E-Bikes – where are they going?

Since the first E-Bike patent issued in the USA to Ogden Bolton Jr, E-bikes have come a long way, and with recent advances in battery storage and motor design, the E-bike scene has exploded into the commercial marketplace.

There are four basic classifications of E-Bikes

• Pedelecs – Pedal assist only where the motor disengages at 25km/hr
• S-Pedelecs – Pedal assist, but the motor disengages at a higher speed
• E-Bike – Power on demand – pedal assisted
• E-Bike – Purely power on demand, used with moped bikes for example

Bicycling is becoming more popular due to overcrowding of our cities, rising fuel costs, environmental, health and wellbeing concerns. From 2016 to 2024, the bicycle industry is expected to grow by approximately 38%. E-Bikes are set to take up 40% of this growth with China taking the lion’s share of this growth. Since 1998 sales of E-Bikes have been rapidly increasing in major population centers such as India, the USA and in Europe.

E-Bikes are a serious contender to displace the automobile and are now available in nearly every genre of the bicycle. They can be found in recreational vehicles such as road and mountain bikes; while also being utilized in commuter bikes, cargo and utility bikes (including bicycles used for shopping by households).

To ride a bike has many benefits to our health and wellbeing, our environment and access to these pleasures due to illness or disability. It is a proven and well-known fact that the low impact, a high aerobic value of riding a bicycle has a dramatic effect on our waistline (weight) and your mental and physical health. With an E-Bike, the power assistance allows you to enjoy the sport even if you are aged if you have a disability, or if you have health problems —with proper guidance from your health professional. E-Bikes, open the road for a vast amount more people to enjoy the sport. People can enjoy an E-Bike and go where they wouldn’t even consider going with a conventional bicycle, for example, due to the terrain.

Recreationally we all perform at different levels, and as such the E-Bike becomes an equaliser with the power assistance so we can keep the camaraderie of the group. We can ride where we would never consider due to our own individual strengths and take on rated climbs with confidence while having an enjoyable experience, without the fear of whether you are going to make it. E-Bikes level the terrain for any ability at which you ride.

There are also the environmental benefits with a reduction of emissions for the burning of fossil fuels, CBD advantages of less traffic congestion, which has a side effect of fewer accidents and injuries to commuters and city inhabitants.

For sure you can always enjoy riding your E-Bike, or regular bike, in Perfuro bicycling kits and be seen in this stylish performance wear. Please browse the shop. Perfuro is also developing a line of casual wear specifically for E-Bike riding, so that you can hop on, ride and arrive at your destination in style and comfort.