Electric Bikes
We realise that most people want to do what they can to help the environment by commuting in a more environmentally friendly way but their home is just a bit too far away from work to do this on a conventional pedal-powered bike or public transport is expensive or just plain overloaded.
This is where electric bikes really solve a transport problem – long distances are less of a problem and hills become easy. An electric bike is the ultimate hybrid vehicle, electric when you need it but primarily powered by pedals. It will get you to work quickly and easily while being way kinder to the environment and your wallet than a car. There’s no need for lycra or a change of clothes – you can wear your everyday work clothes and not break a sweat – not unless you want to. It's perfectly feasible to ride to work with the motor doing most of the work and then ride home and put in a lot more effort yourself to get some exercise.
Get on your 'electric' bike
So if you are looking for an electric bike in Melbourne we’d love to help you find the right bike. Electric bikes are fun, safe, affordable and an environmentally-friendly transport option suitable for cyclists of all abilities. Don't think of using an electric bike as "cheating" as some die hards might suggest. An electric bike is a transport solution that is viable alternative to a big expensive car or a very expensive season ticket to public transport
Great Brands and Servicing Too
Electric Bikes Melbourne we do servicing too, As well as having lots of leading e-bike brands in stock, we also service e-bikes of all types and can build custom e-bikes based using a range of electric bike kits, as well as carry out any repairs in our dedicated workshop, designed specifically for Electric and Cargo bikes.
Many of our bikes let you carry large loads and passengers, think about that. It's a bike that carries all of your stuff, computers, workout gear, tools and a couple of kids and the dog. Why would you need a car for everyday use. Save it for weekend trips to the beach and enjoy not being stuck in a traffic jam every day. Sure, there will be days when the weather is not smiling upon you but on those days you just need the right clothes or take public transport. Actually public transport costs too much. Take your ebike!
Costs for charging an electric bike in Australia
Here's how to work out the cost of charging an e bike battery in your state:
- Multiply the battery voltage and amp hour rating to get watt hours ie. a 36 volt 10 amp hour battery has 360 watt hours (divide by 1,000 to get Kilowatt hours) = 0.36kwh
- Check your local electricity prices, the average cost per Kilowatt hour in Australia at the time of this article was $0.27
- Multiply the Kilowatt size of your battery by the cost per Kilowatt hour electrical rate = 0.36 x $0.27 = a complete charge cost of $0.0972 or roughly 10 cents
- Estimate your trip distance cost by dividing the charge cost by the average range of your battery pack. I estimate the lowest range per charge by dividing the watt hour capacity of the pack by 30 ie. 360 / 30 = 30 kms per charge and now we divide $0.0972 by 30 to get $0.00324 per km. That’s approximately 1/3 of a cent per kilometre on an electric bike looking at just the electricity cost alone. You may actually get more than 30km per charge. If you use you solar panels to charge your bike the cost of each charge would be even lower of course.
We have lots of high quality electric bikes in stock
Visit the Cargocycles shop in East Brunswick, Melbourne to check out our range of electric bikes and have a test ride. Just talk to our experienced staff and they'll help you find the right electric bike for your needs.
Learn the basics
What is an electric bike?
An electric bike or e-bike is a bicycle with a built-in electric motor used for propulsion – it is not a motorbike and you don’t need a license. The motor runs off a battery which is built into the bike which you need to plug into a normal powerpoint to recharge. Batteries are removable so you can charge them inside, but most models also let you charge the battery while it’s mounted on the e-bike. A full charge takes around 4-8 hours depending on the size of your battery and your charger.
Can I ride in the rain or through puddles?
You can ride in the rain as e-bike motors are weatherproof rather than 100% waterproof – the odd puddle is ok, but you should not fully submerge your bike. If you clean your e-bike do not use high-pressure hoses or a pressure washer. We recommend you store you e-bike undercover or inside. That way you can still look at it and admire it even when you are not riding it. Note, some non-ebike riders might think this is unusual behaviour but we understand.
To Pedal or not to pedal?
A pedal assist or ‘pedelec’ eBikes are the most commonly sold in Australia. You still need to pedal, but the electric motor adds power to each pedal stroke – making hills easier to climb and generally you can use less effort so won’t need to break a sweat on the way to work. Some e-bikes come with a throttle so you don’t have to pedal at all – but these are limited to 200 watts in Australia. We've also written up a handy guide to electric bikes. Read that here.
Will I charge the battery by pedaling or by riding ?
No, the technology does not exist at the moment to do this on e-bikes – if your electric bike motor was reversed to become a generator (where the energy of pedalling was converted into electrical energy to charge the battery) you would need to pedal furiously and strenuously – so it would be more efficient just to ride your e-bike like a regular bike! Regenerative braking (where the energy of braking is used to charge batteries) is new technology but is only available at the moment in electric cars. Considering the time you are actually applying your bike brakes is minuscule compared to your whole trip, the amount of energy you could use to recharge a battery would be minimal. Some energy is also lost while braking as friction or heat – so regenerative braking is pretty inefficient for e-bikes. The best way to charge your battery is still to plug it into a power outlet.
