Can 28 million Chinese be wrong? Here comes the e-bicycle

The pedal-assisted Moustache

Half bike, half electric vehicle ? all cool personal transport, it?s the electric bicycle aka the e-bike and its appeal has been growing worldwide.

In the next seven years revenues from e-bikes are project to grow nearly 30 percent to $11 billion, according to Boulder-based Navigant Research, a market research and consulting group.

The Chinese market ? which is 92 percent of the world market ? is expected to reach 28 million e-bicycles in 2013, even as Chinese cities begin to consider bans on e-bicycles because of increasing accident and bicycle congestion, wrote Navigant analyst Dave Hurst.

While Asia and Europe are the two big e-bicycle markets, Navigant projects a 9.7 percent annual growth in North America, making it one of the fastest growing markets.

?There has definitely been some momentum,? said Dean Heyek-Franssen, co-founder of Pete?s Electric Bikes, which has stores in Boulder, Aspen and Frisco.

While Pete?s has customers ranging in age from 26 to 96, Heyek-Franssen said the ?sweet spot has been 40 plus.?

But the Navigant analysis says manufacturers in North America and Europe are reporting more interest from the under 40 crowd.

?The electric bike is designed to offer the health and environmental advantages of a bicycle with an electric motor,? Heyek-Franssen said. ?It helps the 65-year-old up a hill, but increasingly it is also seen as transportation alternative, a commuting option.? The speed by law has to be kept below 20 miles and hour.

That?s how e-bikes are used in Europe, where some even have VIN numbers, just like automobiles, Heyek-Franssen said.

The motor can be placed on the rear or front wheels or in the bracket with the pedals. The rear-wheel motor is most popular in Asia, Navigant said. But these bikes have throttles, which enables them to be driven like a scooter ? no pedaling involved.

?That?s why e-bicycles are banned from some bike paths, because the riders aren?t really biking,? Heyek-Franssen said.

Source: http://blogs.denverpost.com/thebalancesheet/2013/07/25/can-28-million-chinese-be-wrong-here-comes-the-e-bicycle/10345/

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