A little electric boost made the ride from the Dequindre Cut up the hill to Wilkins Street a breeze.

It was Monday, the sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day for a bike ride at Eastern Market.

I’ve ridden plenty of bikes but never an electric one, also known as an e-bike, so I was excited to try out a new offering from Detroit’s MoGo bike share network. This version is an electric pedal-assist bike — no shifting, just a bike that automatically adjusts to the pressure on the pedals. It gives a boost that lessens what your legs need to do. On another bike, you might be tempted to stand up while pedaling up a hill.

You can recognize the MoGo bikes around 10 neighborhoods in Detroit by their bright red frames and black seats, but the 50 new e-bikes MoGo is rolling out this week are black all over, accented by a “Boost” logo and the image of a lightning bolt.

I took a slow ride up the hill from the greenway and then spun around to try it again at a faster pace. The incline isn’t what I’d call steep, but for those who might struggle pedaling a standard bike up a hill or people with physical challenges, this would likely help them avoid hopping off and walking the bike, or might give them the confidence to give bike riding a try.

The bikes look slick and they’re fun to ride, although I could see how someone used to getting more of a workout on their trips might choose to pass. These bikes would, however, appeal to someone who wants to travel a little farther and faster than for just a leisurely ride.

Bicycle 'sweet spot'

Using the e-bikes will require riders to purchase one of the available daily, monthly or annual passes as they would for use of a standard bike. Riders should be able to use the Transit App on their smartphones to see which stations have e-bikes. MoGo allows for trips of up to 30 minutes, with riders able to pick up and drop off at any of the 44 docking stations. Bike share differs from bike rental because it’s designed in part as a transit option.

Lisa Nuszkowski, MoGo’s founder and executive director, who was among the group out on the ride this week, said each type of bike has its “sweet spot.”

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More:Detroit bike share hits 237K rides; some MoGo memberships up despite scooters

The standard bikes are good for family excursions on the RiverWalk or the Dequindre Cut or just riding around town. The e-bikes, which max out at 15 mph, could be particularly helpful for commuters. MoGo cited a stat that the average e-bike share ride is 3 miles compared with 1.9 miles on a standard bike.

“I don’t necessarily see it as a replacement. I see it as an addition,” Nuszkowski said. “It’s good to have options.”

MoGo is adding the e-bikes to its 430-bike fleet, with the possibility of more in the future based on funding. Staff will recharge the initial bikes as needed — each bike should get 40 miles per charge, at least in warm weather — but Nuszkowski expects MoGo stations to eventually have charging infrastructure. Because battery performance can drop in cold weather, this winter will offer a chance to see how the MoGo Boost bikes perform.

The new bikes will be at various stations, but it wasn’t immediately clear at which of the stations they would be placed at initially. MoGo bikes are spread around the network of stations but are moved throughout the day as riders use them, and staff can adjust where bikes are located to meet demand.

Oakland County, too

MoGo riders will be able to use e-bikes in MoGo’s planned expansion in Detroit and several Oakland County communities — Ferndale, Royal Oak, Oak Park, Berkley and Huntington Woods — as well.

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With the addition of e-bikes, Detroit joins about 36 other cities in North America with e-bikes in their bike share fleets, and additional cities are planning expansions. The North American Bikeshare Association counts more than 210 bike share systems in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“We are absolutely seeing a trend toward e-bikes in bike share systems, and it is having an immediate impact. User data is showing that people love using e-bikes. By making it easier to ride, e-bikes open the door to using bike share for people who are less comfortable getting onto a bike,” said Samantha Herr, the association’s executive director.

She noted that Birmingham, Alabama, in 2015 became the first city in the United States to offer e-bikes as part of a bike share system.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com or (313) 223-4272. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.

Membership stats

The MoGo system saw a 6.5% increase in monthly membership sales through the end of June this year compared with last, from 584 in 2018 to 622 in 2019.

There have been 2,364 monthly renewals and 1,663 annual renewals since the launch in 2017.

MoGo's most popular stations

These are the top stations during off-peak season this winter and during the peak season this spring and summer.

December 2018-February 2019 (off peak)

Fort and Griswold Bagley and Plaza Drive Grand Circus Park Larned and Woodward John R and Canfield

May 2019-July 2019 (peak period)

Atwater and Orleans Ren Cen and RiverWalk Fort and Griswold Grand Circus Park Russell and Wilkins

Source: MoGo