6 reasons why e-bikes are awesome

If you are new to the idea of an e-bike, you may have some questions about what they do and how they can fit your lifestyle. We’re here to help, so grab your helmet and get ready for a ride through six reasons why e-bikes are an excellent choice for Nova Scotians.

1. You can tackle hills pedal free

As fantastic as active transportation is, we have a lot of hilly terrain in our province and e-bikes can make riding them a whole lot easier. If you’re new to cycling, if you haven’t been on a bike for a long time, or if hills are a deal-breaker, then an e-bike may be for you. Let’s be real–most of us have driven by some poor cyclist slogging their way up a steep hill and have felt the pang of gratitude that it wasn’t us.

2. They’re speedy and easy to ride

In Nova Scotia e-bikes can travel up to 32 km/h! This is faster than pedal power only, meaning you can commute to school or work much quicker, saving more time for the important things in life. While speed might not be the main motivation for a recreational biker, for someone commuting by bike those extra minutes can be invaluable. The pedal assist feature on e-bikes can help ensure you get to your destination ready to go without even breaking a sweat!

3. E-bikes offer a more accessible form of cycling

Mobility challenges can impact people’s ability and confidence in using conventional bikes. Pedal assist can reduce stress on hips, ankles and knees and improve your endurance. E-bikes also come in recumbent styles if that’s more your speed. Overall, E-bikes can help improve public health by allowing people access to cycling who could not otherwise partake.

4. It’s an affordable form of transport

E-bikes are a great transportation alternative for people who don’t have access to a personal vehicle. They have a lower price point and owners are not required to have a licence or registration to drive one, making them even easier to own and maintain.

5. They’re environmentally friendly

Here is some quick math for you: If you use an e-bike to take a trip that you could take in a personal vehicle you’d generate 35 times fewer emissions per/km. Of course, if you only bike or walk and you’re using an e-bike, then you’re generating more emissions with the e-bike than you would have otherwise. But we really hope that you fall in love with your e-bike, and eventually are using it for longer trips you would have taken in a higher emitting vehicle. And, like everything tied to our electricity grid, your e-bike will only become less carbon intensive over time as the economy switches to renewable electricity.

6. Take your cargo, without making your car go

One reason you might choose to take your car in the morning could be because you have stuff. Sometimes you might want to carry things up hills or over longer distances. Cargo e-bikes let you carry lots of extra weight–existing models have a payload capacity of up to 400lbs (181kg)! And with the electric motor moving all that cargo around is no sweat – seriously.