Environmental awareness is rising, global bicycle industry demand is growing, and with the introduction of technology, Taiwan’s bicycle manufacturing industry presents three main trends. One is that with the improvement of parts and manufacturing technology, products are developing towards high unit prices, and the other is AI and the Internet of Things. The trend of intelligent bicycle research and development is finally the new riding mode triggered by the rise of electric bicycles. Riding on, Taiwan, as a bicycle kingdom, has quickly grasped technological opportunities after facing a brief low tide, breaking through the current situation, and creating a high-output manufacturing supply chain.

According to statistics from the Statistics Department of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the output value of Taiwan bicycles in 2018 exceeded 110 billion Taiwan dollars. Through innovative research and development, the unit price of Taiwan bicycles has increased year by year. With the gradual recovery of the market and the hot sales of high-unit-price electric bikes globally, the Taiwan bicycle industry's output in the first two quarters of 2019 increased by 3.5% over the same period last year, and electric bicycles soared by 113.2%.

In terms of bicycle parts, thanks to the high unit prices of high-end and high-end models, the hot sales of electric bicycles, and the growth of the repair market, the bicycle parts market have also benefited. In the first half of 2019, the export volume increased by 8.85%, and the output value reached 427 million US dollars. Regardless of whether it is incomplete vehicles or parts, the rapid digital transformation of the Taiwan bicycle industry and its excellent manufacturing technology background are the focus of Taiwan international advantages.

The output value of electric bicycles has the highest annual growth rate, and the profit is close to the traditional bicycle
With the rise of AI and the Internet of Things technologies, the transformation of the bicycle industry combines two major technological trends to create a trend for smart riding.

Through AI and the Internet of Things, bicycles can not only detect personal health status and early warning of physical crises while riding but also real-time confirmation of road conditions and sensing of the air quality of the riding environment to implement true smart riding. What's more interesting is that the bicycle combines the cloud to record and upload the internal and external conditions of the ride, and confirm it through the mobile app. Finally, the system will also perform big data calculations to analyze appropriate riding suggestions and provide related reference materials. In recent years, bicycles have been combined with tourism. Local operators have opened up renting bicycles as the most environmentally friendly way of local transportation, and there are also bicycle tours that travel by bicycle, which not only rides on international environmental trends but also creates local business opportunities.

The start of environmental awareness also promotes the development of electric bicycles. The report pointed out that Giant bike, a bicycle manufacturer, has made profits from electric bicycles this year approaching that of traditional bicycles. Merida's bike has a similar trend. Sales of electric bicycles are expected to grow to 200,000 units this year. In particular, although the number of bicycles sold by Merida did not increase in the first half of the year, its annual turnover increased by 1.11% thanks to the sales of electric bicycles. According to statistics from the Statistics Department of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, in 2018, the output value of Taiwan electric bicycles exceeded NT$10.9 billion, with an annual growth rate of 50.2%.

As the second-largest bicycle show in the world, the Taipei International Bicycle Show presents the development trend of the international bicycle industry and Taiwan manufacturing and R&D advantages.

At the 2018 Taipei International Cycle Show, the "Taipei Cycle+ Smart Riding Pavilion" was set up to showcase smart application technologies, including smart wearable devices, related system services, and integration, and of course, bicycles with cutting-edge technologies. In 2019, the "Special Zone for Electric Vehicles and Motor Systems" was established, attracting more than 50 manufacturers to enter, exhibiting related parts such as charging equipment, batteries, and electronic control systems.

Showcase Terrace Bay's powerful R&D technology! Taipei International Bicycle Show will start strongly next year

The Taiwan Bicycle Association stated that Taiwan’s bicycle industry has always had strong design and R&D capabilities, and the unit prices of high-end models continue to hit new highs. The E-bike market has gradually matured, with diversified prices, which is conducive to the development of the manufacturing chain.

The 2020 Taipei International Bicycle Show will be held in March at the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall. The organizer Taiwan External Trade Development Council will set up a zone for electric bicycles and motor systems, a zone for smart riding, a zone for startups, and cycling services. The exhibition area, the joint exhibition area of ​​European brands, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and other multinational exhibition areas are expected to attract more than 4,000 booths, and the proportion of foreign exhibitors exceeds 25%. This is the most international exhibition event in Taiwan.
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Reference: buzzorange

The Statistics Department of the Ministry of Economic Affairs released industry overview statistics today (27). Among them, the output value of the bicycle industry reached 115.3 billion yuan, an annual increase of 14.5%. Among them, bicycle parts accounted for 55.6%, followed by finished cars with 34.9%, and electric bicycles. Accounted for 9.5% again. But in terms of the annual growth rate, the output value of electric bicycles is 10.9 billion yuan, an annual increase of 50.2%.

According to the analysis of the Census and Statistics Department, electric bicycles are growing rapidly. In 2018, the output value of 10.9 billion yuan exceeded 10 billion yuan, an annual increase of 50.2%, and the average unit price of nearly three 年 each exceeded 40,000 yuan. In particular, the proportion of direct export sales last year was as high as 96.9%, with Europe and the United States as the main export markets, of which the European Union’s import market accounted for 32.6%, and the US import market accounted for 14.8%. The analysis was due to the active promotion of green energy and sports and leisure in Europe and the United States. The prevailing trend, coupled with the auxiliary needs of the elderly population, has driven the demand for electric bicycles to continue to grow rapidly.

The Census and Statistics Department also pointed out that despite the ups and downs of China's bicycle-sharing fever, bicycles have reached a peak of 56.5 billion yuan in 2015, and they have experienced double-digit negative growth for two consecutive years. They have resumed positive growth of 6.3% in 2018. Continuous efforts in research and development and innovation, and development towards high value, have caused the average sales unit price to increase year by year. In 2018, the average sales unit price was 21,000 yuan, the highest in history, with an annual increase of 11.9%.

Also in 2018, the total export of bicycles was 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, an annual increase of 11.0%. The main exports to Europe accounted for 43.2% and the United States accounted for 29.8%. The import market share in the EU and mainland China reached 38.0% and 85.7% respectively. crown.

