An e-bike combines the noble art of pedaling with an electric motor. There’s assistance on demand, that is, up to a speed of 25 km/h (15.5 mph). Their popularity just keeps on rising, it’s still booming business as usual.
Senior citizens love them, for obvious reasons. But the market has expanded, the elderly-only image is gone. An e-bike as your daily driver when your home is at a short distance from your work, or if you live in a city, why not?
This new Gazelle e-bike is a typical example of such a daily driver, fully up to the task.
Gazelle from the Netherlands was founded in 1892, officially pronounced Royal (Koninklijke) Gazelle in 1992. The company builds over 250,000 bicycles a year.
In 2011, Gazelle was taken over by Pon Holdings. Maybe the Dutch Pon family name does ring a bell; back in 1947, Pon became the world’s first Volkswagen importer. And then there was that simple drawing, the starting point for an automotive legend. On topic, Pon Holdings also happens to own Santa Cruz Bicycles.
Ever heard of a bike with a Bosch Active Line Plus 3.0 mid-engine? Well, this is it. The Gazelle features an aluminum frame and front fork.
The detachable Bosch Powerpack 500 (as in 500 Wh) Li-ion battery. It slides right underneath the luggage rack and it’s secured at the front, to be (un)locked with a small key.
There are four assistance modes. In this picture, the display shows the SPORT mode (at the upper right side); still 73 km to go, it also says.
And now the TURBO kicks in! Evidently, the range drops…
The lowest assistance level ECO should be good for a 175 km range with a full battery.
With + or – on the left side you select the assistance mode.
The bicycle has an Enviolo City stepless transmission. Enviolo was formerly known as NuVinci Cycling.
The front fork’s suspension. Furthermore, hydraulic rim brakes by Magura.
Front and rear LED lamps. Also on the sides of the rear fender, as you can see.
Just to be clear, it’s not my bike. It’s my dad’s new set of wheels, his favorite means of transport.
They make totally sense in any congested area and where (or when) life goes a slower pace. I bet they will make inroads in the US market as well.
After a hip replacement and a minor stroke my uncle got himself an electric assisted 3-wheeler and he enjoys it a lot. There is a tone wheel at the chain ring that senses the cadence. The computer gets the amount of assist just right.
A friend of mine has one of these and swears by it, if for no other reason than to help keep up with her energetic kids on long rides.
Some years back I joined up with my PSU professor friend and we created and taught a theory plus lab course on electric vehicle technology. We couldn’t exactly give each lab group a car with a 400-volt battery pack. But the technology of an electric bike is just the same as an electric car, brushless motor, computer-driven power controller and computer-managed lithium battery pack. Working on bikes was the right scale for a college lab course, we could use little $30 Arduino computers and our lab bikes had no lethal voltages.
We took a couple of ordinary bikes and converted them with hub motors, like in this picture. There are kits available on the web that replace the front wheel with a hub motor and wheel. Cheaper and a bit of DIY.
Personally in the city I feel safer in a car, and I had a 40 mile roundtrip freeway commute, but bikes and e-bikes can have a great role in lots of places.
“Hydraulic rim brakes”? I wondered why regenerative brake technology isn’t used.
Google led me to some interesting debates… it seems that the relatively low weight / momentum of a bike and rider compared to an electric car makes “regen” braking less useful; at best 5-10% longer range, with added weight and complexity.
Not only does the bike/rider combo not have much mass, but the aerodynamic drag of a bike and rider is fairly high, so that contributes to deceleration.
I did a test ride on a Trek bike equipped with a similar Bosch system last summer. I liked it. In Turbo mode, you’re working, but it has amazingly quick pick-up and flattens out the hills. These are fairly pricey in the U.S., the one I looked at was around $2,700. There are some other less expensive alternatives, though. As I plan to retire next year, I’m going to look into it more, for grocery runs, etc.
Price is really the only thing holding these back in the US. As it is, you can get a 2-stroke engine bicycle for around $400 (like the old ‘Whizzer’).
Yeah, it’s noisy, stinky, pollutes, and you have to mix oil with the gas, but it’s a whole lot cheaper for similar (or better) performance.
You can get e-bike conversion kits for $500 to $1000 US on the web. The kits we used for our EV course worked out fine. Just replace the front wheel and hang the battery and controller behind the seat.
Please don’t get one of those nauseating 2-stroke bikes. It puts out more crap than a hundred cars.
