Name: Electric bikes: everything you need to know
Uploaded: 2020-12-18T18:16:18.000Z
Duration: 9 min 9 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

- So we here at The Verge love electric rideables.

Hoverboards, skateboards, scooters, motorcycles, mopeds,

unicycles, tricycles, you name it, we've ridden it.

But I'm here to tell you why I think electric bikes

in particular are more than just a fun tech fad.

I think they could actually be the future of transportation.

So here's some stuff you need to know about e-bikes.

And if you live in China or Europe, it's a good bet

that e-bikes are already a way of life for you.

In Europe, for example, e-bikes have long helped

older adults maintain independence and are just now

But here in the U.S., e-bikes are still pretty niche.

They only account for a 4% of total bikes sales.

Compare that to more bike-friendly countries

like the Netherlands where there are more e-bikes sold

Overall, experts predict that worldwide sales

Sales of electric-bikes in the U.S. have grown

It took a long time to get to this point.

Now one of the first patents for an electric-bike

was registered in 1895 by an inventor named Ogden Bolton.

Now Bolton didn't actually end up making or selling

but amazingly some of the same design details can be found

A rear hub motor with a battery centrally mounted

So let's talk about the basics before we get to

why e-bikes are the future of transportation.

So generally speaking e-bikes are bicycles

with a battery-powered assist that comes through

when you pedal or in some cases use a throttle.

Pushing on the pedal activates a small motor

There's the mid-drive which is located in the middle

of the bike usually between the two pedals.

And then there's the hub motor which is located

in the center of either the front or the rear wheel.

There are pros and cons to both types of motors.

Hub drives have been around forever and tend to be cheaper

They're really excellent motors for anyone needing

a reliable e-bike for long, mostly flat commuting.

Mid-drives are usually smaller and lighter

and can allow for greater torque than hub drives

making them well suited for hilly areas and off road use.

Their center position on the bike also creates

E-bikes also tend to use different types of sensors

There are two types, torque sensors and cadence sensors.

Torque sensors regulate the motor based on

while cadence sensors work off of how fast you pedal.

Good bikes use torque sensors while the low enders

have cadence only, and a lot of bikes use both.

I highly recommend testing out both types of motors

before buying an e-bikes to see which is the best for you.

Think about how you plan on using the bike.

The better e-bikes brands usually match the appropriate

motor placement with the type of bike they're selling.

Most mountain bikes come with mid-range motors

while the majority of commuter bikes sold

Manufacturers will often offer power ratings

were a way for bike companies to dance around

which prohibited anything stronger than 250 watts.

But now the continent allows the sale of bikes

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Electric bikes: everything you need to know

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