Many people think that electric bike is a new invention, but the reality is actually electric bicycle has been around for more than a century, and if you look at the history, the first motorized bicycle was actually introduced just 30 years after the first pedal bicycle was invented in Paris. Since then, many versions of hybrid bicycles started to appear with continuous refinements to the original design and today there has been so many models have been available. These modern hybrid bikes have been designed to meet the needs of the modern society.
So, this is absolutely not a new thing, probably you think it’s a new invention because we have fuel shortage recently that raised its price up to the sky, but actually no. Even though it is be true that fuel shortage or global warming issue might responsible for the electronic bike to become increasingly popular today. This is actually a good thing, as more people realize the benefits of this green transportation, the pollution will decrease and people can save more money that they can put in better use.
However, even though they are quickly getting popularity in the US and European countries, the popularity is not as high as in Asia. In China for example, electric bicycles have been used widely. In 1996, in Shanghai alone there were already 370,000 motorized bicycles, which was nearly as much as the other vehicles that were approximately 470,000 at that time. This number keeps increasing, and today we can see so many electric bicycles on the streets of China. Today, China is the largest producer of electric bicycles in the world as well as the largest consumer of electric bicycles. In 2006 alone China has made 16 to 18 million sale of electric bicycles.
This is probably something that will never happen in a place like America, or at least it would take an extremely long time to achieve. Most Westerners love their cars too much, such vehicles are not only seen as their means of transportation but also their lifestyle. This is a mindset that will take time to change. Even though green vehicles like electric bikes are much cost effective, these people still prefer vehicles that run on gasoline. However, there has been some positive signals that electric bikes will continuously increase their popularity and will be used by more and more people in America and Europe.
Nowadays there are quite many places where you can buy electric bikes. There are many dealers that offer electric bicycles with various models and brands. You can even find many electric bicycles online, that will make it easy for you to find the best electric bike. With so many options of electric bikes for sale, you can make comparisons and choose the one that suits you best. Don’t just concentrate on prices when choosing an electric bike, you should emphasize more on quality. A high quality electric bike will last longer and save you more money in the long run.