Virtus Motors

If you are wondering if an electric bike is a right choice, consider the following reasons to get yourself an electric bike.

1. Zip Through Traffic and Travel Faster than a Car

Electric bikes are faster than cars, yes really! Although cars can achieve speeds far greater than cycles and electric bikes, the average car speeds in traffic have been slowing down. A recent report states the average speed of cars in peak hours in 2017-18 is at a hilarious17 kmph, down from 20 kmph just last year. The reason is quite obvious and it really doesn’t help to have a car that can go up to 160 kmph, if the 1000’s of cars in front of you are managing a wild 17 kmph.

2. No Sweat
A lot of people avoid cycling to work because of sweating and most people don’t have swanky offices which have shower facilities. People sweat a lot less on electric bikes because they don’t have to pedal as hard, or pedal at all. Higher speeds compared to cycling, means there is more wind to keep you cool.

3. Climbing Flyovers and Hills Made Easy
Most cyclists know that Flyovers and Hills are dreadful, and often one has to resort to the embarrassing process of getting off to push the bike over the hill. Riding an electric cycle over hills and flyovers is just like eating a piece of cake. Electric bikes flatten hills out, depending on the power settings of your bike, you may still have to put in a fair amount of effort, but it is much less than when doing flyovers and hills without an electric assist.

4. Save Money
Most people need some form of transport to travel every day, and for most, it is a car, occupied most of the time by just one person. Cars are usually the second biggest expense in people’s budget after housing (third if you have a big fat wedding). Couple this with ever-increasing fuel prices and maintenance of the car, the expenses keep adding up.
Now, you might say that buying an electric bike is costlier than a regular bike, while this being true, the maintenance cost will be much the same as that of a regular bike. However, if you do the math of the running cost of electric bikes, it is clear that the electric bike is cheaper to run and the cost of recharging is also negligible.

5. Break Free From Regulations
In most countries, electric bikes are considered as regular bicycles. Although there are regulations like motor power and speed of the bike in place in every country, you are not required by law to pay road tax, get the bike registered or even get insurance. However, we would highly recommend you to get a basic insurance coverage for your bike. Since electric bikes are categorised as bicycles, they can be ridden in bike lanes and on bike routes, giving riders a huge advantage over cars.
You don’t need a license to ride the bike, and cannot be convicted for riding under the influence of alcohol either. (although it is NOT a good idea to drink and cycle).

6. Feel Good
Riding a bike makes you feel good. imagine being able to arrive at work without the stress of dealing to drive in traffic and constantly having to brake and accelerate coupled with rage. Studies and have shown that people who cycle to work have the highest level of satisfaction in their commute followed by walkers. Cycling on an electric bike is sufficiently brisk exercise to raise endorphin levels, the feel-good chemical of our body, which helps in reducing stress and generally makes you feel good.

7. Escape Fossil Fuel Dependency
Fuel prices are ever increasing, especially here in India, making commute every day that much more expensive. Everyone knows that oil is a finite resource, and we are using the supplies like they will last forever but guess what, it won’t. Of course, not everyone is going to stop driving cars completely, it is farfetched, but even if a lot more of us can use an electric bike, at least some of the time, we can certainly reduce oil consumption.

8. Electric Bikes are Safer
Cycling is perceived as unsafe in most places, especially where there is no dedicated cycling infrastructure and havoc for traffic. In this respect, we believe there is a lot of potential for electric bikes, and electric bikes are less dangerous than a regular bike in traffic. The ability of electric bikes to accelerate quickly and keep up with traffic help keep you out of danger. The fewer the cars that have to overtake you, the safer you are. Intersections are most dangerous and notorious for collisions, faster acceleration in electric bikes help you get out of the danger zone faster. Since electric bikes are battery powered, you have the option to add bike lights that are stronger than regular bikes, couple that with a rear light and indicators, makes you much more visible and hence much safer.

9. Parking Problem, No Problem
Bikes are compact, you can park 20 bikes in the space it takes to park one sedan. The ease of parking bikes saves a lot of time compared to circling around in the car trying to find a paid parking spot. You can park bikes easily almost anywhere and lock it up. (Although make sure it is not blocking anyone). The best part of most places parking for bikes is free!

10. Saving The World, One Commute at a Time
Riding an electric bike reduces your carbon footprint and reduces pollution and helps the environment. It may come as a surprise, but electric bike power actually has less impact on the environment than human power. It is true! Consider the factors in all the energy and emissions that comprise our food chain, in order to have enough energy or ride a regular bike or walk, an entire chain of activities is required, farming, transport, packaging, refrigeration, cooking, etc. all of which have some effect in the environment.

In short, human power is not as green as one might think, while the electric bike is the greenest and most efficient mode of transport we have today.