Electric Cycle Scooter Review
Posts Tagged ‘electric bicycle’
While in college, I lived in New York City, and had a job at McGrady’s Colossal Pizza. Evan McGrady himself was one of the coolest bosses I ever had; he was strict about pizzas being delivered on time, but he was always courteous, funny, and passionate about his work. When I started at McGrady’s Colossal Pizza, I had a regular old bike to deliver pizzas, and when someone ordered the 22 inch colossal pizza for which McGrady’s was famous, I had a lot of trouble carrying it on my bicycle. Evan told me that his previous delivery boy had used an electric bike to save time and energy on pedaling.
I expected to have the job at McGrady’s for a while, so I bought an electric bike for myself and used it to deliver pizzas. The electric bike worked out great! I never found myself out of breath again (except after climbing eight story apartment buildings!). In addition, McGrady gave me a raise because he knew I had spent money on the electric bike and he also thought I was doing a great job!
Electric vehicles not only mean freedom from having to buy expensive gas and oil, freedom from smelly exhaust, freedom from loud noise but they are nearly maintenance free. At this time of the year the weather has gotten cold, wet and nasty. Most of us have had to put away our bicycles, scooters, mopeds for the winter. In the past if you had gasoline burners you had to add expensive chemicals so the gas wouldn’t go bad. Now days most of us are having to use Ethanol gasoline which attracts moisture and compounds the storage problems. Come Spring most of us have a hard time getting our vehicles started and running up to snuff. For a lot of us the Spring ritual required time and expense.
Not so with the new Electric vehicles
. I just park mine and cover them to keep them clean. Come Spring all I have to do is uncover them and give them a quick charge. They are ready and dependable plus they are not adding pollutants to our enviroment. Better yet if we have a couple days of good weather I can break them out and use them with out any problems or work.
I was watching my grandson ride his little electric scooter and remembering when I would make a scooter out of a couple of 2×4’s and a roller skate. Then I got to thinking one of those might be good for me to use for short jaunts. My grandson got me to try it and it was a kick in the pants, but where would I put packages. He said they have some with storage compartments and seats, they also had Electric Bicycles. Then from the mouths of babes he said they even had a 3 wheel bike. He took me inside and he showed it to me online. It was the X-treme 420 Electric Three Wheel Bicycle. It appearred to be perfect for my life style. I live in a small area and most of my trips are less than 2 miles. We have a grocery store, hardware store, coffee shop, library, several resturants, auto parts store and other retail or service businesses within a four to five mile range. I hate to start up my truck or car for such a short trip. It’s hard on the engine never really warming up and what an expense for gas.
The idea of a bicycle just never caught on with me as I am getting older and I am usually hauling things around with me and pedaling a bike while doing that would be awfully hard and possible dangerous for me. But this electric three wheeler appeared to be stable and it had lots of safety features like brake lights, turn signals, head lights, and more. It also had a large storage compartment and an exterior rack, and easy to get on and off.
I ordered one and let me tell you it was ‘love at first ride’. It is fast and stable, no warming up the engine, and it is comfortaable to sit in the big drivers seat. The speed limit in town is twenty five mph and it nearly does that, and I can use the bike lanes legally. It is saving me a lot of gas. One of the other guys at the coffee shop got one not long after trying mine out. By the way that is the only problem, everyone wants to take it for a spin around the block.
signed,
’an old dog learns a new trick’
The Electric Bicycle has been completely re-invented. The electric bicycle of old was just a bicycle that someone bolted up an electric motor to and it turned one wheel through friction. Cheap, clever, and inefficient. Until recently there has been minimal improvement, they were still a conventional bicycle in most ways. Today’s new high tech electic bicycles are completely re-thought out and re-invented. Of course much of the credit goes to the new batteries and electric motors. Today’s batteries have much more power and storage capabilities. The newest motors are so much lighter and more powerful while being very efficient. The combination allows higher speeds, much improved mileage per charge, and greater reliability.
But the story doesn’t end there. The whole concept of Electric Bicycles has been changed. X-treme Scooters has redesigned them and made them look more like Motor Scooter/Mopeds. Motors are mounted integrally on the rear hub. They have full suspension front and rear giving a much more comfortable and stable ride. Tires are designed for a more stable and comfortable ride. Large brakes for safe stopping. You can now step easily through the frame and sit comfortably on a large padded seat. There are fairings to block the wind. Safety equipment included are mirrors, headlights, tail lights, brake lights, and turn signals. Most have multiple and/or large storage compartments. Pay loads of 250 to 350lbs accomodate up to two adults. They travel up to 20 miles per hour and 25 to 30 miles per charge. They charge on normal 110 volt outlets. They have pedals so in the rare event of no charge you can pedal them. The fact they have pedals is one of the best features because it allows them to be classified as a bicycle and can go anywhere a bicycle can legally go, plus you don’t need a drivers license or vehicle registration for them.(Federal Electric Bicycle Law HR727). Today’s Electric Bicycles are perfect for those short trips to the store, a friends house, school, or work, a weekend bike cruise, sight seeing on a trip, around the college campus. Clean, quiet, no gas, no emissions, ecologically sound. And at prices of only $600 to $2000 and nearly no operating expense they are economically smart as well.
