My first contact with electrical bikes was when I reviewed the Smart electric car (see Smart web), then I noticed that smart was manufacturing electrical bicycles. I need to say I did not understand the ebike concept, as an sports man I did not understand a bicycle with an electrical motor, where is the cardio wellness?

After reading a bit on these devices I see now how they try to become an alternative to excess traffic in the cities. Their advantage is that you wouldn’t probably cycle 15 km in a raw, you would feel lack of energy but there comes the electric motor on your bycicle.

Here you have a small presentation of the Smart electrical bikes:

Having scouted some of the bikes, most of them have a power motor minimum 200-250 Watts, average weight of the battery is 5 kg and they can reach at maximum level of 24 km/h more or less (they are submitted to local country laws and regulations).

There are many manufacturers and options already avalaible in the market. At the moment these devices are expensive compared with bicycles and motorcycles, but they are intended for long lasting, and can be charged over many times. Most of the devices offer the option of motor, pedals or both combined, but Smart goes one step ahead offering different options of recharging battery while driving. Because of the size of the battery, you can always carry another battery if you plan long distances or being the whole day out in the city.

Being an Hybrid between a motorcycle and a bicycle, and with the zero cost of fuel. They are very well positioned to become a real alternative to traffic in the cities. I think that governments should promote the ebike sharing (like Barcelona or Paris offer with common bicycles) or offer discounts to their price, because of the CO2 reductions they are one if the best sustainable offers to move in the city.