RALEIGH, N.C. – E-bikes are sweeping the cities of North Carolina as people look for ways to avoid the stress of traffic and parking in downtown areas.
What You Need To Know
- E-bikes are battery powered bicycles with the capacity to travel around 30 mph
- This mode of transportation is gaining popularity as people seek alternate ways to get around crowded cities
- The average lifespan of an e-bike battery is around three years with proper maintenance and care
Anthony DeHart is a co-founder of East Coast Electric Speed Shop — an e-bike shop in Raleigh offering repair, maintenance and assembly, along with safety tips for both drivers and riders as more cyclists take to the streets.
“The interest in e-bikes has been building since 2015, but it was really the pandemic that ripped the lid off everything,” DeHart said.
He was one of the early supporters of the e-bike movement in North Carolina and now commutes to work every day on his bike.
“My commute is actually significantly shorter via bike,” DeHart said. “I tell you, it is extremely gratifying to buzz past a line full of cars stopped at a stop light - in the bike lane of course - and to see the road rage in real life and avoid it.”
He said electric bikes have the capacity to reduce congestion in cities across North Carolina. E-bikes can go up to 30 miles per hour and run for over 100 miles per charge on some models.
“For all trips less than 5 miles, this is going to be what makes the most sense, particularly in an environment like Raleigh where parking and traffic is already such a major concern,” DeHart said. “This kind of allows you to zip around, not through the cars, but alongside the cars.”
E-bikes do follow the same traffic laws as vehicles, but that also means they have the same right as a vehicle to occupy a full lane of traffic when there isn’t a bike lane. DeHart knows that can sometimes be frustrating to drivers who want to go faster than the bike’s 30 mph limit, but he says that’s more reason to continue expanding infrastructure for bikes and pedestrians.
“There are a couple parts of my daily commute that are still a little scary for me even as a pretty experienced rider,” DeHart said. “In the higher speed routes like what we just came through, you have less time to react.”
He says people are more likely to visit a downtown area when they don’t have to worry about finding parking or battling with other drivers. He encourages people to get out and see their communities at 15 mph instead of 50 – saying it saves money, time, the environment and boosts your mental health.
“There’s a huge correlation between getting a little bit of physical activity in that transition period going into work and coming out of work and what that does to your work life balance,” DeHart said.
E-bike retail and repair shops are still a rare find in North Carolina, but e-bikes can be ordered online for an average of around $1,700. Each battery will last around three years with proper care and maintenance.
“At the end of the day, we’re doing all of this because foolishly maybe we really do believe that bikes can save the world,” DeHart said.