The E-Bikes are Coming!

By Guy Dauncey on September 29, 2011

Special offer to would-be e-bikers

If you have never ridden a pedal assist electric bike, you don’t know what you’re missing. They’re just like a regular bike, but when you come to a hill or need to rest your legs you just zip on the electric drive and zip up the hill.

 

Some bike-riders may mock this, just as some dismiss the need for bicycle lanes, but when it comes to the general public, and our need to massively increase cycling as a means of transport, tackling climate change, reducing air pollution and improving our health, electric bikes absolutely rock. Worldwide, 27 million e-bikes sold in 2010, mostly in China. In Canada there were 20,000 e-bike sales last year.

David van Seters is a Vancouver entrepreneur who founded SPUD, the local organic food home delivery company that has been so successful. He is deeply committed to our planet’s wellbeing, and he researched 50 different models before choosing the Elite Electric Bike, which “has literally changed my life.”

Its total running cost, including electricity, depreciation, repairs and insurance comes to 4 cents a kilometre, compared to 50 cents for a regular car. Its lithium manganese battery is 100% recyclable, rated for 1200 charges, has  a total life of 80,000 km, and takes 3 hours to charge (cost 25 cents), or 1 hour for an 80% recharge. Using pedal assist, a single charge will take you about 60 km at an average speed of 32 kph on level ground. For details, see www.eliteelectricbikes.com

The Elite costs $1,895 + HST, and David believes in it so much that he is offering a $150 discount or a 36 month lease for about $85 a month  (less than an average bus pass) to anyone who responds to this article. If you switch from commuter driving, you’ll recover the cost in a year.

David writes “If we can get enough people out riding to work on electric bicycles, I believe that we can literally kick start a green commuting revolution.”

If you want to take David up on his offer, please call him directly at 604-841-6730 or email him at davidvanseters@gmail.com.