Electric bikes are here to stay

Photo: Snapwire, Pexels

Riding a bike is often the cheapest and the quickest way to get around the city. It’s a healthy and convenient way to get to your destination or simply enjoy a sunny day in your neighbourhood.

When living in a big city, people deal with heavy traffic and public transport delays on daily basis. It can be really frustrating to be late to your appointments, especially when you leave close to your workplace, school or appointment destination. It not surprising that many students and workers decide to use their bikes to commute.

Taking taxis, Uber and similar services can come up as expensive and unnecessary cost, while public transport is often unpredictable. Although cars are considered as the most convenient and economical way to get from a point A to the point B, finding parking or trying to beat rush hour traffic jam can be both stressful and exhausting.

Over the years, bicycles have changed and advanced significantly to the whole new electric bike range. Electric bikes are here to change everything we know about bicycles. As much as bikes are convenient for everyday traffic, riding them does take a lot of effort, sweat and a comfortable outfit. Riding a bike in your work outfit is not that cool nor comfortable. Well, electric bikes are here to change it all.

E-bikes are more convenient than we think

Electric bikes are gaining popularity, mostly due to the pedalling assistance feature and, well – they run on a battery. This means that no matter your fitness level, you can still use an electric bike to get around, but without sweat marks or that look, you get after a high-intense cardio session.

Running on power, e-bikes require almost no effort when riding on the flat surface. As soon as the rider starts pedalling, these cool bikes simply move forward. Think of it as an automatic vehicle – it starts much easier than a manual one. Similarly, when going uphill, it takes much less effort than it does with “old school” bicycles.

Although they are becoming more popular and offer convenient and easy transport system, electric bikes are not coming out cheap. In order to own one of these coll transport bikes, one needs to set aside a minimum of $2000. Yes, riding a bike without sweating is expensive. This mostly due to their build and the actual battery and electric features.

Newcastle among the first areas to introduce the electric-bike transport option

If you don’t have any extra cash to spend on an electronic bike, don’t worry – you can still try it out. Cities are slowly starting to integrate e-bike sharing schemes in order to ease the traffic and solve peak hour jams. Newcastle is one of the first to introduce the new transport option.

The creator of this idea is BYKKO, formerly known as Interbike Australia. They are famous for operating automated e-bike hire facilities. Their bike fleet consists of the latest and most advanced electric bikes. BYKKO has introduced the newly-established sharing system in Newcastle, following the example of other cities across Europe and Asia.

The rental scheme is available for 24 hours at a rate of $5.99 for 30 minutes of e-bike ride. This seems like an interesting and fun way to explore the city, however, BYKKO and the Australian government have bigger plans for the electric bike transport system.

The idea behind this project is to enable weekly and monthly subscriptions, which will allow people to use e-bikes as their main transport option. The rental docking station will be introduced across the main suburbs and the government would help build safe cycleways.

Overall, the electric bike seems like an interesting and fun alternative for everyday traffic. If we add the nice Newcastle and Australian weather, having the option to conveniently arrive at your destination on an electric bike does seem attractive. Especially when you can ditch the heavy pedalling and avoid the daily car-park stress and the hassle of Sydney traffic.


Riding on the streets by Stealth Bomber B52. Video: YouTube @ARidersLife

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