The thing is that over here in Europe (Denmark specifically, in my case), cars are WAY more expensive. A cheap, decent used car will set you back no less than 6 or 7,000 and then there’s gas (6+ USD/gallon), owners’ tax (easily 50-70 USD/month), insurance (a good deal for that same 50-70 USD/month). You’ll likely have work parking space but when you don’t, parking in Copenhagen can run you 12-14 USD/hr.
Add to that that our city roads are just not scaled to heavy traffic the way US roads are. And our cities are often more compact due to fewer eight lane roads and smaller houses/apartments, so we typically commute way shorter to work than Americans. And suddenly those 2,700 USD is a pretty good deal over here (and even so, you can get them cheaper than that over here – supply and demand).
They are of course very popular here.
A neighbor of mine got an e-fat-tire mountain bike and let me ride it around the neighborhood last summer. Holy moly, was it fun with the electric pedal assist! In no time you are cruising way faster than you’d initially feel comfortable with. It’s a completely different feeling than either a bike or a moped/scooter or motorcycle.
Mr Money Mustache did a post on a home brew version a couple of years ago that looks very reasonable pricewise, no doubt even more reasonable these days. But the factory offerings seem good as well, if much more pricy.
Nice! Here’s the Mr. Money Mustache article, thanks.
Given the worldwide diabetes and obesity epidemic, it might be best that electric bikes don’t become too widely available/affordable. Pedal power continues to have the most health benefits for most riders.
Not the way most people use them. In fact having something to help on the worst hills encourages more muscle-powered bike riding. Here’s what Mr. Money Mustache said in the article I linked above:
Before I rode my new Ebike, I was worried that it might make me lazy. Would I just lay on the throttle and coast around everywhere with minimal (or no) muscle effort? The answer is a decisive No. When I’m on the Ebike, I find myself pedaling as hard as I normally do. The difference is that I get everywhere much faster.
My belief is that it gets people riding that would not ride a bike at all or wouldn’t ride a bike to a particular location due to distance or geography otherwise so there is a net health benefit vs just being in the car.
That’s exactly it. The alternative to an e-bike for most folks is not a pedal-only bike. It’s a car moped or similar that requires zero excercise.
If you wanna fight diabetes and obesity, e-bikes are a great way to get moving in the right direction.
In most US regulations, for it to be considered an e-bike you have to be pedaling to get the electric boost. If all you’re doing is twisting a throttle, then that’s a moped, and you’re under all the restrictions of the 49cc and under scooters, etc. that run around now.
Not actually true. The People for Bikes guidelines, used by many municipalities, does allow throttle-only eBikes limited to 20 mph, classified as Type 2 eBikes, in many (though not all) locations that pedal-assist bikes are allowed. In these cases, the Type 2 eBikes don’t require registraion, helmets for adults, etc that mopeds may require. https://peopleforbikes.org/our-work/e-bikes/
Planning on building my own (well, what else does a bicycle mechanic do to get a grip on the new technology?) sometime this summer. Right now, I’m just trying to decide what kind of bike to start with for the conversion (my favorite daily rider won’t cut it, it’s a vintage Raleigh Tourist with 28″ wheel and rod brakes – see the village scenes in Downton Abbey, yes I ride a bike just like that), and wether or not I wasn’t to got with powered front wheels, powered rear wheel, or the motor as part of the bottom bracket.
They’re definitely impressive.
It’s so easy and cheap now. Amazon sells a bunch of complete kits with hub motors, batteries, controllers, etc. starting at $140.00
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bicycle+hub+e+motor&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
As JD pointed out Pon Holdings owns Santa Cruz Bicycles (as well as Cervelo) in the US, and the Gazelle US offices are co-located with SC Bikes We live in Santa Cruz, and I see a lot of Gazelles riding around town, though I suspect most are ridden by employees. I am inching closer to owning an eBike, probably a cargo bike to replace most of my in-town car usage
Pon Holdings is a huge operation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pon_Holdings
I can see the logic but as long as my body allows it, I’ll stick to my no-name mountain bike which nets more cardio benefits (no, most people do NOT pedal unless the battery needs charging – these are heavier than a normal bike which, plus the “lazy” mode, is not really conducive to pedaling). One other problem aspect of these things is that people use them with total disregard to pedestrians and others in places where motorbikes (which e-bikes really are) would never be allowed. In Israel this has resulted in an injury epidemic, particularly as many of the users are (surprise, that) youngsters with no traffic awareness or care. So…
Hence electric assistance up to 25 km/h. If you want to go beyond that, it’s man power only.
