People often ask me, “What’s up with the electric bike Mark?”

Some people think it is a substitute or replacement for one of my regular bikes, and even try to insulate that I may be “wimping out” by trying avoid real exercise.

Well let me state, for the record, I don’t see the electric bike (e-bike) as a substitute or replacement for my other bikes. If anything, it’s a replacement for our car. In fact, owning and using an e-bike, in our current circumstances is a much better option than owning a car.

There are tons of benefits of using an e-bike including the following.

Cost

e-bikes cost much less than a car.

e-bikes don’t require oil changes or any other expensive maintenance. You may need to adjust the brakes from time to time. And after a few years, you may need to replace the battery, which depending the model and shipping costs, could be a bit pricey. However, you will never need to spend money on gas or wait in line at a gas station.

e-bikes owners aren’t required to buy auto insurance.

Convenience

e-bikes can’t be parked or stored almost anywhere. In crowded cities where parking lots are expensive and hard to find, you can park your e-bike on a sidewalk or in a bike parking area.

Commute times can be drastically shortened when using an e-bike. This can be done by avoiding traffic and traffic lights by taking bike paths. Often times I simply take the road and ride by all the cars stuck in traffic. If you are worried about keeping up with traffic, then check out a bike like the Falcon Ghost Classic that can cruise at 65 KPH (40 MPH).

Carry

We use our e-bike for quick runs to the grocery store. With a basket on the front and back, we can easily stock up on a couple days worth of groceries. Most e-bikes can be outfitted with a variety of racks and baggage systems for either daily commuting, or long distance cruising.

Exercise

You don’t get much exercise driving a car. But on an e-bike you either need to pedal (pedal assist) or have the option to pedal (throttle + peddle assist).

Fun

Come on admit it, riding a bike, electric or not, is one of life’s simple pleasures. It’s definitely a lot more enjoyable than sitting in a car or bus while stuck in traffic.

Environmentally Friendly

No mode of machine assisted transportation is perfectly friendly to the environment. But when all manufacturing, usage, and disposal emissions are considered, e-bike are a much more sustainable option than the automobile regardless of whether it’s a gas, diesel, hybrid, or even electric car.

How about you? What benefits do you see from using an e-bike?