Thursday, February 25, 2010

Ebikes in the bike corrals

On Sept 2 of last year, KATU did a news story about the new (at the time) bike corral in front of Widmer, under the title "Bike corrals bring more customers, carless options."  And I happened to be in some of the footage, albeit very briefly.  I think its a great demonstration that ebikes can coexist with un-epowered bicycles, and use the same infrastructure very effectively.  At -1:18 and -:53, at this link:
http://www.katu.com/news/56827477.html?video=YHI&t=a

If you hadn't known there was an ebike there, would you have recognized it as one?

Ebike Market Review

If you believe the internet/NYT/etc, there are a lot of studies on the ebike market, and that it is poised to explode.  One of the best summaries I've seen in a long time was filmed at 2009 Interbike convention, and featured some industry heavy-hitters.  Its worth a watch:

http://electriccyclist.com/interbike-2009-electric-bicycle-market-discussion

Recent eBike coverage from City Hall

Three exciting stories coming out of City Hall about ebikes

1) The Bureau of Transportation's Smart Trips Business blog featured an area ebiker (ahem) and discussed the future of electric vehicles.

2) In an unrelated post, the Mayor's office discussed ebikes, asking if they were a viable alternative to a local car trip. Of course, I think so!

3) And finally, the press machine that is Sanyo has donated on of their Eneloop bikes to City Hall for use as a fleet vehicle.  I'll be interested to see how it will work in a fleet environment - will it be a smashing success, or languish somewhere in a closet, with no care taken to keep the battery charged?  Come on City Hall'ers - make the leap!
Press Release
Better coverage from BikePortland.org.

Welcome to Portland (and the US), Kalkhoff!

Kalkhoff has landed!  On February 16, Greenlight Bikes announced that they would immediately begin selling the Kalkhoff line of bikes and ebikes, basing their headquarters/showroom in the Pearl District, at 528 NW 11th.  Showroom hours are M-F, 9-6.

I dropped by their offices for an early open house some months ago, and was impressed at the space and the quality of their bikes, both electric and non-electric.  Their bikes are brushless mid-drive pedelecs, with motors at 250w and Li-Ion 26v/10ah mid-frame mounted battery. It looks like they've also added a nice selection of accessories as well. They're a welcome addition to the Portland ebike scene in my opinion, and I look forward to dropping in soon for a test ride!

Welcome to PDXebiker!

Welcome to PDXebiker!