Seven miles later, by the time I got to Times Square, it dawned on me. The e-bike isn't about exercise, strictly. It's about commuting. The bike's electric motor helped me climb up to the Brooklyn Bridge, and then ascend a long incline from the Hudson River to the traffic-choked heart of Manhattan. The Tailwind transformed a normally sweaty bike commute into a pleasant, energizing spin. Indeed, I had given up on bike commuting to work because the ride left me drenched, and with no shower at work, it was a no go. The e-bike made bike commuting possible again.
Read the rest of the Business Week article here.
2 comments:
I saw a bike similar to the Schwinn in sue over in the Old Country (a "backward" country then known as Jugoslavija); in fact, I saw a heard of these. Aside from seeing them, I heard them...from quite a distance. They sounded like a flock of farting geese. As the article pointed out, none of the riders seemed to be sweating when astride these low fuel models. Quite a few were nattily attired and grim-faced on their way to work.
Oh, yeah, one more thing. I saw these bikes back in 1968. So, I guess we're catching on to alternative modes of travel to work....About 40 years after the "backward" parts of the world.
I recall seeing some in the US years ago but have not seen any since. In the old days - so to speak - electric bikes were regarded as a wimpish vehicle; neither motorcycle nor bicycle.
The appeal is easy to understand but the price is certainly steep.
Post a Comment