As for bicycle parts, benefiting from the continuous increase in bicycle assembly demand in Europe and the United States, the equivalent quantities of front forks and bowls, frame, electric bicycle power system parts, transmissions, and rims have risen. In 2018, the output value was 64.2 billion yuan, a record high. The annual growth rate of 15.5%; export performance is strong, export value reached 1.25 billion US dollars, the annual growth rate of 11.4%, double-digit growth for two consecutive years, with Europe as the main export market, ranking second in the EU’s import market share, second only to China Mainland.

The Census and Statistics Department pointed out that although Taiwan bicycles have the highest market share in the European Union, they have been declining year by year. Because of Cambodia’s preferential treatment of EU’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) tariffs and low wages, European and American brands have set up factories to sell back to the EU. The share rose from 5.0% in 2011 to 29.0% in 2018, and the gap with Taiwan gradually narrowed. In the future, electric bicycles will develop towards the integration of the electronics and metal electromechanical industries. Taiwan has this competitive advantage and continues to improve its research and development technology, which will help promote the development of electric bicycles into the kingdom of production.
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Electric models are usually very similar in appearance to a normal bike, and are used in the same way, with pedals that allow them to function when they are turned off.
 
But the key element is the motor, which is usually integrated into the frame or mounted out of sight on another part of the bike. Generally, these bikes will be able to tell when you are turning your pedals and power up the motor to give you a boost – allowing for a little extra power.
 
It’s also important to note that an ebike is definitively not the same as an electric motorcycle, despite the similarities. The key difference is that an electric bike is still largely moved around by pedal power, which also means that they are regulated like bikes rather than motorcycles.

Why would I want an ebike?
The most common reason for investing in an ebike is for getting to work, and they are likely to become an even more popular as the world emerges from lockdown and people look for new ways to commute.
 
Ebikes have a variety of advantages for those who are looking to cycle to work or around their cities: with the extra motor boost, you can go further and get there without feeling as sweaty or tired.
 
But they are increasingly being used by leisure or training cyclists too. Ebikes have picked up an entirely undeserved reputation for being indulged in by cheaters or lazy riders, but people are starting to realise that they can be of interest to very good cyclists, who might otherwise be spending lots of money on more traditional bikes.
 
Likewise, mountain bikers are increasingly using electric bikes to allow them to practise technical skills without using up all their energy and wiping themselves out. Previously, doing tricky descents to improve your handling skills might also have meant a tiring slog to the top of a hill – now, with an electric motor, a cyclist can be carried to the top and still have the energy to get back down again.
 
Of course, none of this means that you won’t be putting in any effort – indeed, various manufacturers now allow their ebikes to be finely tuned so that the motor will only help you as much as you want it to. It won’t get rid of the work, unless you want it to, but it could be enough to help you up a particularly dastardly hill or keep you up with the partner who would otherwise shoot off without you.
 
What are the rules on ebikes?
Ebikes are regulated a slightly more than regular models. But not drastically so: you don’t need a licence to have one, and you don’t need to pay road tax or go through any of the more burdensome paper work that comes with something like a car.
 
The real restrictions are added by manufacturers. In the UK, ebikes can only go up to 15.5mph – at that point, the motor cuts out, though you can obviously go faster than that using leg power, should you so wish. In other parts of the world, the maximum speed may differ.
 
What do ebikes do beyond having motors?
The extra boost you get when cycling along is the defining aspect of ebikes, and there are many that do that very simply. But numerous companies have used the additional technology in an ebike to add extra features, too. As such, some ebikes are now technological gadgets as much as they are tools for getting around.

Reference: independent.co.uk

E-bikes are very popular in Europe, especially among older riders who appreciate the speed boost they provide. They've begun to take off in a big way in the UK in the last couple of years; retailers that specialise in e-bikes report healthy sales.
Much-improved styling means many modern e-bikes are hard to tell from regular bikes.
An e-bike is not just an electric scooter. To be road legal in the UK, it has to have pedals that can propel the bike, hence the designation "electric-assist". As long as the motor doesn't operate if you're travelling at more than 15.5mph (25km/h) and puts out no more than 250 watts, 14-year-olds and over can ride it without a licence, tax, insurance or helmet.
The regulations previously permitted "twist-and-go" e-bikes where the motor operated without the rider pedalling, as long as they came under the 250 watt power limit and the motor didn't propel the bike over 15.5mph. However, those bikes were banned by new regs that came into force in January 2016, though twist-and-go bikes bought before that seem to be still legal to use.
Yet another change to the rules in April 2019 made twist-and-go e-bikes legal again as long as you or the retailer get Single Vehicle Approval from a designated test centre. They have to meet all the other e-bike requirements.
Arguably, this is slightly silly, as you can still get the full 250W assist from some e-bikes while turning the pedals over so gently that you're not contributing anything to the bike's forward motion.
If it doesn't fall inside those rules, any electric bike is treated as a motor vehicle for which the usual rules about licensing and insurance apply. That means some of the more outlandishly powerful e-bikes and e-bike concepts out there wouldn't be legal in the UK without type approval, and you'd need a licence, motorcycle helmet, insurance and so on to use them on the roads.
In Europe there's another option: S-pedelecs. These higher-speed e-bikes are limited to 45km/h (28mph) and 500 watts. In countries where they are permitted, you need a moped licence, insurance and suitable helmet to ride them on the road, and they must have rear view mirrors. Buzzing long effortlessly at almost 30mph is exhilarating, but it's a thrill that you have to jump through hoops to experience legally in the UK. S-pedelecs available in the UK are often marketed as 'not for use on public roads’ or ‘for off-road use only’. It's a dubious disclaimer and trade organisations are strongly discouraging dealers from trying it.

