Electric bikes combine traditional two-wheelers with modern technology. Read the description of three new bike models.
Voice 1: Electric bikes give you the freedom and convenience of two wheels without having to pedal like a maniac and arrive at your destination with your clothes wetthrough. An e-bike will get you where you want to go quickly and easily. No sweat - literally! Let’s look at three e-bikes that are great fun and very practical.
Voice 2: Our first e-bike is the ‘V99’. It will cost you a cool twenty-six thousand dollars, but it’s worth every cent. This is an e-bike made and designed in the Netherlands where cycling is a popular means of transport. What the Dutch don’t know about bikes can be written on the back of a postage stamp. The ‘V99’ comes with a choice of two different sized batteries. The smaller one will get you about seventy kilometres, and the bigger one about a 160 kilometres. The ‘V99’ has a very ordinary design, - in fact, it looks a bit old-fashioned - but don’t let that fool you. This is one powerhouse of an bike that delivers great speeds as soon as you set off. The ‘V99’ got five stars from our test team.
Voice 1: The second e-bike is the French ‘Velo Up’. This cool number is half the price of the V99, and offers simplicity at an affordable price. If you are only going to travel a short distance each day on your e-bike, this is the one to go for. The 250Watt motor and two-gear speed system are very efficient, but the ‘Velo Up’ was a bit slow on hills. The battery takes four hours to charge and lasts for about 60 kilometres. This is a great e-bike for city life, but we did find the saddle became a bit uncomfortable after a while. The e-bike is simple, fast and effective, and great value for money.
Voice 2: The third e-bike we tested was the ‘Mercury’. Designed in Britain and made in South Korea, this is the first e-bike that doesn’t have a chain. As you pedal, an alternator converts your energy and stores it in a battery built into the frame. The ‘Mercury’ has a range of about 35 kilometres between battery charges. A detachable, handle-bar computer shows you speed, distance and remaing charge. This bike is remarkably fast and the brakes are very sensitive. But the motor is noisy, and this takes some getting used to. The ‘Mercury’ looks odd, and learning to use it is almost like learning to ride an ordinary bike again – you almost have to forget what you know about cycling. This bike is fun, but it’s an odd ride. It costs about thirty thousand dollars. You can hire one from stockists for a week to see if you like it before you part with your money, which is a good idea, because this little beast certainly does not come cheap.