Here’s an excerpt of the insightful article written by Selene Yeager on how and why people use electric bikes. If you’d like to read the full article, here’s the link - https://www.bicycling.com/news/a20049844/ebike-study-car-trips/.
“Want to stir up the cycling masses on social media? Post something about e-bikes. Few topics in our sport raise hackles like bikes powered by batteries. Some welcome their potential to make cycling easier and more accessible, but others fear they’re too close in nature to motorcycles to earn the “bicycle” classification.
That the technology is fairly new, and we don’t have a ton of data to work with, only muddles the debate. A new survey should help clarify things. Carried out by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities, it sheds some light on how people actually use electric bikes. The main takeaway: More e-bikes means fewer cars on the road—and more people in the bike saddle.
Designed as a deep dive, the survey polled nearly 1,800 electric bike owners in North America, most of them in the US. It asked respondents why they bought e-bikes, what kind of trips they use them for, and how e-bikes compare to conventional bikes when it comes to barriers to cycling.
Men accounted for most e-bike buyers at 70 percent, with women at 29 percent (the rest were unspecified). Reasons behind the purchases were all over the map, but included the ability to ride more easily in a hilly area; to ride longer distances; to help overcome limitations caused by a medical condition; and, of course, to just have fun.”
Here’s the full article - https://www.bicycling.com/news/a20049844/ebike-study-car-trips/