Why an e-bike?
As Court Rye of US e-bike site ElectricBikeReview.com mentioned in this interview with Treehugger(link is external) there are as many ways of using an e-bike as there are regular bikes. People turn to e-bikes because they want to go further or faster than their level of fitness makes them comfortable, or they want to haul loads that are difficult on a conventional bike.
For example, one rider I know does his shopping and other gear-hauling on an electric-assist cargo bike, allowing him to live car-free in hilly San Francisco.
Others choose e-bikes because they're great for getting to the office without ending up lathered in sweat, or because they're simply not as young and fit as they once were but want to stay active.
James Heslop of the Cambridge branch of e-bike specialist electricbikesales.co.uk(link is external) agrees that the uses of e-bike vary hugely. "You might get two people buying the same bike, but their idea of what they're going to use them for will be very different," he says.
But Heslop adds that there's a big secret that's gets people on e-bikes as well as the practicalities: riding an e-bike is a lot of fun.
It starts with the power kick away from a stop. Instead of struggling to get up to speed, you have the power of a decent club cyclist giving you an extra shove. That gets you to 15mph faster than most cars. It's like having a super-power, except you don't have to wear your underpants on the outside.
Then there's climbing. Instead of toiling your way up hills, you zoom along, those extra 250 watts more than compensating for the increased weight of the bike.
As our Dave Atkinson put it when he reviewed the Koga E-Nova RT, good e-bike could be a genuine alternative to a second car — and a lot more fun to boot.
Let's take a look at your options.

E-bike styles
For the most part, e-bikes are based on either flat-bar hybrids or mountain bikes, and the hybrid style is the most common. Riding positions vary between the slightly stretched out stance of a cross-country mountain bike to sit-up-and-beg positions of bikes based on Dutch town bikes.
The larger wheels and skinnier tyres of a hybrid style e-bike make it a bit nippier, while the wider tyres and smaller wheels of an e-mountain bike are great for round-town pothole-bashing and allow you to venture on to tracks and trails.
Electric mountain bikes are probably the fastest-growing group at the moment, with retailers reporting lots of interest from riders who want help getting uphill so they can zoom down under gravity.
James Heslop says that these bikes are attracting a younger demographic to electric bikes, and are also attractive to older riders who want the versatility of a mountain bike. The boost from the motor overcomes the big disadvantage of a mountain bike on the road, the drag from knobby tyres, he says.
For the most part, though, Heslop says e-bikes are being used round town, and the hybrid style dominates. The European influence and practical intent mean these bikes often have a rack, mudguards and lights too.
The newest category is e-road: drop-handlebar lightweight road bikes with electric assist. Just a few years ago these only existed as concept bikes that hid the battery and motor inside carbon fibre frames to demonstrate that an e-bike could be light and look normal. Now, they're everywhere and available from big names like Trek(link is external), Giant, and even Pinarello as well as smaller players like mail order specialist Ribble.

Motors
E-bike motors can be built into either of the wheels or the frame. Wheel placement is more common on cheaper e-bikes; from about £1,700 they tend to be built into the frame and so drive the chain directly.
Motor placement is a point of debate among e-bike fans, though there's a school of thought that says it doesn't really matter that much and people should just go back to debating Macs v Windows.
However, one significant difference is that a motor in the frame will be coupled to the cranks. That means the control electronics can include a sensor that detects how hard you're pedalling and meter out the assistance accordingly.
That has advantages and disadvantages. Having your power assisted according to how much you put in can feel more natural, but you might want all the available assistance without having to go full-tilt yourself. James Heslop says another advantage is that the ability of the system to better react to how much power you're putting out means you'll get more range.
Various manufacturers make kits that bike makers then build into bikes. Referred to as the 'eGroup', this includes the motor, battery, control electronics, switches, and display — all the bits you don't find on a conventional bike. Names to look for include Bosch, Brose, Panasonic, Yamaha, Sony, Impulse, Bafang and Shimano.

Batteries & charging
Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, so it's no surprise to find them powering e-bikes. There are several different lithium-ion chemistries, and some are more energy-dense than others. The details are beyond the scope of this article, but the executive summary is that you get what you pay for: more expensive e-bikes have higher-tech batteries that are lighter for the charge they hold and charge faster.
Battery capacity is measured in watt-hours or amp-hours. Since most e-bikes now have 36V motors, converting the two units just means multiplying by 36: a 10 amp-hour battery is the same as a 360 watt-hour battery. Capacity is most often given in amp-hours, abbreviated Ah.
Capacity is typically around 7.5-10Ah, though some go as high as 18Ah. Many manufacturers offer a battery upgrade option.
Batteries degrade over time, holding less charge as they age. The quality of the battery makes a difference, so look for a reputable named battery manufacturer in the spec, such as Sony, Samsung or Panasonic, and make sure the warranty covers the battery for at least two years.
Lithium-ion batteries are typically rated to last 800 full charge cycles. That's about three years of weekday commuting. They survive longer with careful use; you should get at least 2,000 half-charge cycles, so topping up an e-bike's battery at every opportunity is good practice.
Those are pessimistic estimates though. In practice, a battery life of several years is quite easily attainable.
A full charge typically takes between two and a half and six hours depending on the manufacturer, battery capacity, and battery chemistry. Most people will just charge the battery overnight, though if you have a long commute and are concerned about battery longevity having a second charger at the office is a good idea.
Batteries with larger capacities and longer lifespans have become available in the last couple of years. Samsung, German battery supplier BMZ, and Panasonic make larger cells with improved chemistries that extend the claimed lifespan to 2,000 charge cycles. Energy density is higher for the new cells, too, so 700Wh batteries are possible, but the extra cost seems to have deterred most e-bike manufacturers from offering them so far..

Home on the range
The range — how far an e-bike will go on one charge of the battery — is probably the most important specification. If your commute involves a big hill, for example, you don't want to run out of juice halfway up it. Without power, an e-bike is just a heavy bike, and that's no fun on a steep climb.
A longer range usually means a bigger battery and more cost and weight, so it's not necessarily an unalloyed benefit. If you're only going to do a five mile commute, you don't need a 50-mile range. Nevertheless, you should buy a bike with a higher range than you absolutely need because the range will drop as the battery ages and loses capacity.
The range you get in practice will depend on how much you pedal, the assist level you choose (see below), the terrain you ride and how fast you go. You'll go further on a charge in the flatlands of Cambridge than the hills of Sheffield, but you might have more need for an e-bike in the hills anyway.
ElectricBikeReview's Court Rye reckons a good rule of thumb for range is to divide the battery capacity in watt-hours by 20. That gives you the minimum range if you use full assist all the time, or ride in 'twist-and-go' mode. Dial down the assistance and you'll go further; you might get as much as 40-50 miles from a charge of an 11Ah battery if you're prudent.