“GREEN”, Business, Electric Vehicles = Great Partners!
Large and small business has finally gotten on the bandwagon of “GREEN”, some of there efforts have been building green plants, offices, and other buildings that are energy saving. They are using recycled products, energy saving products, and even adjusting operating hours to create energy savings. We heartily endorse this trend. We also offer this suggestion: Encourage your employees to do the same. One way would be encouraging employees to use Electric Vehicles like Electric Mopeds, Electric Bicycles, and Electric Scooters. These Companies could provide ‘charging stations’, preferred parking, even indoor parking. The costs are minimal, possibly even cost saving. These vehicles are normally smaller and require less parking space. It certainly would help the business’s image but better yet it would be a great asset and morale booster to their employees. Maybe even some type of cost sharing program for their employees.
Another way they can promote “Green” is to use these same vehicles. Electric Bicycles are inexpensive and have nearly no maintenance, the same can be said for Electric Scooters. These could be used for transportation between buildings, plants, or outside destinations. A bonus is they can be used inside those same structures because they don’t make noise, no exhaust fumes, no oil dripping, compact size, and maintenance is minimal compared to gas/propane vehicles. They could provide quicker transportation of personnel and quite probably save the Company time and money.
In fact we should encourage our City’s, Counties, State and Federal Governments to utilize these Green Machines. Government is the perfect tool to set the example for the rest of us. After all any money they save is really ours.
Never in history have we needed to reduce our own expense’s, reduce consumption of precious natural resources, and reduce pollution more than right now. One of the first things that comes to mind when reducing expense is transportation. But some of the answers are just a little to extreme for us, such as: ride a bicycle to work, buy a hybrid car, ride a moped/scooter. Work might be to far for riding a bike, a hybrid car to expensive, and a Moped/Scooter has it’s problems, sometimes it is to cold, and storing them creates a problem with moisture in the fuel, hard starting after sitting a while, noisy and smelly for parking at work and in the garage.
Electric Vehicles can counter most of those problems. Electric bicycles can travel upto 25 miles per charge and travel up to 20 mph without any physical exertion (in the rare instance of no more charge you can pedal them). They can travel in the bike lanes and get through traffic quickly. The newest designs look like Mopeds and can have windshields attached.
Electric Mopeds (look like Vespa scooters) can travel up to 60 mph for up to 85 miles. They have comfortable seating, and wind protection, and can seat two adults. They need very little maintenance, no costly fuel, no pollutants, and are inexpensive compared to hybrid cars, and you can park them easily (sometimes companies let them inside the building since they are quiet and not smelly). Best of all they are not using gasoline and polluting.
The newest technology has really made these vehicles a viable answer to today’s needs. They have new highly efficient motors, batteries that are smaller but more powerful than ever, and new designs for today’s needs. They are the future.
With global warming, species extinction, and climate change looming, it is important to find safe methods of travel which don’t cause further harm the environment. Amongst reliable methods of travel in support of the environment, public transportation, though often causing carbon emissions, is low impact and cost efficient. The bicycle is still one of the most favored methods of travel in the entire world; in foreign countries like Japan and China, bicycles outnumber cars 5:1. If you don’t want to break a sweat, or need to travel a longer distance, you might consider using an electric bicycle. Despite the belief that hybrid cars are better for the environment, in some cases the production of the hybrid engine causes more pollution than the car would for ten years of low carbon emissions.
In addition to the above methods, simple practices like walking short distances instead of driving, or carpooling help the environment a great deal.
Cyclists Can Never Have Too Many Options
In recent years, fixed-gear bicycles have become all the rage among urban bike messengers and hipsters. While “fixies” are not without their benefits – they can be stopped without a brake and ridden in reverse – they leave much to be desired for those used to mountain bikes. Most fixed-gear bikes only feature one speed; despite their lightweight construction and low level of maintenance, they require the rider to do every bit of the work.
An electric mountain bike such as the Xtreme electric bicycle sits at the other end of the spectrum. It can be ridden with or without a boost of electricity, making it suitable for leisurely rides on weekends or rush-hour traffic on the bike trail each morning. These bikes are perfect for people who like to have options, and their subtle, nondescript design certainly doesn’t scream “electric bike!”
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