So if you’re living anywhere outside the US, you’re sitting on an electric bike right now. It seems we’re the only country in which electric-assist bikes like this haven’t caught on. Maybe it’s because of our obsession with gigantic, gas-guzzling SUVs we never use for their intended purpose. But I digress. The fact is that other countries have found electric bikes practical in pretty good volume for some time now, and we’re late to the game. But Sanyo thinks the time has come for us to zoom around in future-bikes.
We got a bunch of feet-on time with the eneloop bike, and we all found it a blast to ride. Although it does have a “step-through” design that’s present on female bikes where I’m from, it’s a decent looking thing, and will come in a carbon fiber version soon as well.
The eneloop bike adjusts its boost depending on how hard you pedal and what mode you’re in. If you google the thing, you’ll find all the specs — battery size and all that. It’s been around for a while now but it’s just now starting to be pushed on our shores. It’ll cost you $2300 at the moment, which is pretty serious cash, but you can consider it an alternative to a scooter or used car, depending on your needs.
$2300… and there’s your reason why it hasn’t caught on over here.
Normal bikes are a rarity here outside of the young people usage. I can’t see this thing ever taking off and I see no reason for it to. Maybe as a kids mode of transportation, but not at $2300. That’s enough to buy a used car! I can’t even see where they got that number from. That thing can’t seriously cost more than what? A couple hundred to make? Triple that to make a profit and cover other costs… yep, comes out to be under $1500. Where do they get $2300??
Reminds me of the electric bike Schwinn has out for some time, except the Schwinn is better looking and has a few lower end models available for less.
http://www.schwinnelectricbikes.com/Bikes/Compare_usa.aspx
A tight economy and mostly working from home, puts these out of my budget and lifestyle for the time being, but I’d openly embrace them in the US as a way to put bike community to work and errands within reach of the “non-lycra clad” community. :-)
Real cyclists don’t need help pedaling, B.
*rolls eyes*
Yes, that exactly the attitude that will get more folks out of cars and on to bikes… let’s keep bikes as they are in the US, an excuse to wear spandex body suits covered in endorsement logos like a human-shaped NASCAR vehicle and pretend to be Lance Armstrong. End of the day, hang that bike up on the Hummer rack and pretend you made a difference.
Can’t agree with you more. Why do “real cyclists” believe that bikes are not to be used by anyone other than the person wanting to go out and do a 50 mile ride? What happened to bikes being just fun to ride?
Real cyclists arrive at work smelling like an old sock.
I am a real biker. Probably put on more miles than most. I am also well into middle age, and cannot bike up the LARGE hill home without causing back pain. Solutions (a) get a different bike like an electric bike or (b) stop biking.
Real bikers grow old too.
pretending>Real cyclists don’t need help pedaling, B.
No, real cyclists don’t have a car AT ALL, and real cyclists welcome anything that gets commuters out of their 4-wheel cages.
I suspect you are not a biker snob, but actually are are one of those bike-hating climate-denier right-wing types masquerading trolling for effect.
(If you really were a biker snob, you’d realize just how anti-bike your stance really is! Funny how you wouldn’t disparage a car or SUV driver at a traffic light… you’ll ONLY make fun of people who are trying to lessen their carbon footprint. Nice.)
PS – I don’t bike – I commute on my bike in fair weather. But I would drive my car even LESS if I had electric assist.
Sure, ‘real cyclists’ may not need help, but how about offering some assistance to people who haven’t gotten there yet…and would give it a try with some help from an electrical assist.
Electric assist bikes are a great idea, but you’ll be killed by a speeding car while pedaling around any of our fine city streets. We need bicycle paths in a big way.
As far as price goes, you generally get what you pay for.
Here at our Virgina store we have ebikes from $500 to $2000. For $500 you get basic components and a lead acid battery. A grand will get you a lithium battery and good components. $1500 and up can include torque sensors and other luxury features.
Peter,
What brands do you carry? Where is your store in Virginia?
Hi Ellie,
I bought an electric bike called the E+ from Electric Motion Systems. Its about the same price as the Sanyo. EMS designs & assembles these bikes in Dulles, VA. I believe Spoke’s in Vienna carries it. Their website is http://www.epluselectricbike.com/. I’ve been very happy with my E+.