Assist levels
You can usually choose how much help the motor provides, typically in three or four increments. More sophisticated e-bikes also have a 'walk' mode that means you don't need to push the bike along yourself, which is especially useful if you need to get it up a ramp.
Choosing your assist level helps control the bike's range, as mentioned above. It also gives you the choice of just how much effort you want to put in. If you're riding for exercise, but just want a bit of help on the hills, or to go further, use the minimum setting. Feeling lazy? Dial it up to maximum and blow serious roadies away on the hills.

Costs
Good e-bikes are not cheap, even compared to good unassisted bikes. You can pick up a very basic machine for £500, but high-performance e-bikes, with light frames, high-capacity batteries and smart control electronics cost over two grand; bikes worth having start at about £1,000.
That's a lot of money. Or is it? A London Zone 1-3 Travelcard costs £1,696 per year, a Bristol City peak Travelpass is £1,200 and a Cambridge Megarider Plus Xtra bus ticket is £1,152. Even allowing a budget for maintenance and spares over two years even a high-end e-bike starts to look very competitive.
The low end e-bikes are not the bargains they appear to be either, according to James Heslop, who warns against buying a cheap Chinese e-bike off eBay. "You won't be able to get the parts if anything goes wrong," he says. He adds that reliability of these bikes is often poor. You can end up spending a lot if something does go wrong as mechanics work out the problem with unfamiliar electronics.
As for running costs, the electricity to power your e-bike will cost about 7p per charge. You'll eventually have to replace the battery, and that's the biggest expense of long-term e-bike ownership; they cost between £200 and £600.
Looking after the battery is key to saving money in the long run. Lithium-ion batteries like to be used, and shouldn't be stored empty or fully charged. If you want your battery to last years, treat it well.

Where to buy
Even more than conventional bikes, trying e-bikes before you buy is essential. The way the control electronics put out the power varies a lot between e-bikes, and you'll have your own preference in the resulting feel of the bike.
That means a specialist e-bike dealer is a must, especially given the size of the investment you're about to make. There are now e-bike specialists in most major cities, though they tend to be most common in places that already have lots of cyclists. It's no coincidence that electricbikesales.co.uk'sps are in London, York, Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol.
An e-bike specialist will explain the various bike options available, and impart essential knowledge such as how to care for the battery and use the controls and other options to get the most out of your e-bike.

Reference: road.cc

Policymakers and urban planners have been speaking of a new era of city mobility – one in which bicycles will become an urban-planning priority. The UK transport secretary has announced ambitious plans to make cycling part of a £2bn 'active travel' campaign, triggering hopes in cycling communities that bicycles will now finally be the norm, rather than the exception, on inner-city streets.

For all cyclists, this is great news. One of the bridging technologies that is convincing more people to use bicycles as both transport and sport is electromechanical innovation. Or, simply, the slick batteries and motors powering electric bikes.
Although purists were initially rankled by the idea of adding battery-powered assistance to the mechanical elegance of bicycles, customer demand has dispelled the myth that e-bikes are a fluke.

Growth conditions for the e-bike market are nearly perfect in this time of global crisis. Government policy has created superior incentives for bicycle ownership, maintenance and use, whilst battery technology is rapidly evolving and diminishing the tyranny of distance and fitness.

But what is the state of e-bike technology in 2020? Should you perhaps be considering an e-bike with less power and better cadence integration?

Batteries and motors are getting lighter – and better
Bicycle engineers all have a common enemy: weight. Lighter bikes often require less effort to pedal, turn or stop, providing more agile riding feedback and boosting rider confidence at all levels of ability. A lighter bike is also easier to live with, should it need to be taken up stairs, onto a train, or put into a car. 

The issue with first-generation e-bikes was weight. Adding a battery power source and the accompanying hub motor made e-bikes much heavier than a comparable road bike. With many cyclists obsessing about grams, the motion of riding a bike that more than doubled in weight was always going to be unappealing, even with a battery helping you along.
Engineers have now delivered a second-generation of e-bikes, which are remarkably light compared to their predecessors. Battery chemistry has improved, with gains in energy density. That means you can have a much lighter e-bike without sacrificing too much of its pedal assistance or endurance-enabling range.

Data harvesting has also allowed e-bike product planners and engineers to better understand what customers are actually doing. All that mileage and user data has revealed that many e-bikes could do with less battery capacity – meaning lighter bikes.

Best power meters
We have seen some of the legacy cycling brands now introducing e-bikes with notably smaller batteries. Energy capacity has trended down, from 500Wh to 250Wh. The desire for 500Wh batteries was driven by mountain bikers, who required big batteries to cope with steep climbs. For most road riding and commuting, the terrain profile is slightly more benign, making a 250-to-320Wh battery ideal.

The result has been lighter e-bikes with a stealth aesthetic. Some of the 250Wh models from Bianchi, Colnago, Ribble and Orbea are almost indistinguishable from today's best road bikes.  

At 500Wh of battery capacity, most e-bikes were simply overpowered and carrying additional weight to no benefit of their riders. The latest 250Wh batteries deliver stellar range and endurance, and as the bulk of e-bikes in this battery size increase, there should be related benefits of scale, reducing the price.

Making e-bikes more 'typical'
At both ends of the cycling spectrum, e-bikes were often viewed with scepticism. Inexperienced riders thought of them as nervous-handling, narrow-tyred mopeds, while serious road riders only saw impurity in battery assistance, instead of opportunity.

