Testing Out An Electric Bike: Fun, Easy
Recently I hopped on a bicycle for the first time in several years. Instantly, my long-lost love of cycling was revived. Coincidentally, shortly after that, Ebikes Hawaii invited me to do a test ride with one of their electric bikes. Previous to that, I never even thought to try an ebike, much less ride a bike.
If you haven’t tried riding an ebike, you must, just to feel the difference from a regular bike. It almost feels like you’re pedal-cheating, since you can go up all those hills with such little effort! Ebikes are actually perfect for those who have sore knees/injuries since it’s not as hard on your joints. The biggest pros are you can avoid the traffic (depending on where you live), save a ton on gas and even get a little exercise while you’re commuting.
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Ebikes Hawaii co-founders (and father-son team) John and Roy Cho opened the first Ebikes Hawaii store in Kapahulu late last year, and recently opened stores at Schofield Barracks and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam at the Exchange. When I asked Roy what the inspiration was behind the business, he said that his dad was in the car industry for more than 20 years and was looking for the next step in transportation. He believes the electric bicycle is it, and that ebikes provide a healthier way to get around for both the individual and environment.
A little gee-whiz from The Electric Bike Book by Jim Turner: an ebike can take you 20-50 miles at 20 mph. For every mile you drive a car, you release one pound of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (keep in mind, ebikes are zero emission). By the way, The Electric Bike Book is currently a free ebook (for a limited time) for your Kindle (Amazon.com).
Prices for Ebikes Hawaii start around $1,899 for the A2B bike (the one I rode). Other brands include Easy Motion, iZip, Stromer, eFlow, Stealth and Juiced Riders. If you want to test one out, rentals are available for $50 per day. Check out one of their locations to see an ebike or visit ebikeshawaii.com.
Click Chick’s Mobile App of the Week: Strava
With cycling in mind, Strava is a great free app to track your speed and distance. The best thing to do is put it in your pocket/bag and just go. Strava records your route and times on your segments and uploads it once you’re complete. The app also will upload your results in ranking of how many times you’ve done a certain road/trail. If you’re training for a race or event, this will be useful to track the course beforehand.
What makes Strava special is the social component. You can follow your friends and see where and how hard they’re riding and leave comments, etc. You can also post Instagram photos that automatically link with your rides. There is also a premium version available for $6 a month that can add post-ride and long-term analysis capabilities and goals (probably most useful for the competitive riders).
You also can use this app to track running.
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