Imagine you’re running late to class. Your heart’s racing as you think you won’t make it on time because your building is nearly halfway across campus. You wish you had a quicker way to get there. Then out of nowhere, you see your classmate on an e-bike zoom past you, making it to class in perfect time. It’s exactly what you want—what you need.
While they first hit the market in the ’90s, e-bikes rose in popularity in 2020, as public transit took a hit during the pandemic. The World Economic Forum reports that e-bike sales have grown by 145% in the U.S. since 2020. But with popularity comes a risk. According to a study done by OC Public Works, e-bike accidents are up by 500% in Orange County since 2020, causing risks to both riders and pedestrians. Some love them, and some hate them, but e-bikes have become a way for the people of Fullerton to get where they need to be.
For college students, e-bikes can be a cheaper alternative to cars. Fullerton College student, Dain Larson was gifted his Super 73 e-bike by his neighbor—he rides it to school, work, the gym and to his friends’ houses. Even though he’s almost been hit by cars, not having to pay for gasoline makes up for it.
E-bikes can be very expensive, costing between $1,000 and $5,000—not including maintenance. However, maintenance costs would still be significantly less than what you would spend on car repairs. Usually an e-bike just needs a tube, tire or brake fixed, which would cost around $50 to $150. A basic car repair would cost about $1,000. The Ascent, a financial and investing advice company, has found that the average American spends about $2,148 a year on gas, which is the average price of a long-lasting e-bike.
“It’s an expensive hobby, for sure,” says Brooke Campuzano, an employee at Gravity Bicycles, a bike repair shop in Fullerton. “Services on an e-bike can be pricier because they need more maintenance and services done to it, compared to mountain/road bikes.”
Fullerton Bicycles store owner Mike Franze sells around 50 to 70 e-bikes a month during the summer, dropping to 30 to 50 during winter. 35% of his sales come from e-mountain bikes, which are usually bought by younger people. Franze believes the main benefit of e-bikes is their riding accessibility. Anyone, no matter their age, can take up e-biking. People from age 20 to 60 are picking up their helmets and hitting the open roads. E-biking can also help people who can’t ride regular bicycles to start biking.
“It gets people that maybe have handicaps or elements that couldn’t necessarily ride a bicycle. It helps get people on bikes,” says Franze. “We see people that might have ridden bikes in their younger days, and they just want to start getting outside and exercise. And e-bikes provide a great tool and avenue to that consumer.”
Because e-bikes have more power than regular bicycles, users can go faster. That’s where the safety challenges come in. TT-Ebike, an e-bike company, reports that e-bikes tend to crash with cars during turns, in intersections and while overtaking. To help reduce the safety risks, Orange County will be setting new e-bike speed limits. Any e-bike going over 30 miles per hour is no longer considered as an e-bike and will be impounded if you do not have a driver’s license or vehicle identification number. The E-bike Modification Bill (AB 1174, Dixon), created this year, makes it illegal to tamper with an e-bike to give it an electric boost faster than 28 mph. If an e-bike is modified to operate in a different class, then the e-bike label must be changed to show the new classification.
The weight of an e-bike can also be a safety risk for riders. “In my experience, e-bikes are only necessary if you plan on riding it to school or work, but keep in mind that they are more dangerous than regular bikes,” says Fullerton College student and e-bike user Jordan Zhang. “Because they are faster and heavier, it makes it just a little bit more difficult to steer and if you’re not paying attention, you might hit a rock and your tire might slip.”
E-bike users also risk the chances of getting hit by cars—just like regular cyclists and riders of e-scooters—since they need to ride on the road, but not all roads have bike lanes. “I think some of the infrastructure in our cities is not conducive to that consumer, so there’s not enough bike lanes,” says Franze.
Proponents of e-bikes argue that if enough individuals and cities get on board, it can be a benefit to not just personal health, but to the environment. Get Green Now, an environmental education blog, reports that e-bikes produce zero carbon emissions while on the road. This keeps the air clean and breathable for everyone around. However, recharging e-bikes takes electricity from power grids, which does result in carbon emissions. But these emissions pale in comparison to the amount of power an electric car needs.
There are also many health benefits to e-biking. According to Erik’s Bike Shop, a national bicycle chain based in the Midwest, riding an e-bike can strengthen heart health, as well as reduce the chances of strokes and heart attacks by 50%. Just riding at least 18.6 miles a week can reduce your chances of cardiovascular disease. E-bikes are also better for your joints than regular bikes. Since you’re not pedaling as much as you would with a regular bike, your joints and muscles aren’t being pulled and weakened. You tend to burn about 100-600 calories per hour when riding an e-bike—which builds your muscle mass, helping you lose more calories even when not riding.
“There have been so many instances in which people have met on a group ride, on trails or even our shop where they have formed deep friendships due to e-biking,” says Campuzano. “It really gets e-bikers involved into a hobby they’re passionate in. Many of our customers have become part of a huge community.”
Taken from the Winter 2024 print issue of Inside Fullerton. Read it here.