Many of the legacy cycling-frame brands recognised that ungainly e-bikes could ruin their reputation. The brand value created by decades of beautifully crafted road bike frames could be undone in a moment by bloated e-bikes.

However, dedicated engineers have managed to solve most of the packaging and size issues around hub motors and their associated batteries. The result is modern e-bikes in both the commuter and endurance road-riding segments, which are only distinguishable from their unassisted siblings at very close quarters.

Careful calibration of the hub motor's output tempo, in relation to a rider's power input through the cranks, has made most modern e-bikes a joy to pedal. Gone are the annoyances of delayed power surges when you need help on a sudden incline, or drivetrain drag when you are coasting along.

A decade ago, disc brakes were an oddity for commuters and road riders, as were higher-volume tubeless tyres.

In 2020, however, disc brakes have become standard, adding tremendous safety benefits in wet riding conditions. Most road and commuter bike frames are also rolling larger tyres than before, thanks to tubeless road tyre technology allowing for lower pressures. The progress in tyre technology alone has made for comfier and more confident bikes, as tyres shape better to the terrain they are rolling over, improving both braking and cornering traction.

The weather has always been a convenient excuse to not use your bicycle for a commute – or an excuse not to go on that endurance training ride. Rain might still be a factor, but with power-assistance capable of nullifying even the bitterest headwind, e-bikes are helping more people ride more often, for both work and pleasure, and for that we think electric bikes are a good thing.

Reference: cyclingnews

​For the past few years, electric mountain bikes have been a point of contention among mountain bikers, public-land managers, and the cycling media, bringing with them thorny discussions about access.

Not so with electric road and gravel bikes. They just don’t carry the same baggage as their off-road counterparts. That’s not to say they don’t have their naysayers. But many of the concerns have less to do with rules and regulations than with the aesthetics of road cycling and fears of Strava segments being “stolen” by riders who have a bit of motorized assistance. Still, the facts are clear: these machines can empower new riders and keep older cyclists riding well into their golden years. 

Because of these obvious advantages, e-road bikes are poised to become a growth category in the coming years. Motor and battery technologies have reached the point where they are small, light, and efficient enough to be tucked inside frames that closely resemble traditional road bikes. These advancements come at a time when a portion of the cycling market is in danger of aging out of the sport.

“Cyclists are buying our e-road bikes so they can enjoy group riding again,” says Jordan Hukee, marketing director of Orbea USA. “They are cyclists more than 45 years of age who simply can’t train as much or produce the power they could in the past but don’t want to give up on the social aspect of riding with friends.”

Brad Cole, marketing manager at Look USA, concurs with this assessment and sees room for cyclists beyond this cohort. “Riders over 50 will drive the early growth of the category, but as it matures, you’ll start to see riders of all ages adopting the technology, especially as it becomes more refined,” he says.

E-road bikes are a few years behind e-mountain bikes in terms of development. Companies are experimenting with different drive systems (such as the middrive motors commonly used on mountain bikes), as well as rear-hub-based systems, like the ebikemotion X35 motor found on last year’s Road Bike of the Year, the Orbea Gain. 

The demands of this category are very different from mountain bikes. Total weight and weight distribution are very important factors on the tarmac, where many cyclists prioritize ride feel. Many e-road-bike manufacturers have traded wattage and range to reduce complete bike weights to 25 to 28 pounds, a range that’s more palatable for veteran riders accustomed to riding 15-to-18-pound road bikes but who might need a little boost. 

The e-bikes in our test in October were categorized as Class 3, meaning their power comes from pedaling assistance without a throttle, and that they have a maximum assisted speed of 28 miles per hour. The two favorites in this year’s test were gravel bikes: Look’s e-765 Gravel and Specialized’s Turbo Creo Expert EVO SL.

Testers appreciated their go-anywhere versatility, plus there was very little penalty for riding knobby gravel tires on the pavement with a bit of extra wattage in the tank. These bikes stood out for their excellent weight distribution and the fact that their motors were designed to produce little to no noticeable drag when they were turned off. 

A handful of hammerheads in our test group griped (mostly jokingly) about losing Strava KOMs to those on e-road bikes, but this was overshadowed by all the ways these machines empowered our testers. One of our older riders remarked that he had passed his love for cycling onto his son, who can now drop him in a heartbeat. An e-road bike probably wouldn’t stop this, but it would allow this father to ride alongside his son on a Sunday group ride.

Additionally, several of our testers lamented that they hadn’t been able to ride as much as they had wanted in recent months, and that their training plans had been derailed by the demands of work and family life. Thankfully, they still showed up, and I think these folks had more fun than anyone else in our posse. E-road bikes allowed them to keep up at a conversational pace and socialize on rides they would have otherwise skipped. We think these types of meaningful experiences will make the e-road category blossom in the coming years.

​Reference: Outside

The next decade is going to be defined by a revolution of battery-powered transportation, and the vehicle that will lead the charge won’t be the Tesla Model 3 or even the wildly polarizing Cybertruck. And it definitely won’t be an electric scooter.
It will be an electric bike.

E-BIKE SALES ARE EXPECTED TO ENTER WARP SPEED OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS
For years, electric bikes were relegated to niche status in most countries. Between 2006 and 2012, e-bikes represented less than 1 percent of all annual bike sales. In 2013, only 1.8 million e-bikes were solid in all of Europe, while customers in the US bought a measly 185,000.
But things started to shift, thanks to improvements in lithium-ion battery technology, pricing, power, as well a growing movement in cities to shift away from gasoline-powered cars to zero-emission vehicles. Now, analysts are saying they expect e-bike sales to enter warp speed over the next few years.
Deloitte, which released its annual technology, media, and telecommunications predictions last week, says it expects 130 million e-bikes to be sold globally between 2020 and 2023. It also noted that “the number of e-bikes on the roads will easily outpace other e-vehicles by the end of next year.”

It seems preposterous on the surface, given American attitudes toward cars and the media hype surrounding new EVs, especially from companies like Tesla. Also, Americans tend to view bikes more as recreational vehicles than as legitimate transportation, something you use in fair weather, not in the rain and snow like the Dutch. In the US and Canada, only about 1 percent of the workforce commutes by bike today.