I don’t know about Austria/Israel, but the main problem here (involving cyclists) are packs of middle-aged men with foam on their mouth, riding pure racing bicycles (no electric motor, naturally).
“WE BRAKE FOR NOBODY” and/or “GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR WAY”.
Oh, the Tour de France fanatics. Yes we have those too…
I am in Scottsdale where there is an extensive and quite good system of “shared use” paths – used for bicycling, for walking/running or simply taking the dog out (more dangerous users than the racing/titanium/carbon fiber speedsters).
I ride the system here frequently using traditional steel bike with 7 speed Shimano internal geared hub. In the last year I have noticed more of the electric bikes and I am often passed by them. The riders seem unserious – often younger and maybe commuting. Two biking friends of mine are both considering buying one of these e-bikes; I am not there yet.
As a sign of the rising popularity of these, note that I saw several dealer booths for e-bikes in the exhibition halls at this year’s B-J extravaganza.
Along with many others here, I’m also considering an e-bike. I’ve been looking at the Sondors fat tire bike with pedal assist. I’m deciding on whether or not to look for a used unit, or just bite the bullet and buy a new one.
Up until I got my latest gig, I used to ride quite a bit. In fact, for three years I commuted to work on a nice 21 speed Schwinn. I should admit, however, that office was 2.5 miles from my house. I now work 10 miles from the house but the only good ways to get to the office involve fast(er) roads; even if I could take all surface streets to this office, I still have to cross a couple of freeways. I’m not brave enough to try it, even with pedal assist…
I’m on year 2 ownership of the fat tired Haibike Full FatSix, a dual suspension, Yamaha powered ebike. About a touch over 6200 miles on the odometer, with absolutely zero issues with bike or the Yamaha drive and battery system. I pedal mine here in NJ on both asphalt roadside shoulders or off road in the sugar sand of the NJ Pine Barrens or closer to home on the canal towpath systems that run alongside the Delaware River. In the US, Haibikes such as mine cut out their assist at 20 mph. The Yamaha is similar in appearance to the Bosch drive shown in this story. Both are “mid drives”, using purpose-built bike frames in which the motor bolts onto.
Range? In High assistance, the Yamaha will deliver about 43 estimated miles. The next step down in power, Standard, brings 52 miles. The Yamaha has shown to have delivered better mileage per charge versus the Bosch or other top tier brands like Brose or Shimano. Most of my accumulated miles are on the local roads around home that lead to the canal trails. Because of that and the propensity for picking up debris, causing flats, I’ve gone tubeless.
I was able to purchase my bike at a deep, deep discount; online. Worth a shot to become acquainted with the top brands in the ebike game when looking for a fat tired ebike. Haibike has the dual suspension Full FatSix and the hard tail/front suspension forked FatSix. Bulls, like Haibike is another German mid drive manufacturer with a premium mid drive. American bike maker Felt has a Bosch powered fatty in their lineup, including a recently discontinued model decked out in camo for hunting, called the Outfitter. The price of entry off the bat is high. But deals can be had.
A twenty mile round trip using a bike like the Haibike is a piece of cake.
A great site to learn everything and anything about ebikes, fat ebikes and everything in between, from Sondors to Haibike, is Electric Bike Review. Good luck!
Here in NYC e-bikes are used for restaurant deliveries, though the Chinese bikes used look quite crude- nothing like the very slick bike featured here.
The issue here is that the bikes are driven maniacally by delivery people in a huge hurry, and I’ve nearly been run over more than once by a silent, speeding e-bike.
this has been a big problem. what the delivery guys are using aren’t pedal assisted. they just have throttles on the handlebars like motorcycles. they are a big hazard zooming down the bike lanes often faster than cars. one almost hit me and my dog yesterday because he didn’t stop for our crosswalk.
this is the reason that e-bikes were originally banned from nyc. the ban was largely ignored by the delivery bikes and the cops didn’t enforce it.
after negotiations between bike advocates and the city, new rules have gone into effect which are much more sensible.
to be legal in nyc, e-bikes must be power assist and speed limited (i think the max is 25mph).
there is still no official certification process but bike shops are advertising models that they guaranty are legal here.
the big news is that e-bikes are being rolled out in the citibike bike sharing system.
according to this reddit posting, the delivery guys ar already gaming the system to use the citibikes as delivery bikes:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nyc/comments/aw57mc/citibike_ebikes_already_happening/