HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Modern e-bikes are finally delivering on a promise first made 125 years ago, when one of the earliest patents for an electric-powered bicycle was filed. Despite those early ambitions, it would take a century before the idea of adding an electric motor to a bicycle gained much traction - a lot of aeroplanes, cars and rocket ships needed to be developed first.
By the late 1990s, however, alternative forms of transport had become more appealing even necessary, in some areas - because of crushing traffic. Certain bike manufacturers revisited the idea of electric-assist bikes. Advances in battery and motor tech opened the doors to better drivetrains that ran longer, with more power, and could be better integrated on frames.
Sales rose slowly at first, then exploded over the past four years. Reports in the US show that there has been a 95% jump in e-bike sales since 2016. Industry analyst Ed Benjamin predicts that 500 million e-bikes could be in use worldwide by 2025.
South Africa lacks safe commuting infrastructure and a commuter culture, which has limited sales of certain styles of e-bikes. But sales are increasing exponentially in the leisure and sport categories, as bikes become lighter, more capable and more affordable.
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E-bikes have changed the mountain biking landscape.
Of course, there'll always be a market for analogue bikes, especially high-performance, short-travel XC and marathon bikes; but what about trail bikes? Who wants to pedal a heavy bike up a punishing mountain track for one shot at the descent?
この記事は Bicycling South Africa の July/August 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Bicycling South Africa の July/August 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
6 WAYS TO BEAT THE HEAT THIS SUMMER
TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOU COOLER AND RIDING STRONGER... NO MATTER WHAT THE TEMPERATURE.
RAGE AGAINST THE LYCRA
WHY MOUNTAIN BIKING IS WAY MORE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE THAN BEING A ROADIE.
6 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT CHAINS
To help you get the most out this crucial drivetrain component, and celebrate just how impressive your loop of metal links really is, we've rounded up six things you might not know about the bike chain.
EVERYONE KNOWS 52X11 IS BIGGER THAN 48X10. EVEN THOUGH IT ISN'T.
\"The human threshold for 'least noticeable difference' is generally on the order of 10 per cent change of a value.\"
A CELEBRATION OF JUNK MILES
\"No longer dreading my next bunch sprint, I felt like I belonged on my bike again\"
KONTREI KUDOS
YOU DON'T HAVE TO TRAVEL FAR TO FEEL SOUTH AFRICAN WARMTH. BUT SOMETIMES YOU CHOOSE TO.
THE EASTERN CAPE PASSES ADVENTURE
SOME OF THE HIGHEST PASSES IN SOUTH AFRICA ALL IN ONE HELLUVA RIDE!
CAFFEINE - THE EXPERT'S PED*
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR EVERY PART OF YOUR RIDE LIFE
THE RACES ARE FASTER. ARE THEY CLEANER? AND DOES IT MATTER?
THE LAST TWO EDITIONS OF THE MEN’S Tour de France were among the three fastest.
Perfect Timing
THE SOUTHERN CAPE IS LITTERED WITH EXCELLENT RIDING AND EVEN BETTER COFFEE.