But if you believe that e-bike sales will top 40 million annually by 2023, and then you look at EV adoption rates, it becomes an easier prediction to swallow. At the end of 2018, there were just 5.1 million electric vehicles were in circulation, and only 12 million electric vehicles (cars and trucks) are expected to be sold in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency’s 2019 Global EV Outlook. (I’m no math expert, but last I checked 40 million > 12 million.)
That dramatic increase in sales seems to herald a dramatic shift in the way people get around. Indeed, Deloitte predicts a 1 percentage point rise in the proportion of people who bike to work from 2019 to 2022. That may not seem like much on the surface, but given the low bases, the difference will be impressive. Tens of billions of additional bicycle rides per year means fewer car trips and lower emissions, with spillover benefits for traffic congestion and urban air quality.

“E-BIKES ARE THE BEST SELLING EVS ON THE PLANET!”
Jeff Loucks, executive director of Deloitte’s Technology, Media, and Telecommunications center, said that e-bike sales in the US won’t be increasing evenly across the country. He predicts that cities, in particular, will see the biggest adoption rates.
“We’re seeing more people move into the urban core of cities throughout the United States,” Loucks told me. “And it’s just going to put a huge load on the roadways and on public transportation systems if some of that isn’t taking place by bike.”
Deloitte is not the only group predicting an e-bike revolution. Ryan Citron, an analyst for Guidehouse (formerly Navigant) told me he expects a total of 113 million e-bikes to be sold between 2020 and 2023. His figures, while slightly less than Deloitte, still envision an impressive surge in sales. “And yes, e-bikes are the best selling EVs on the planet!” Citron added in an email to The Verge.
E-bike sales have been growing steadily over the years, but they still only represent a small portion of the overall bike market in the US. E-bike sales jumped by an incredible 91 percent from 2016 to 2017 and then another 72 percent from 2017 to 2018 to reach an impressive $143.4 million, according to the market research firm NPD Group. Sales of electric bikes in the US have grown more than eightfold since 2014.
But NPD’s Matt Powell thinks Deloitte and others may be slightly overselling the e-bike boom. Powell said Deloitte’s predictions “seemed high,” as his firm was only forecasting 100,000 e-bikes sold in the US in 2020. He also said he did not agree with the sentiment that e-bikes would outsell electric cars over the next few years. Still, NPD acknowledges that the fastest-growing segment in the bike market is electric.

ELECTRIC CAR SALES HAVE BEEN SOFT IN THE US
Still, it’s true that electric car sales have been soft in the US. While Europe passes aggressive policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions in new vehicles, the Trump administration has been trying to roll back Obama-era rules aimed at improving fuel efficiency. Tesla has sold hundreds of thousands of vehicles, but legacy automakers have struggled to find similar success with their first EVs.
E-bikes may be gaining popularity, but it is certainly the case that they aren’t for everyone. Many people feel unsafe biking or need a car to haul kids or cargo. But Deloitte says that electrification enables greater experimentation in form factors. Bikes can be reconfigured to carry kids, groceries, or even local deliveries without requiring thighs of steel and Olympian levels of fitness to operate.
E-bikes have some obvious advantages over EVs — they’re cheaper, easier to charge, and don’t require huge investments in supportive infrastructure — but there may come a time when electric cars start to outsell electric bikes.
But if cities make the necessary changes to encourage more people to bike — such as building a network of protected bike lanes, restricting car use in certain areas, and offering safe places to lock up and store bikes — it stands to reason that e-bikes can maintain their top spot in the hierarchy of electric transportation.

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​Reference: THE VERGE

If e-bikes took off in the same way in the UK, as in many European cities, it would reduce congestion, improve mobility, and save CO2, the study says. It said the UK government hadn’t yet realised the strategic importance of e-bikes, push-bikes with electric motors.

The greatest impact would be in areas with poor public transport, it found. That's because a wider range of people would be able to use e-bikes, it said.

The research comes from the publicly funded Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (Creds), based in Oxford. The researchers say that in Denmark, where cycling has been strongly encouraged for decades, e-bike routes are already linking cities to towns and villages.

The research comes at a time when ministers are desperate for solutions which allow people to get to work without risking their health on public transport, but also without increasing carbon emissions.

So far the main emphasis has been on bringing people into city centres, where popup cycle lanes are being introduced.

But the Creds paper says e-bikes can be particularly effective in economically-deprived areas where people can’t afford cars, but bus services are poor. This could be in suburban or semi-rural areas.
It says the UK government should find ways to incentivise the use of e-bikes.

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Professor Nick Eyre from Creds told BBC News: "E-bikes give us an exciting new opportunity to reduce energy use and carbon emissions.
“They need to be part of the plan for the major investment we need in transport to get people moving safely again in ways that are economically and environmentally sustainable."
Critics could say that creating a major network of e-bike lanes would be expensive and sometimes not feasible.
There will also be problems with bike theft – and of culture in places where there is little history of cycling.
Professor Eyre said: “We know cycling is culturally dependent. There’s much more cycling here in Oxford than in Leeds, for example.
"It’s partly because Leeds is bigger and hillier, but it’s partly because in Oxford cycling is just something we do.
“[But] the last few weeks have shown us there’s much more capacity for people to change than we previously thought.”
Some planners believe the UK is on the brink of an urban transport revolution.
The government is currently consulting the public on the use of electric scooters on Britain’s streets.

However, a wide range of organisations, from pedestrians to motorists, have expressed their fears about the potential dangers of e-scooters, whether on the pavement or on the road.

Reference: BBC News​

E-bikes continue to grow in other parts of the world. China is the largest market for electric bicycles; the second largest market in Europe.
Back to the topic, do you know what types of electric bicycles are increasingly popular? How to generate electricity? This article will briefly introduce the three types of electric bicycles, motors and batteries.

