Why we have a love-hate relationship with electric scooters
Some cities are rolling out ambitious electric scooter sharing schemes, while others have banned them outright. Just how green, and how safe, are e-scooters?
You might have started seeing more of them on streets and in parks, gliding past you with a faint electric hum. As lockdowns lift and people avoid public transport, e-scooters – stand-up, electrically powered scooters – are becoming more popular.
The easing of lockdowns has highlighted the importance of individual, emission-free, socially distanced transport as governments try to prevent spikes in car use and pollution. But the story of e-scooters is one of both a popular tech gadget and a contentious form of transport. While they offer a seemingly fun and environmentally friendly option for short journeys, a range of questions about their safety and sustainability have emerged in the past two years.
Is Citycoco Legal in European Countries
Citycoco is a Harley style electric scooter with unique shape and strong performance, which is becoming more and more popular. Many buyers will have a question before placing an order, is Citycoco legal in my country? Can it ride on the road?
What Is an E-Bike? Here’s Everything You Need to Know
The first thing you should know about electric bicycle is that they’re here to stay. Electric bike sales jumped by an incredible 145 percent from 2019 to 2020 alone, according to the market research firm NPD Group. It’s a nearly $244 billion industry as of last year, and there’s no sign of a slowdown.
2. They go pretty fast… to a point.
The harder you pedal, the bigger the boost, the faster you’ll ride—to a point. Electric city bike lets you hum along at a brisk clip, but they aren’t motorcycles. You’ll never hammer 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.
For clarity, the electric mountain bike in this review are electric-motor-equipped bicycles that only go forward if you pedal them. Officially, they are categorized as Class 1 e-bikes, which means they have no throttle and a top-assisted speed of 20 miles per hour. (Class 2 and Class 3 varieties have throttles and/or different top-assist speeds. We’re limiting our coverage to Class 1 because most of the advocacy for trail use is currently for these models.) Though critics like to try and characterize all e-bikes as motorcycles, this couldn’t be further from reality. All of these bikes generate less than one horsepower, and they do it only when you are pedaling, akin to riding with a strong tailwind.
The batteries are the most important electric bicycle parts, because (if you don't do any pedaling) they contain all the power that will drive you along. Typical electric bike batteries make about 350–500 W of power (that's about 35–50 volts and 10 amps), which is about a quarter as much as you need to drive an electric toaster. In theory, you could use any kind of battery on a bicycle. In practice, however, you want to use something that stores lots of power without being too heavy—or you'll be using half your power just moving the battery along! That tends to rule out heavy lead-acid batteries like the ones that start cars, though some electric bikes do use them. Lightweight lithium-ion batteries, similar to those used in laptop computers, mobile (cellular) phones, and MP3 players, are now the most popular choice, though they're more expensive than older rechargeable battery technologies such as nickel-cadmium ("nicad"). Typical batteries will give your bicycle a range of 10–40 miles between charges (depending on the terrain) and a top speed of 10–20 mph (which is about the maximum most countries allow for these vehicles by law). You can extend the range by pedaling or free-wheeling some of the time.
Some cities are rolling out ambitious electric scooter sharing schemes, while others have banned them outright. Just how green, and how safe, are e-scooters?
You might have started seeing more of them on streets and in parks, gliding past you with a faint electric hum. As lockdowns lift and people avoid public transport, e-scooters – stand-up, electrically powered scooters – are becoming more popular.
The easing of lockdowns has highlighted the importance of individual, emission-free, socially distanced transport as governments try to prevent spikes in car use and pollution. But the story of e-scooters is one of both a popular tech gadget and a contentious form of transport. While they offer a seemingly fun and environmentally friendly option for short journeys, a range of questions about their safety and sustainability have emerged in the past two years.
Is Citycoco Legal in European Countries
Citycoco is a Harley style electric scooter with unique shape and strong performance, which is becoming more and more popular. Many buyers will have a question before placing an order, is Citycoco legal in my country? Can it ride on the road?
What Is an E-Bike? Here’s Everything You Need to Know
The first thing you should know about electric bicycle is that they’re here to stay. Electric bike sales jumped by an incredible 145 percent from 2019 to 2020 alone, according to the market research firm NPD Group. It’s a nearly $244 billion industry as of last year, and there’s no sign of a slowdown.
2. They go pretty fast… to a point.
The harder you pedal, the bigger the boost, the faster you’ll ride—to a point. Electric city bike lets you hum along at a brisk clip, but they aren’t motorcycles. You’ll never hammer 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.
For clarity, the electric mountain bike in this review are electric-motor-equipped bicycles that only go forward if you pedal them. Officially, they are categorized as Class 1 e-bikes, which means they have no throttle and a top-assisted speed of 20 miles per hour. (Class 2 and Class 3 varieties have throttles and/or different top-assist speeds. We’re limiting our coverage to Class 1 because most of the advocacy for trail use is currently for these models.) Though critics like to try and characterize all e-bikes as motorcycles, this couldn’t be further from reality. All of these bikes generate less than one horsepower, and they do it only when you are pedaling, akin to riding with a strong tailwind.
The batteries are the most important electric bicycle parts, because (if you don't do any pedaling) they contain all the power that will drive you along. Typical electric bike batteries make about 350–500 W of power (that's about 35–50 volts and 10 amps), which is about a quarter as much as you need to drive an electric toaster. In theory, you could use any kind of battery on a bicycle. In practice, however, you want to use something that stores lots of power without being too heavy—or you'll be using half your power just moving the battery along! That tends to rule out heavy lead-acid batteries like the ones that start cars, though some electric bikes do use them. Lightweight lithium-ion batteries, similar to those used in laptop computers, mobile (cellular) phones, and MP3 players, are now the most popular choice, though they're more expensive than older rechargeable battery technologies such as nickel-cadmium ("nicad"). Typical batteries will give your bicycle a range of 10–40 miles between charges (depending on the terrain) and a top speed of 10–20 mph (which is about the maximum most countries allow for these vehicles by law). You can extend the range by pedaling or free-wheeling some of the time.