Finally, distribution and marketing infrastructure, factors the electric bike business has been lacking, are now in place. What CSW Total EV does is buy a case of electric bikes and then finance them to the dealers and provide them with marketing and sales support. The latter group, further divided into e-bikes and pedelecs, are of greater interest to the biking world. Some weigh up to 80 pounds and go 50 mph, but most electric-assisted bikes will run at about 15 mph for 15 miles, depending on terrain and the rider's weight, before needing a recharge. In turn, most models' chargers plug into standard 110-volt AC outlet.
Bikes come as a package, orretailers sell power kits that fit on most bikes.
E-bikes have motor power independent of muscle power, but can run on both simultaneously. With the flip of a switch, owners can ride them like mopeds or like a bicycle with a power assist while climbing a hill. Pedelecs, or pedal-electric bikes, also use a simultaneous combination of human and electric power, but the rider has to always pedal to continue moving, an important distinction for legal reasons. Governments from the national to local level are less likely to classify pedelecs as motor vehicles with all of the usual registration, licensing and vehicle-access requirements if the rider has to pedal to keep moving, Benjamin said. He noted that Japan has pedelecs with motors that will stop helping riders if the bikes' torque sensors detect they have exceeded a given speed limit.