Australia is in the grip of a bicycle boom, and it’s not just the super-fit and healthy who are riding around town. Innovative electric bike importers, Ecoriders, are creating quite a buzz amongst the young and old, and the chubby and skinny alike in NSW regional communities - with their new electric bike range!
“Regardless of whether you live in a city or country town, there really is no reason to be using a car to get around, especially when it comes to shorter journeys,” said EcoRiders’ CEO, Shri Karve. That’s why Karve joined forces with a Lismore-based environmental scientist to launch the Lismore region’s first electric bike business.
“It’s taken about six months of research and planning, including extensive negotiations with contacts in India and China, but we’re just about ready for take off!” the 30-year-old Southern Cross University business graduate said.
According to Karve, if Australia wants to start moving towards an era of energy efficient, pollution-free transportation, battery-powered electric bikes are the way to go.
He argues that while most recreational bicycles – such as the ones you’ll find at your local bike retailer – are great for the environment and people’s fitness, in terms of providing a viable alternative for daily transport, “they simply don’t cut it”.
“The use of any kind of bike as a replacement for your car is a great thing,” Karve says. “The benefit of an electric bike is it requires half the effort of a manual bike while still providing exercise.”
“Going up a hill is a breeze on an electric bicycle and for time-poor people, or people who are run off their feet too busy to spend 20 minutes pedalling a bike, there are no more excuses: the electric bike provides the solution.”
Ecoriders’ e-bikes, says Mr Karve, are an ideal way to encourage people to bypass the car in the garage and opt for the bike instead. “It’s basically a standard bicycle that has all the benefits of riding a recreational bike – such as being affordable, fun and great for fitness – but in addition, it has a built-in electric motor to assist cyclists in getting from A to B in a shorter amount of time.”
With the help of the bike, he says, you can achieve efficiently what you want to do without contributing to pollution. “It still offers the choice of pedalling or not pedalling, but depending on terrain and road conditions, you can travel up to 55 kilometres if you combine battery assist with pedalling, and travelling at up 25 kilometres an hour, that’s a viable alternative to using a car.”
Male, female and fold-up designs are available, and Karve says the 180-watt motor has a lithium battery, which can be removed from the bike frame, takes about 4-5 hours to recharge.
Call me biased, because I’ve just bought my own Ecoriders electric folding bike and I love it so much, I had to share the joys of it with you. People keep stopping me in the street and asking all about it – wondering how I can go so fast without making any noise!
Ecoriders e-bikes are available throughout NSW, from the QLD border down to Wagga Wagga and beyond.
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Electric Bike Making A Quiet Buzz
Australia is in the grip of a bicycle boom, and it’s not just the super-fit and healthy who are riding around town. Innovative electric bike importers, Ecoriders, are creating quite a buzz amongst the young and old, and the chubby and skinny alike in NSW regional communities - with their new electric bike range!