I too would be curious to know what store carries multiple models of electric bikes.
peter answers below. It got flagged but I approved it.
I’ve been using an electric bike to commute to work for the past year and a half. I’ve put 4K miles on it & love it. Its been very reliable (about the same prices as the Sanyo bike). I too believe you get what you pay for.
Electric bikes for commuting are great when you’ve got bike trails/lanes– which I do in the Washington DC area. I much prefer to ride to work on my electric bike instead of driving by car. Its a much more enjoyable commute, even in “bad” weather.
Part of me hopes the US will start adopting this type of biking and another part of me wants to keep the secret & paths all to myself.
You can build youself one of these for less by just buying a electric hub motor and using an existing bike that you have. However, the cost of a hub motor, battery and other accessories still will cost around $700. Not cheap.
Triple A reported that in 2008 the average sedan cost over $8000 a year to own, operate and maintain. Makes for a pretty quick pay back if used in lieu of an automobile.
Even buying the accessories doesn’t ensure that you will have the regenerative braking and coasting that the eneloop bike offers. It may cost less to do it yourself, but this is pretty advanced technology, the same type you might find in a hybrid electric automobile.
Most controllers you buy have the capacity for regenerative braking. It turns out to be one of those useless features that add cost and complexity.
It works great on a Prius but on a bike it returns very little energy to the battery. Few find that it is worth it on a bike.
Our Retail Partner, Happy Trails Bike shop is in the process of moving to a new location 1920 Centerville turnpike in Virginia Beach, you will soon be able to see a selection of our bikes there. We will also be at the RV show at the Virginia Beach Convention center Jan 22-25. visit our “very underconstruction” website electricbikeworks.com, send me an email at peter@electricbikeworks.com or call 757-744-9876.
We carry Pedego, Eco-bike, Izip, Wentz, Amped and others. Contact us for some after Holidays pre move prices or just to discuss Ebikes in general, it’s my passion!
It looks very functional but they don’t seem to understand that Americans also see their rides as status symbols, not just as tools, sad as that may sound. This thing looks like something my grandma would have ridden and a lot of guys just would not want to be seen on it, IMHO.
It also costs way too much. I built my own for much less three years ago and it outperforms this one in every way imaginable:
http://biodiversivist.blogspot.com/2010/01/electric-bicycle-lessons-learned.html
Good post there, thanks.
Most of America isn’t dense enough to get around on a bicycle. I consider my 15 minute compute on the short side but I average 60mph. You can’t do that in a reasonable amount of time on a bike. I know people with commutes of an hour at highway speeds.
well it’s clearly not for commuters – but I think you’re wrong, much of america is dense enough. lots of people live, work, and shop within 10 miles of their home 90% of the time. I know I do, and most of the people I know do too.
We have have been an electric bike only shop for almost 10 years now. The Sanyo Eneloop is finally an electric bike, functioning the way it should be, not build like a hummer. We have sold the Giant Lite with a bottom bracket electric motor and small battery-pack made by Panasonic many years ago, if it would be still available, it would still be the best electric bike, hands down: http://www.nycewheels.com/giant-lite-electric-assisted-bike.html
The Sanyo Eneloop is an amazing bike, nothing like a mountain bike converted with a hub-motor strapped to it. I think its a little more expensive than it should be but assume that is just what it costs to build a quality bike outside of China.
Bert, http://www.nycewheels.com
Electric bikes rule.
The Sanyo is underpowered for the U.S. market and lacks style. I have been shopping for 3 weeks and studied the facts and opinions (blogs).
My criteria:
36V Lithium Battery
500 Watt Motor
Throttle Activated (not pedal assist)
Nicely Designed
So far, my 3 choices are
1. E+,
2. Pedego
3. Ultra Motors A to B.
Any others ??? I am ready to buy because when gas hits $5 gallon, the pickings will be slim.
For the peformance you want at the best price find a bike that suits you and add an Electric Kit. Here is a site with a number of pictures of various ones: http://www.gocarlite.com But there are lots of them out there.
