 20 mph with ease, but riders benefit even at lower speeds. Many e-bikes (including ours) also have internally geared hubs, which means you can adjust them while stopped — helpful for giving you the right amount of torque off the line without having to guess at it before you stop. I used to be a skeptic of these features because they make self-repair more difficult, but the trade-offs favor safety and accessibility, and reinforce the universal good that bikes of all kinds embody.
Confidence
Urban cycling can be intimidating. You get to the stop line at a traffic light and a line of cars pile up behind you. When the light turns green, it’s easy to feel self conscious about how you’re holding up the line, more so when drivers are actually aggressive. Better bike infrastructure helps of course, but so do e-bikes. With electric assist, you can easily accelerate quickly enough to put some distance between you and the line of cars behind you.
That confidence needs to be met with safety. It is worth buying from a reputable brand when pricing out an e-bike.
A bike is much less expensive than a new home, so check for UL certifications and remember to take care of your battery: Store it indoors, use the correct charger, and, during the winter, keep the battery in your home. For cargo bikes, it’s extremely worth it to pay for a bike with UL 2272 or, better, 2849 and other safety certifications. Cargo Bike Life keeps a good directory of the cargo bikes that meet or exceed this bar. Branding is more than just a label, they are not all created equally and you can feel the difference in the smoothness of your ride and your pedals.
Fun
Finally, e-bikes are just fun. That’s important for commuters and everyday riders. It’s more fun to ride without battling traffic. It’s more fun to ride in the dead of summer when you barely break a sweat. As a car alternative, kids riding in the back of a cargo bike have way more fun than in a car — even in the winter.
You can still get a good workout on an e-bike if you bike for exercise. Believe me, hauling 80 pounds of children on the back of a bike at faster than a jog pace is work, even with the battery assist. Combined with the accessibility benefits, e-bikes bring the joy of biking to people who would otherwise be blocked from it. Having fun is kid of the whole point of biking, and if you also love your regular bike, your ebike will be a good reminder of what you love about that one, too.
It’s no surprise to me that e-bike subsidies sell out quickly and have extremely high success rates. They’re cheaper to begin with, are more universally accessible, and when it comes down to it, add some fun to the rider’s life.
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