Three types of electric bicycles:
classic 1: Pedal Assist / Pedelec
The most common type of electric bike is the pedal-assist or pedelec are equipped with electric motors that only work while the bike is being pedaled. The rider pedals the bike normally while a motor provides assistance, increasing the power transmitted to the rear wheel so allows for higher speeds and effortless climbing over steep hills.
In most of Europe, the system cannot provide assistance over 25 kilometers per hour (kph) or approximately 15 miles per hour. In the United States, pedelecs are limited to 20 mph and cannot use motors that exceed 750 watts.

classic 2: Throttle
Class 2 e-bike is much like a motorcycle or scooter a throttle operated e-bike propels the bike forward without any additional pedaling from the rider. Most powers on demand bikes give riders full control of the motor by using a throttle, button, or trigger located on the handlebars. They are very often the class 2 e-bike of choice for people who are looking for a way to ease into cycling, or who are interested in a way to control and gradually increase or decrease their level of physical exercise while riding.

classic 3: Speed Pedelec
The design of a speed pedelec is similar to a standard pedelec, which is similar to normal pedelecs in terms of their basic operation. The important distinction that speed pedelecs make it possible for riders to combine the power of their legs with the power of the motor to achieve speeds greater than 28 mph. In many areas this class of e-bike is considered a motor vehicle requires its riders to be licensed.

Hub Motors and Mid-Drive
The motor is the single most important feature of an electric bike—it’s what makes an electric bike an electric bike. At the heart of any e-bike is an electric motor, and it can be located in one of two places, the center of the frame or one of the hubs. 

Hub Motors: 
A hub motor is situated in the hub of one of the bike’s wheels, providing propulsion by spinning whichever wheel to which it’s attached. As electric bikes first began gaining popularity, these were the most frequently used type of motor, and while the increasingly widespread use of mid-drive motors is beginning to shift this trend, hub motors continue to be a dominant component in the electric bike industry.

• Front hub motors: Because front hub motors don’t impede in any way the bike’s drivetrain, the front hub motor is the simplest e-bike design. But cornering while accelerating can be especially tricky when the drive unit is in the front wheel. Given these limitations, the front hub motor is the least common e-bike system and is most often found on inexpensive conversion kits as they can easily be added to almost any bike.
• Rear hub motors: A rear hub motor can accommodate both throttle and pedelec, rear hub motors “push” the bike forward, which often feels more natural to those accustomed to riding conventional bicycles, so they are the most popular for electric conversions.

Mid-Drive Motors​: 
The mid-drive design offers many benefits over a hub motor, making it the system of choice for most pedal assist production bikes. A mid-drive delivers more torque than a similarly powered hub motor and by being centrally located, distributes weight more evenly on the bike. 
Instead of being located in the hub of one of the wheels, mid-drive motors drive power to the bike’s drivetrain, typically at the crankset. By directly powering the bike’s cranks, mid-drive motors work in tight coordination with the bike’s already existing gears, amplifying the mechanical advantage they provide. 

Batteries
Batteries are the fundamental reason electric bikes have emerged as such promising vehicles in the 21st century. Modern e-bike batteries are usually lithium ion and composed of multiple battery cells. The primary consideration to make when looking at electric bike batteries is the range of the battery, the battery depends on how much motor assistance you plan to use while riding. The more you pedal and the less you use the motor, the more miles you can get out of the battery. The high quality electric bike batteries should be compact enough to blend in with the design of the bike, should not get in the way or in any way detract from your ability to ride comfortably.


Conclusion
Having established itself as a hugely popular, effective, and important mode of transportation in countries around the world—most notably China and several nations throughout Europe–the electric bike is beginning to take off in the United States as well. Whether it’s used to go on recreational rides with family or friends, as a way to get back into shape, or as a vehicle for completing your daily commutes, an electric bike is the key to easy, comfortable, and convenient travel.
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Reference:​ Montague Bikes、​ EVELO

​Some view the rise of e-bikes as a threat, as though standard bikes will go the way of the penny-farthing once everyone goes electric. But fear not: E-bikes aren’t here to rob us of our human-powered way of life. In fact, they may very well enhance it. So as we roll our way into peak riding season, here’s everything you need to know about the electric revolution.

1. E-bikes make pedaling easier.
Generally speaking, e-bikes are bicycles with a battery-powered “assist” that comes via pedaling and, in some cases, a throttle. When you push the pedals on a pedal-assist e-bike, a small motor engages and gives you a boost, so you can zip up hills and cruise over tough terrain without gassing yourself. Called “pedelecs,” they feel just like conventional bikes—but better, says Ed Benjamin, senior managing director at the consulting firm eCycleElectric. “You control your speed with your feet, like with a regular bike,” he says. “You just feel really powerful and accelerate easily.”

​In addition to the pedal-assist feature, some e-bikes come with a throttle that engages the motor with the press of a button. These belong to a separate class of e-bike that, obviously, doesn’t offer a pure cycling experience; they’re also illegal in some municipalities. Interestingly, Benjamin says, people who aren’t already “cyclists” tend to gravitate toward throttle bikes at first, but then turn around and choose a pedal-assist for their next purchase.

2. They go pretty fast… to a point.
The harder you pedal, the bigger the boost, the faster you’ll ride—to a point. E-bikes let you hum along at a brisk clip, but they aren’t motorcycles. You’ll never jackhammer down the road at 45 mph. The motor is governed to stop propelling you further when you hit 20 to 28 miles per hour, depending on the bike. So you’ll save time on your commute (I shave about three minutes off a five-mile trip) but still enjoy the scenery.
You can also control how big of an assist you get. Most e-bikes come with a power switch that lets you adjust the boost setting from “eco” (low) to “turbo” (high), for when you want a little more oomph to help you, say, up a steep hill.
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3. You’ll ride a lot more, even if you already ride a lot.
Getting an e-bike can dramatically increase how often you ride, according to a recent survey of nearly 1,800 e-bike owners in North America. Beforehand, 55 percent of respondents said they rode daily or weekly. After buying an e-bike, that number soared to 91 percent. It makes sense: Even if you’re super fit, you still get tired (likely from training or racing) and remounting your bike can feel like a chore. If you have an e-bike, you can continue riding while giving your knackered legs a bit of a break. You can also go faster, which makes biking for longer trips more attractive, even when you’re pressed for time.
For those who aren’t frequent riders, e-bikes open up a whole new world. While you may not be conditioned to ride 5-10 miles at a time, you can cover those distances easily with an electrical assist, which is a great way to build endurance and confidence. That same survey found that 94 percent of non-cyclists rode daily or weekly after getting an e-bike.

