Electric Bikes

CNN.com recently ran an article about electric bicycles. They are like mopeds in that they are bicycles with a motor assist. But there are different types; those that have scooter-like controls for the motor, and those whose motor kicks in automatically.

There are some very different designs. Some look almost like normal bikes, and some have a radical design like the Ultra Motor A2B pictured above. Electric bikes, of course, suffer from the same issues as electric scooters and cars. Range is limited. Old batteries are heavy, modern batteries are expensive. Their cost is often comparable to the next step up in transportation; in this case, a scooter or even a used car. The same arguments as mentioned in the entry about ZAP cars.

Speaking of ZAP, PPL donated an electric ZAP bike to the Lancaster Police way back in 1999. Growth in the electric bike market and advances in electric vehicle technology practically guarantee that we'll be seeing more electric bikes on the streets of Lancaster soon.