E-bike growth sets to reform urban mobility

[위즈덤 아고라 / 한동민 기자] Back in 1895, American inventor Ogden Bolton Jr. was granted a patent for his battery-powered bicycle, which featured a near wheel hub motor powered by a 10-volt battery. It has since developed into what we know today as the E-bike. In recent years, large corporations of the likes of Tesla and Apple have become increasingly embroiled in a competition to improve and refine their e-bike designs, bringing Ogden’s invention back into the spotlight.

There are many factors contributing to the contemporary rise of E-bikes. While most traditional bicycles can only travel 10-12 miles per hour, E-bikes average a speed of 20 miles per hour, enabling commuters to get to their destinations faster than ever before. In addition, E-bikes have been proven to be safer than regular bicycles because they can better accelerate out of threatening situations and more easily keep up with fast-moving traffic. Lastly, their eco-friendly nature has prompted environmentally-conscious consumers to adopt them in their daily lives.

Deloitte conducted a study in Germany last month that surveyed the use of electric transportation of 1,008 respondents. In it, 18% of respondents—the largest portion—indicated use of an E-bike, whereas electric cars, electric scooters, electric mopeds, electric motorcycles, and electric micro-mobiles numbered 7%, 7%, 3%, 2%, and 1%, respectively. The study concluded that the high use of E-bikes may be attributed to the attractiveness of the electric two-wheeler, which bolsters the potential widespread use of E-bikes in the near future.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, sales of battery-powered E-bikes more than tripled, with the growing Dutch E-bike company VanMoof having raised more than $150 million in venture capital. In a video interview, VanMoof representative Ties Carlier stated, “We wanted to change the bike in the way it functions, but also from a technology perspective.” He further added that as “most cities in the rest of the world are very hilly and can be really hot in the summer, [these] limitations really change completely when you have electric bikes.”

Once seen by consumers as unreliable, expensive, and ugly, battery-powered bikes are now one of the fastest growing forms of urban transportation. Consumers around the world can expect to see growing numbers of E-bikes traversing their city streets in the forseeable future.

Sources: New York Times, Khaleej Times, Electrek