I recently spent a few days in Birmingham, AL and got to try their new Zyp bikeshare system — the first public electric bikeshare system in the US. I’ve used bikeshare in a number of cities in the US and Europe and am a huge fan of both bikeshare and of e-bikes (electric bikes), so I was excited to try out Zyp. Unfortunately, this experience—both the bikes and the streets I traveled on—left a lot to be desired. That's unfortunate because Birmingham is a city that could really benefit from a good bike system.

The Bikes: What works and What doesn't

The Zyp system includes 400 bikes, of which 100 are e-bikes. The regular bikes were OK. The e-bikes were downright bad.

A good e-bike is smooth and adds a bit of assist to your pedaling. Not these. The Zyp e-bikes are fixed throttle, not e-assist. They are more of a single speed electric scooter, but with pedals for a throttle. When you begin to pedal the motor kicks in at its one single speed (approximately 15 MPH on flat ground).

Occasionally I would also find it rather difficult to pedal starting out, kind of like when you’re in a really high gear. The e-bikes that most prefer are those with a torque sensor that provides proportional e-assist. With this type of e-bike, the motor can provide 40% as much as the rider, 100% as above, 150%, 200%, etc. Given the hills in Birmingham, a 100% assist would likely be a good default