| Riding a bike is such a simple pleasure and great | | | | scooters 7-to-1. |
| exercise! The bicycle has been around for more than | | | | But production of electric two-wheelers has soared |
| a hundred years and has had numerous advances. A | | | | from fewer than 200,000 eight years ago to 22 million |
| hugely growing trend is that of Electric Bike | | | | last year alone, mostly for the domestic market. The |
| Conversion.Now, my wife and I both have bikes and | | | | industry estimates about 65 million are on Chinese |
| use them probably once a week. We usually go on | | | | roads today. |
| bike paths which are great if all you are after is a little | | | | One Chinese woman reported "I like riding my e-bike |
| exercise. Sometimes we take our Golden Retriever | | | | during rush hour and sometimes enjoy a laugh at the |
| "Max" (Yes, I know it's the most common dog name, | | | | people stuck in taxis. It's so convenient and helpful in |
| but hey I'm not very inventive!). Anyway, Max is four | | | | Shanghai, since the traffic is worse than ever." |
| years old and gets quite a workout when he jogs | | | | In China, use of electric two-wheelers has soared from |
| along with us on the bike paths. That's right, he just | | | | fewer than 200,000 eight years ago to 22 million last |
| jogs along and doesn't have to run cause we're old | | | | year, mostly for the domestic market. The industry |
| and pedal slow! | | | | estimates about 65 million are on Chinese roads. |
| But I digress. The world of bicycling is a changing. With | | | | The trend is catching on in the United States and |
| the world becoming more concerned about global | | | | elsewhere. It costs only pennies to charge the |
| warming and the high cost of gasoline (Don't get me | | | | batteries for daily use. |
| started on the oil companies and their insane profits!), | | | | In Japan, plug-in bicycles are favored by |
| everyone is looking for reasonable alternatives. Ways | | | | cost-conscious companies and older commuters. |
| to reduce their "carbon footprint" and reduce | | | | Australians use electric bikes in rural towns without bus |
| transportation costs. | | | | and train service. The Electric Bicycle Co. Pty. Ltd., the |
| A rapidly growing segment is that of electric bike | | | | continent's largest manufacturer and retailer of e-bikes, |
| conversion. It is a way to turn your manually pedaled | | | | says he has sold about 20,000 in the past decade, |
| bicycle into one that essentially peddles itself! Imagine | | | | priced at about $800 to $1,600. |
| gliding past snarled traffic on your motorized bicycle, | | | | In the Netherlands, which is an especially |
| relaxed and sweat-free! | | | | bicycle-friendly country, sales passed 138,800 last year. |
| The bicycle was a symbol of China in more doctrinaire | | | | Here in the good 'ole US of A, the desire to purchase |
| communist times, when almost no one owned a car. | | | | electric bikes and electric bike conversion kits is rising |
| Even now, nearly two decades after the country | | | | rapidly. This site is being developed to aid the person |
| began its great leap into capitalism and use of the | | | | looking to utilize an electric bike conversion kit, but will |
| automobile, it still has 430 million bicycles by | | | | also provide info on the best electric bikes that one |
| government count, outnumbering electric bikes and | | | | can purchase. |