Lulu is on the road again. She takes me along to carry the bags and chauffeur her around. First - there is a convention in Orlando. Then - she is visiting interns in Fort Lauderdale. Lucky for us - the Seminoles are playing Miami this Saturday and we can help the Noles on the road. While Lulu works - I continue my quest for the perfect ride.
When Lulu was enjoying the Florida Association of Media Educators Convention in the fancy Gaylord Palms Resort - I was trekking to Tampa and Clearwater to ride an electric bike. The seller claimed that it could go 20 miles per hour with a 40 mile range. I was skeptical - and just had to try it.
There are two dealers - Jim Mills and Gerry Christie - in Largo and Tampa - that are marketing the electric bike. At first appearances - it looks like a Honda scooter with lights - turn signals - and the plastic fenders and body. But a closer looks reveals bicycle pedals and a big battery pack in the footboard.
In today's energy crunch people are shunning cars that gobble lots of gasoline and returning to subcompacts that go much farther dollar per dollar. 30 or 40 miles per gallon is considering very economical. What if you could buy a vehicle that gets 1500 miles per gallon? This electric bike delivers the equivalent of 1500 miles per gallon!
I drove to Tampa to visit Gerry - he markets the electric bikes on his web site - www.e-cycleworks.com. Gerry was waiting for this "doubting Thomas." He opened the garage to reveal a row of colorful bikes. He said, "Take your choice - we're going for a ride." I picked a pretty navy blue one - he got on a green one - and away we went. I was riding an electric bike - just like that.
The bike is perfectly silent. There is a magnetic electric motor inside the rear hub that pushes the bike along just like the Wedway train in Disneyworld. It quickly speeds up to 20 mph as you twist the hand grip throttle. Since the ride is so quiet - your senses doubt the 20 mph speedometer. A few looks from startled pedestrians convince you otherwise. Not until you pass by a school radar sign with the big numbers are you convinced that you are going that fast.
We drove on back streets - bikes paths - bike lanes - some sidewalks - and main streets. This little bike reminded me of the Energizer Bunny - it kept going and going. I expected Gerry to turn around after a few miles but he kept going west. The bike's shocks absorbed most of the bumps. Just as I expected to turn back - Gerry shot across the bridge to Clearwater. I followed. We stayed in the bike lane most of the way as cars passed by. The little fuel gauge stayed in the full green range the whole trip. We had already rode 15 miles when we stopped at a small park to give the bike a closer look.
The bike does not have a license plate or tag. According to the Florida Light Electric Vehicle Act - a bike with an electric motor does not need to be registered as long as it goes less than 20 mph - has functioning foot pedals - and a motor below 400 watts of power. You have to be 16 years old to drive one but you do not need any kind of driver's license at all. This opens up an entirely new market of owners needing transportation but not having a driver's license. Gerry talked of a guy in Lakeland weighing 275 pounds driving one 30 miles to work - plugging it in - and driving 30 miles home. He lost his driver's license due to a DUI conviction.
I love bikes and scooters. I have a couple Schwinn's and also a Vespa. It is fun getting around - but not spending a bunch of money. Since I am hard of hearing - I like quiet. I also do not like the odors from exhaust. Those things are elegantly absent when riding this electric bike. After Gerry explained the bike in detail - we returned to his garage after another 15 miles. The dashboard speedometer was a steady 20 mph with the "fuel" gauge showing full all the way.
I can't tell you how impressed I was with this range. Back in 1975 - I owned an electric scooter. It went 15 mph for about 15 miles. Sometimes on hills back in Pennsylvania I got stuck without enough power to get home.
After 30 miles - my butt was getting a little sore - and I had another appointment - but I would bet that this little bike would make it to 40 miles on a charge.
After that exciting stop - I drove on to Largo to visit the importer - Jim Mills. It was his original idea to import this bike and his enthusiasm for the idea is amazing. He has been importing them for almost 3 years - under the name of www.greenflyerbikes.com. He has them shipped directly from Shanghai, China to Tampa - 64 to a container.
I did not tell Jim that I visited Gerry. I wanted to hear his presentation and compare it to what I knew from the ride with Gerry. Jim showed me what the bikes looked like in the crates. He even opened a crate to show me the assembly required and how easy it is to prepare. He also showed me his spare parts inventory and bragged about his 90 day warranty. He ships them directly to customers and coaches them through the final assembly - pedals - mirrors - and front wheel.
The bikes are recharged by plugging them into a standard 110 volt outlet. You can fully charge one in about 3 hours. It costs pennies for a full charge - when you calculate the cost compared to gasoline - it amounts to 1500 miles per gallon.
I can think of many uses for this electric bike. Since Lulu is always taking my Vespa to campus two miles away - one would be good for her. Right now I am sitting in my van typing this story in Fort Lauderdale. I could be riding one of these bikes up and down the "boardwalk" on Hollywood Beach. As per state and federal law - this electric bike can go anywhere a regular bike can. Back home I could run to the store for milk and bread and haul them home in the three enclosed compartments.
I could pick the bike up and put it into the back of my van - no gasoline or oil leaks - the batteries are sealed gel. Supposedly - you can get three years out of a set of batteries that cost about $150 to replace.
The electric bike costs $1200.
You can see lots of pictures of the electric bikes on my web page at - www.harry.everhart.com. I may just buy one and do a few follow up stories to test the durability. I was very impressed with the honest 40 miles per charge range.
There are 5 colors - blue - red - green - orange - and silver. The red one would easily pass for FSU Garnet. A couple of Seminole head stickers on the side would be a sweet ride from our house to Doak Campbell Stadium at game time where free parking in the bike rack awaits.
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