eBike - Alternative Transportation for the Daily Commute

eBikes are gaining in popularity as are other modes of alternative transportation like hoverboards, electric skateboards, one wheels and so on. However, nothing, in my opinion, beats the accessibility and practicality of a well built eBike.

This week, I had the chance to ride a custom made eBike built by my friend Aaron Brown, a design engineer who builds longboards and bikes for Landyachtz in Vancouver, BC. The frame is a stock Norco Bigfoot fat bike and the electronics (motor, battery, controller, etc.) were developed by Grin Technologies, also local Vancouver companies. The front wheel is powered by a 1000 watt geared motor which has enough guts to get you up hills and bridges. The hefty 21Ah battery stores enough juice to get you around 50km (apx. 30miles). It resembles the feel of a motorcycle but handling and nimbleness of a bicycle. To my surprise, this particular electric bike of sorts was a hell of a lot of fun to ride and made me think a bit about the future of transportation.

The cost of this whole build landed around $3,000 CAD (apx. $2,300 USD), a much lower price than a similar pre-assembled bike upwards of $4,000-7,000 CAD. He built his electric bike as an answer to his grueling commute fighting traffic through Vancouver, Burnaby, New West and Delta.

With limited road speed of 32km/hr and off-road max of 40km/h, his setup can easily keep up with traffic on non-highway city roads and yet handle the old abandoned bike trails along train tracks. On the days he has to take car his commute into the city, the traffic during peak traffic is sometimes 1.5-2hrs, you literally just sit there. With his eBike he cuts his commute to 50min consistently each way and gets some exercise along the way. In a hilly place like metro Vancouver eBike comes handy tackling the hills with ease. It's definitely more fun than being stuck in traffic in a car, even on a rainy day.

According to Aaron, there's some controversy around scooter and eBike users mixture with cars and regular cyclist, so consideration is key - as it's always been in any form of transportation. He thinks cities should eventually turn car lanes into electric vehicle lanes. It just makes sense!