We’re not in a post-War period when major industries are looking for new things to build. We’re not in a particularly high gasoline price time frame either. Yet electric bicycles are taking over city streets globally.
While bikers who yearn for the kando of a Yamaha electric motorcycle are still waiting, this is a company with a long-running commitment to leading electrification in the two-wheel and other spaces. Yamaha will deliver a motorcycle when it can do so with a capability set and price that make sense, and it will do a very good job of it.
As with its cars, BMW’s two-wheelers are not well-aligned with the disruptions sweeping through the market. Its growth results mask its inherent weakness.
The most popular articles of the past week on CleanTechnica included another great total cost of ownership (TCO) comparison between the Tesla Model 3 and some very popular cars, consumer demand levers Tesla could pull if it needed to stimulate more demand, an exploration of Tesla’s focus and mission beyond being a carmaker, electric bike fatalities and injuries rising, and more.
A campaign has been launched to cut US transportation energy use by 50% by 2050. Audi of America President Scott Keogh and National Grid US President Dean Seavers are the chairs of the Alliance to Save Energy’s 50×50 Commission. Natasha Vidangos, Vice President of Research for the Alliance to Save Energy, answered some questions about the campaign for CleanTechnica.
InMotion pulled out all the stops with the V10F, bundling increased power, range, and stability into a package that’s a more practical alternative for using this personal electric vehicle as a true commuter, but it comes at a cost. CleanTechnica spent some quality time with the InMotion V10F at the Alt Car Expo in Santa Monica to see how it stacked up against the competition.
Peter Craciun is the founder and director of Hummingbird Bike, which he started in 2016. He created his first bike for his girlfriend to encourage her to get into cycling. From there, he went on to design and create a very light folding bike utilizing a carbon fiber frame. There is also an e-bike version, which folds and is also very lightweight. He answered some questions about it for CleanTechnica.
If you haven’t seen an electric bicycle yet, it’s likely that you just didn’t notice the several that have passed you by recently. And if an electric bike hasn’t breezed by you uphill or down, or just on the flats, you likely just aren’t on the streets or trails at all.
Electric two-wheelers occupy an interesting space in 2018. Insufficient to replace motorcycles for long-distance touring, with all due respect for riders like Ben Rich and his cross-country trips, but with a rising urban demographic, they increasingly wrap the future in the skin of the past.
Urban planners and traffic safety regulators are struggling to come to grips with electric bicycles. They offer tremendous advantages for urban mobility, they reduce congestion, they offload overloaded transit, every electric bicycle is arguably one less car on crowded city streets, and they don’t pollute.
