The Age of Electric

• Posted on 11 May 2018
• By Ben Cowie
• Posted in Product Review
• 0

Introucing e-bikes.

"The Pure Cycles Volta. Redefining personal electric transportation in London. 

“We forget just how painfully dim the world was before electricity. A candle, a good candle, provides barely a hundredth of the illumination of a single 100 watt light bulb.”— BILL BRYSON

Bicycles are the most efficient means of transportation ever invented. They turn a regular human, who is quite slow compared to a cheetah, into one of the fastest creatures on Earth in both short sprints, and over long distances. Bicycles enable this metamorphosis while consuming less energy than it takes to walk, and make the journey much more pleasant than sitting in exhaust-spewing traffic, or waiting for a bus that seems to be late every day. Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. And that was before bikes discovered electricity.

Today, the pedal-assisted bicycle is leading a transportation revolution systems in cities all over the world. Electric bicycles are enabling technology that allow ordinary people with no special fitness or training to capture the health benefits of riding a bike every day, without worrying about whether you can ride a huge distance, climb that big hill in your neighbourhood, carry your children, pick up a jug of milk on the way home, or worry about the strong wind that's supposed to pick up in the afternoon. Electric bikes let you ride comfortably, safely, and casually, no matter what the conditions. On any day, any person can enjoy the simple pleasure of a bicycle ride. 

Electric bicycles are transforming cities, too. Ordinary people can carry their groceries, their families, attend social events, get to school or work, and do normal everyday activities on a bike. Bikes aren't just for middle aged men in lycra anymore, they are for everybody. In a small city like London, anyone (not just an elite cyclist) can reach any corner of the city in less than twenty minutes by pedal-assisted bicycle. Don't believe me? Here's the map (generated by "How Far Can I Travel"). From 355 Clarence Street, I can have a comfortable 20 minute electric bicycle commute to anywhere in the city, making finding a great home an easy task. From a city marketing perspective, this could be a very strong selling point for London as a mid-sized city. Twenty minutes of sweat-free riding, even in the dog days of summer, sounds pretty great to me. 

Where I can ride sweat-free in 20 minutes by electric bicycle.

So what are the steps to going electric? We think a test ride is the only way to really feel what we're talking about. Once you ride an electric bike, it's hard to think about anything else for a little while. The smiles we see from everyone who rides a pedal-assisted electric bike brings back memories of the freedoms discovered in childhood.  We stock four pedal-assist bikes (Volta, eJoy, Boost-E, and Xtracycle) and have a fifth available by special order (Achielle). Each has different capabilities, but all of them will put a smile on your face when you ride out the door.

We don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. We have electric bikes.