The new mobility trends associated with the pandemic coincide with the increased sales of scooters and electric bicycles in our country. The recommendations made by the health authorities to avoid crowds as much as possible and maintain a safe distance have turned these vehicles into two new means of transport. And in the case of the electrified bike, even more so.
The best of the common bike with all the e-bikes
And it is that electric bicycles are undoubtedly the segment that is currently growing the most in the market. However, many users are still not familiar with its features due to its recent appearance. With so many models where to choose, with so many technical properties…. What if batteries, autonomies, types of brakes, etc.
However, you will see that it is much easier than all that. So, if you are trying to buy and choose an electric bicycle that suits your needs, you will have to have some keys that they will know how to help you During all the process. However, it is true that there is a more than wide variety so that you can lean towards them.
Among the various reasons why buying an electric bicycle is ideal at the moment is the one that we will get with them a lot of facilities. You will have in your hands the best of the conventional bike together with the most innovative and characteristic of these e-bikes, as they are also known. Great for exercising, as well as for walking and moving around the city, they also have a battery and an engine that help us move in a more efficient way. convenient and fast.
What is an electric bicycle
In this context we have to clarify the concept. Because, when buying, we should not confuse electric bicycles with scooters or electric motorcycles. The latter are in a separate segment. Here, these are, basically, a normal bike that we can find on a day-to-day basis. It has pedals, chain, fork … but equipped with an electric motor, a battery and a controller.
In this way, all the characteristics of an e-bike are integrated over the common bike type. Therefore, we can speak of it as a very light two-wheeler. It is powered by pedals and has an electric motor that complements the energy exerted directly on the pedals by the rider himself.
From there, we also have two variants. Because beyond its use (urban or mountain), we have two types that will come in handy when we know which bicycle we can and know how to buy. In this case, these are those that are driven by assisted pedaling, or by speed bike.
- Electric bike assisted pedaling. It is the most common within this electrified segment. It is what is legally considered a bicycle for all intents and purposes. In this case, the electric assistance can only be activated by pedaling the cyclist and, in Europe, the motor power cannot exceed 250W. In addition, the motor cannot assist beyond 25 km / h, although it is possible to circulate faster if the cyclist continues pedaling without assistance.
- Electric bicycle speed bike. Legally it has to be considered a moped (permits, restrictions, taxes, registration, mirrors, mandatory helmet, etc.). In this case, the electric assistance can also be operated with the pedals or also on demand by means of a button or accelerator. The motor can assist the rider up to a maximum speed of 45 km / h.
What use are we going to give it?
Among the most important aspects when choosing and buying your electric bicycle well is knowing and sincerely acknowledging the use that we intend to give it. It is the first step. In this we must decide if we will use it to go to work, day-to-day activities, or not. And, if so, if you will use it in combination with public transport or not. It may be more complex if we decide on one if you want to go to work with her, but also if we would like to go out with her in the mountains and play sports.
In addition to choosing between road, mountain or urban bike, it is essential to take into account the place where we live, and if you will ride with it every day. They will enter a series of questions that have their own and personal response, which is what will then make us deviate towards one of greater dimensions or less benefits.
For example: Do you live in a flat? Where will you leave it? Will you have to take it up every day by elevator? Each answer will be shaping the details of the type of bicycle that will best suit us, and it is highly advisable to do all of them beforehand to choose the electric one that will be used. really fit to your needs.
Technical requirements
As we have mentioned, the most common pedal-assisted e-bike has to have, necessarily, pedals. It is useless if it incorporates an electric motor and batteries if they do not have pedals. It is the aspect that continues to acquire a good importance, also because at the time of its use they are the ones that count for its movement.
In this way, it can be driven only by human traction without the assistance of the electric machine.In the case of the motor, something important is that it cannot exceed the 250W power, which would be equivalent to 0.34 CV. This is related to each other, since we have to take into account that a non-professional cyclist can exert about 100 or 150 W of sustained power on the bicycle.
The degree of attendance of these bikes is like to take it into account. Not only is it that to move with them you do not have to make any effort (if we want to) but they also begin to have benefits, especially acceleration, that conventional bicycles do not have.
Reference is also made to the way in which assistance is activated and deactivated. The bicycle needs to have the pedelec system: for the electric motor to push us, we have to be giving pedals, even if they are pedaled effortlessly. It also has to stop the electrical assistance of the motor if we exceed the speed of 25 km / h. From this figure only the muscle is worth if we want to go faster.
