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FEATURE


GREEN BUSINESS


HOW DOES AN ELECTRIC BIKE WORK? Riding an electric bike is very similar to riding a standard bike; however, when you start to pedal the motor kicks in and provides additional assistance at the chosen power level. Most bikes have four or five power levels, with power levels ranging from 50-820% assistance, depending on the equipped motor. If you want to work harder it is also possible to ride the bikes without power.


MOTORS Electric bikes tend to have two main motor types, crank driven and hub drive. Crank driven, or mid-drive motors, are generally regarded as the best type of motors as they give the bike better balance and tend to be smoother and more efficient than hub motors, which tend to deliver the power quite forcefully. Crank driven is the most popular motors for people who


want a more refined ride and intend to use the bike regularly for longer distances. The newton meters (Nm) of torque outputted by the motor (a better way to work out the power rather than the wattage) is typically in the range of 40-120Nm. When looking for a suitable bike, consideration should


be given to the terrain likely to be ridden. If it’s mostly flat or rolling a bike with 40-60 Nm would be ideal - however, for hillier routes, a bike with 60Nm and above may be more suitable.


BATTERIES Charging the batteries can be done on or off the bike and takes around three to six hours from completely empty. Quality batteries will usually allow for 1,000 full charges before the battery power levels start to tail off, meaning that the average user could get eight-to-ten years or more from the original battery without seeing much of a drop in performance. Typically, batteries are in the range of 300- 625 Watt-hours (Wh).


RANGE The range is dependent on many factors; the size of the battery, overall system weight, the power level being used, terrain, weather conditions, temperature, pedalling cadence, tyres, and so on. In practice, on a route with some hills and a 500Wh battery, a range of 60-100 miles is quite possible. Some bike manufacturers now offer the option to add a second battery to double the range.


ELECTRIC BIKES AND THE LAW Electric bikes are limited to an assisted max speed of 15.5mph in the UK, although this may increase in the future. To comply with the law the motor must not have more than 250W of continuous motor output, and pedals must be in use when assistance is being given. From 2015, throttle functions must not assist beyond 3.7mph. Any bikes falling outside these specifications would need to be registered, taxed and require a licence.


Electric bikes are here to stay and the technology has now caught up with consumers’ expectations of how an electric bike should perform. These bikes provide environmental benefits over other forms of transport and allow an individual to explore an area that might otherwise be inaccessible, gaining a fantastic feeling of liberation in the process.


66 business network April 2020


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