BY DAVID NORTH
Former Chair
Los Alamos County Transportation Board

With Bike To Work Day on Thursday, what better time to think about electric bikes? You’ll see factoids like “x number of trips are shorter than y miles” and other encouraging info, but those considerations go out the window when electric bikes come into play.

Distance? 5-10 miles is a breeze.

Hills? Not an issue — many electrics can climb our hills on throttle alone (that’s not the idea, but it is true).

Summer? You can use enough bike assistance to keep from getting overheated or even sweaty, and the breeze from riding will keep you cool enough on even the hottest days.

Cost? Many are about the same price as a lower-mid level pedal bike. They can use inexpensive but robust components because weight is not as important when you have electric assistance, and losing ounces costs money. The cost to charge one is literally pennies. It’s not any more complicated than charging your phone — just use any 110 wall socket.

And with rare exception, anyone can ride them (more on that later).

What’s more, they’re fun. Consider this: of the various people who have tried one of our ebikes, only one hasn’t gone out and bought one (and that’s probably just a matter of time). When Sue Barnes generously let us try hers, we both got one not long after. If you can spare a few minutes going to work or the store, it’s just nicer to be out on the bike, even in less than perfect weather. And sometimes, depending on traffic, actually faster.

That all sounds wonderful, but they are increasingly controversial. For one thing, there are ever more bikes on the road, and that alone bothers some people. There is a perception that they can go faster than pedal bikes, but that actually isn’t true except in rare cases. Even an old guy like me can exceed their max speed; the only difference is they make it easier. But most people riding them never take them to their top speed, at least on the flats.

One weird idea is they help people bomb downhill faster, and that simply isn’t true of any ebike I know about: usually they cut off helping at about 20 mph, though some go up to 28 mph. But I can easily coast faster than that around here on my road bike. If I pedal, I can go much faster, though I think it’s a bit barmy.

Still, as with cars and pickups, there will be some folks who are rude. A new kind of annoyance will generally stick in people’s minds more, and we do have plenty to annoy us already, so it’s no surprise there will be complaints.

So that said, you’re interested. What to do next?

If you know somebody who has one, maybe they’ll let you take it for a whirl. There are several bike shops in Santa Fe and Albuquerque that will allow both rentals and tryouts. Getting a feel for what it’s like is a good idea, but be warned: most people who try one end up buying.

What kind of riding do you expect to do? If you’re only going to ride around town and don’t need to transport the bike, you can get just about anything. Our first bikes were inexpensive Lectrics that weigh about 65 pounds. They’re extremely reliable and regular work horses, but a bit hard to lift. I bungee a wagon to the back of mine to haul stuff around the neighborhood or even on smoother trails.

This rig can go all manner of places unavailable to our Rav4. The wagon is kind of noisy though. Courtesy photo

You might want to spend a little more money if you want to ride trails or off-road, or need to lift it onto a rack or into a vehicle. We each have a relatively light electric (about 35 pounds) for travel and trail.

This is actually a child’s bike refitted for adult use. Cost about half that of an adult version with the same power but no rear suspension, which I don’t like anyway. Get creative! Courtesy photo

If you like simple, some lighter road bikes only have one speed and use a belt drive, which is very quiet and reliable. This may sound weird, but if you have throttle assist to get started, it’s perfectly practical. When I say these bikes can be easy to pedal, I’m not kidding.

Can’t ride a bike? Get a trike! They’re great for shopping and carrying loads or even a friend, and don’t cost all that much more.

Some folks with back issues have also advocated recumbents.

There are so many different kinds available you can spend weeks just looking at all the options. It’s guaranteed there’s something to suit your needs.

A couple of good online references are electrek.co and electricbikereview.com. But just google ebike and you’ll be busy for quite a while.

In other news, I’ve had several people comment about previous columns with suggestions and questions. If you’d like to see a subject addressed, raise an issue, or just tell me how wrong I am, I’ve registered atomicbikewriter@gmail.com and I promise to check it now and then.

Also, note that trail-oriented bikes should be capable of getting from White Rock to Tsankawi on the newly cleared right-of-way along SR4.

Dave North spent four years dealing with bicycling issues during his tenure on the Transportation Board and rides bikes almost daily. This is an exclusive series to The Reporter about how to get the most out of cycling in Los Alamos County.