Speaking from personal experience (see Jan 10th comment)… I’ve been very happy with my E+Mountain bike. I commuted on it almost 20miles each way (bike path) for a year through out the winter. I now have a 14 mile (each way) commute via path/lane & road. I’ve got the 750Watt motor. The motor is powerful enough to get me up some very steep hills and its been rugged enough to regularly ride a rough trail for about a mile in my commute.
Its allowed me to commute regularly. Although I’m athletic, I’m no Lance Armstrong.
When a repair was necessary it was addressed swiftly and professionally by the manufacturer. I ride it in every weather imaginable & its held up well. Switching accessories from my conventional bikes to the E+ was very easy as the bike is a standard bike frame and components. I’d not hesitate to purchase a second one if I was in the market again.
I am handicapped and ride a deep cell 12 volt 75 Ah battery system on a TRIcycle….Trail mate with Palmer Industries controller, etc. I have over 30,000 miles in it. Max speed 8 mph level with distance 27 miles. Is there in lithium technology a battery that will give same power but extend the distance I can safely go? I am in Santa Barbara CA.
Not to my knowledge and the cost would be prohibitive at this time. You could always add more 12 volt lead-acid batteries to your set up although I suspect that the weight is already very high.
Mass production of off-the-shelf lithium packs is on the way:
http://biodiversivist.blogspot.com/2009/11/mass-production-of-multi-purpose-large.html
My advice for Jim
(Big Fat Disclaimer, I sell Electric Bikes)
Ride before you buy, the bikes you mention offer totally different riding experiences. Don’t get hung up on watts or dismiss the pedal assist without trying it for 10 or 15 minutes, it takes a while to get used to.
Peter
Nice looking bike. Like most things I spend a couple of grand on I tend to read the specs and REALLY understand with the details mean – not what’s hyped.
I’m a lifelong cyclist (once owned a HD) but I like a power assist more than a throttle on an ebike. Not too sure about Sanyo’s proprietary torque sensing system because I haven’t tried it.
The specs say it diminishes the assist as the speed goes up, and then stops helping at 15mph; so you have to work that much harder to go a little faster. Maybe that’s OK?
Most ebikes made for Europe and Japan have a torque sensing system. That is not a special feature as they are suggesting here.
They are designed to meet the rules that say you cannot exceed 15 mph and yes, trying to pedal faster than that is very difficult because ebikes are very heavy and if they have a brushless motor, the magnets add a lot of drag, making it harder to rotate the wheel.
Bureaucracies can be comical if they were not so stifling. Why don’t cars have speed limiting devices on them? No more traffic tickets for speeding!
I’ve been riding me electric bike for almost five years and I learned that you always use the throttle just a little bit except when going downhill, just to overcome the weight and motor drag.
Modern E-bikes peddle very easily without power, try one out!
Giant has a new Hybrid bike. Introduced in 2009 and the 2010s are out as well. Giant are the only electric assist bikes I can find from a local shop in Minneapolis.
The Giant Hybrids look sweet, but I need to wait for the price to come down. They have a double battery lithium model that assists for up to 70 miles in “economy” mode. The Giant doesn’t have a throttle, the assist kicks in after you start pedling. Wired magazine reviewed the Giant and others. They got 40 miles using maximum assist mode.
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/backoffice/_upload_us/bikes/models/brochure/2009/Wired%20Twist%20freedom%20DX-Article.pdf
The shop near me also specializes in Giants. Apparently they have the best support network for vendors and decent quality. Very similar to the Sanyo in performance and looks. This shop owner is an electric vehicle enthusiast and has learned the hard way that electric bikes break, also that customers expectations are wildly variable. A 300 pound rider will not move as far as a 100 pound rider. Some are expecting a cheap scooter and on and on.
The shop near me also specializes in Giants. Apparently they have the best support network for vendors and decent quality. Very similar to the Sanyo in performance and looks. This shop owner is an electric vehicle enthusiast and has learned the hard way that electric bikes break, also that customers expectations are wildly variable. A 300 pound rider will not move as far as a 100 pound rider. Some are expecting a cheap scooter and on and on.