Prices and equipment
As for the prices managed, it will be common for you to find an e-bike with great features and functionalities at high prices, while you will find other more affordable ones for your pocket. In this sense, it is also very viable to opt for the alternative to kits conversion.
These are a set of components that allow you to transform and convert a traditional bicycle into an electric one. To do this, they are used adaptable and useful parts for all kinds of common bikes: motor, battery, controller and throttle. These will serve for all the components to be mounted on a normal bike, and turn it into an electric bike. It depends on the brand and the characteristics, but they could be found from about € 350/400, if we install it ourselves.
At the same time, and we can also resort to buying the electrified vehicle as such. But there are more prices. The simplest can cost from about € 800. Although branded it is more common to find bikes around 1500 to 2000 euros. If the electric bike is more exclusive, with better materials and more design, it can easily cost more than 3,000 euros.
Regulation of circulation and functionalities
In turn, and as we have known them, these types of bicycles have traffic regulations that widely differentiate them from other vehicles. On several fronts it enters the same segment as the scooter regulations. In fact, these will not be subject to registration.
Due to their consideration as cycles, they are exempt from having registration to circulate with them, as well as they will not be required to have civil liability insurance or have a specific license to drive or pass a periodic ITV. Yes, there may be exceptions, such as the Bultaco Albero (or Brinco). These, due to their construction characteristics, do not meet the requirements to be approved as cycles. So they go to the category equivalent to mopeds (they must be registered).
It should be noted that cyclists, like any other driver, must pass the alcohol and drug test when required at a police checkpoint. If they test positive, no point retraction will be applied as they are not subject to any driving license. Of course, they will not escape administrative sanction that corresponds to him.
In your case, cyclists looking to buy an electric bicycle are not required to hire any type of insurance To thirds. This, as well as they will not have to pay any traffic tax since electric bicycles are not homologated to mechanical traction vehicles. But that does not mean that if we have an accident we do not have to be responsible for the damage caused to vehicles and pedestrians.
Controllers
It is the brain of the bike. It is responsible for activating and regulating the electric motor. They come in different styles and some are more sophisticated than others and are always located on the handlebar for better control. There are two types of controllers: pedal and throttle, with distinctive properties.
- Throttle. It can be twist, as in motorcycles, or a button.
- Pedelec. More sophisticated, it monitors the rider’s pedaling to assist with the motor.
Those that use pedaling system, only assist pedaling. That is, for the motor to activate you have to be pedaling. There are others that are autonomous and it is not necessary to pedal for the motor to propel the bike. There are systems in which you can select between both modes of operation. As mentioned above, there are countries in which the power and maximum speed are regulated, especially for autonomous systems. In case of exceeding the regulations, they can be considered electric motorcycles and require a license for their use.
Battery
The batteries for the electric bicycle is something really important, both for it and when buying. To obtain the best, we will have to select the highest amps and voltage for the highest possible sea energy, thus buying the lithium battery for electric bicycle, perfect for us.
The most generic is usually the 36V, together with the 24V electric bike battery. To choose the best battery for electric bicycle possible, we must first look at the voltage (V) of the bicycle and that it has the higher intensity of amperes (Ah) possible, which will make it possible for our energy (Wh) to be as high as possible.
The three batteries used by this type of vehicle are lithium batteries, the most common of the new generation, Nickel and metal hydride batteries, their alternative, and lead batteries, the oldest. In the case of the latter, they are the least used due to their greater weight and lower capacity.
Electric motor and autonomy
Generally speaking, most bikes and users move with a consumption of between 5 and 10 Wh / k, so that a more common battery can potentially offer energy to travel between 36 and 72 km. Regarding the way of driving, as happens with cars or motorcycles, an important part of consumption is related to how we accelerate, especially starting from a standstill.
As for the electric motor, for its part, it is also the great part of it together with the battery that we must look at when buying an electric bicycle. On them, at present, the vast majority of electric bicycles use internal motors. These can go either on the front or rear hub of the bike or on the center axle. There are some bicycles that use an external motor that transmits the power through a chain. They come in a variety of powers ranging from 200W to 700W, although in several countries, such as Spain, only motors up to 250W are allowed and with a maximum speed of 25km / h.