4. There’s an e-bike for everything.
Name a type of riding, and there’s an e-bike for that. If you have zero interest in an electric road bike, you may find yourself head over heels for a high-capacity e-cargo bike that can haul 400 pounds of stuff while still cruising at a cool 15 mph. E-bikes are available in fat, cargo, commuter, recreational, hardtail, full-suspension mountain, and even performance road bike styles. For proof, here are a dozen e-bikes we love for every type of cyclist.

5. They can replace driving.
“People are buying electric bicycles as a way to reduce car trips,” Benjamin says. The data backs him up: 28 percent of survey respondents said they bought an e-bike specifically to replace driving a car. And many other reasons buyers listed for wanting an e-bike—including carrying cargo and kids, avoiding parking and traffic, and environmental concerns—also indicate a desire to get out from behind the wheel. Plus, you don’t need to change clothes or clean up when you arrive at your destination, because you don’t have to work up as much of a sweat.
Consider, too, that more than half of all driving trips are shorter than 10 miles, with some surveys reporting that the average single trip amounts to just 5.95 miles. That’s a no-brainer distance to cover by e-bike. In fact, the survey found that owners replaced 46 percent of their car commutes and 30 percent of their driving errands with e-bike rides. All you need is a great commuter bag to carry your stuff, and you’re set.

6. Yes, you still get exercise.
E-bikes do some of the work for you, but they still count as exercise, especially for people who have otherwise been sedentary. Colorado University researchers found that when 20 non-exercising men and women e-biked about 40 minutes three days a week, they improved their cardiovascular fitness and blood sugar in just one month. “Many people are not fit enough to ride long enough to get meaningful health and fitness benefits from biking,” Benjamin says. “Put them on an electric bike and they can go out and ride for an hour and get a significant amount of exercise.”
Even if you’re in excellent shape and very fit, you still can get exercise by e-biking. When I did a head-to-head comparison of commuting with my cross bike versus a recreational e-bike, I found that my relative effort was much lower, and I burned about half as many calories, on the e-bike. But I still burned something—up to 200 calories per hour, the equivalent of what you burn by walking. And I opted for quick e-bike rides to town where I would usually drive, which means I was considerably more active overall.

7. The batteries are getting better.
There’s no getting around it: E-bikes give you yet another device to charge. Right now, you can expect your battery to last anywhere from 35 to 100 miles before it needs a recharge. Where you fall in that range depends on the size of the battery and how much power the motor draws. Obviously, if you buzz around on “turbo” all day, you’ll run out of juice faster than if you run on lower, more economical settings. But we also expect batteries to improve in the future.

8. Trail access can be tricky.
E-bikes remain a subject of controversy in mountain biking circles. You may not be able to take one on your favorite singletrack right now, as most non-motorized trails prohibit them. However, things have been tilting in a more permissive direction. Most recently, IMBA, the sport’s largest public advocacy group, shifted its stance to support allowing access for some pedal-assist e-bikes (those that top out at 20 mph) on some trails. With every major manufacturer making e-mountain bikes, more access is likely only a matter of time. “In a few years, people will realize that electric mountain bikes have no more trail impact than a regular mountain bike,” Benjamin says.

9. They’re not cheap, but they can save you money.
You can’t really get a cheap e-bike just yet. But if you keep the car in the garage more often, you’ll save cash on maintenance and gas money. Not to mention the added health benefits and potentially fewer sick days from getting more exercise. Prices vary widely, but you should expect to pay at least $1,500 for a decent e-bike, and considerably more ($2,500 to $5,500) for a quality bike with a motor system from a major manufacturer like Bosch, Shimano, or Yamaha.

10. They’re hefty.
The first thing many cyclists do when checking out a new bike is give it a lift to gauge the weight. You’re in for a little scale shock if you try that with an e-bike. The battery, motor, extra components, and reinforced frame make e-bikes inherently heavier than standard bikes—to the tune of about 20 pounds. Modern geometry and engineering help them handle well despite their weight, and obviously the motor-assist makes the extra pounds disappear when you start to pedal. But you’ll need more muscle to get them on your car rack or up and down stairs.

11. They’re the future of transportation.
Every major bike manufacturer—and literally dozens of smaller ones—is already in the e-bike game. Car companies aren’t far behind. Ford is already bankrolling an electric bike-share system in San Francisco, and GM has launched two e-bikes of their own. “The car business is jumping in with both feet,” Benjamin says, “because they realize that cars in high-density urban areas, where more than half the human race lives, just aren’t working anymore.” With big transportation players like Uber and Lyft seeing massive success with e-bikes, and cities searching for ways to relieve traffic congestion, programs may only continue to expand.

12. Soon, you’ll be able to race them.
It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. In Europe, where the e-bike market has exploded, the European Cycling Union announced that it will create a new racing circuit for e-bikes, including e-road and e-mountain bikes, for the 2019 season. Following suit, the UCI said it will include an electric mountain bike competition in the 2019 World Mountain Bike Championships. Yes, there will be a rainbow jersey awarded to the world’s best off-road e-biker.

13. It’s impossible to ride one without smiling.
That’s the truth. Our testers—all of whom are passionate traditional bike riders and/or racers—enjoyed tossing a leg over a pedal-assist bike so much that they took to calling them “wheee!” bikes. We’re willing to bet you’ll agree.

If you’re new to the e-scene, it’s important to note that, though you never forget how to ride a bike, an e-bike is no ordinary bike. Because they’re heavier and faster, you should take a few extra measures of caution to enjoy the ride safely.

Reference: bicycling