COVID-19 has shaken up a lot of the world. It has changed how many of us go about our daily lives and that includes the number of people riding electric bikes. For some reason, the sales of electric bikes have risen considerably and we’re here to answer the question of why.
As with many things in life, there isn’t just one reason. The rise in e-bike sales during the COVID-19 pandemic is due to a multitude of different factors which have combined to see more people realize the benefits of these wonderful machines. Here, we take a closer look at how COVID-19 helped the rise of electric bikes.
What are E-bikes?
Electric Bikes or e-bikes are similar to regular bikes. However, they come with an electric motor to assist in pedaling.
The electric motor allows you to go much further and faster than you can with a regular bike. Plus, you won’t even break a sweat.
The benefits of electric bikes are clear. But, why have e-bikes become popular during COVID-19?
How did COVID Help with the Rise of E-bikes?
Bike-sharing is the go-to option for micro-mobility in many parts of the world including Europe and China. European countries such as Germany have a strong bike riding culture. In Germany, bikes are both a means of transport and a healthy way of getting exercise daily.
Despite the bike culture, they’re still a secondary option or last resort for many people. That’s all changing. COVID-19 has inspired the sudden growth of the bike market around the world, and here are some of the factors that played an important role.
1. Travel restrictions
During COVID-19 many governments restricted travel within cities for car and public transport users. These measures were imposed in hopes of deterring people from traveling and gathering in public areas. In summer 2020, our next-door neighbours, the United States, banned cars from multiple streets to make space for pedestrians to follow social distancing recommendations.
These bans and ‘Car free’ zones were implemented in multiple cities like Minneapolis, Boston, and Oakland to name a few. And with these restrictions, most people had to find faster non-car transport methods for their everyday commutes — enter electric bikes.
Consequently, North America has seen a surge in bike users over the past year. A similar situation played out in Europe and Asia as well. The reinvigorated interest in the bike industry allowed the electric bike makers to demonstrate their products. In a nutshell, the intra-city travel restrictions offered a marketing advantage for bike makers across the globe.
2. Social Distancing
Prevention is better than the cure, and for COVID-19 that means maintaining a safe distance from everyone else. Authorities across the globe have adopted social distance policies to minimize the risk of infection and transmissions.
To observe social distancing, pedestrians were provided with more space and other forms of commuting became restricted. Transportation methods such as taxis, buses, subways, and trams require you to be in a closed environment alongside other passengers.
Biking is an excellent option for open-air commutes. Therefore, it doubles as an effective social distancing friendly option while being a viable transport method.
3. Lockdowns
With the various stages of lockdowns in place, staying at home became a frustrating part of our lives. Due to the extended time spent indoors, many people developed a longing for the great outdoors once again. Prolonged time spent indoors leads to stress and frustration.
As much for physical exercise, people wanted to get outdoors for their mental health as anything else. Electric bikes were seen as a great way of getting fresh air and stopping that sense of being trapped inside your own home.
4. Technology
There is a line of thinking that the rise in electric bike sales would have happened regardless of COVID-19 and the fact that they did was a mere coincidence. That’s due to electric bikes being better and more affordable than ever.
Even though they’ve been around for a while, the first electric bikes were quite expensive, didn’t have a great deal of power, and had reliability issues. But when you buy electric bikes today, you’re getting ultra-sleek tech features.
It’s fair to say there would have been a steady increase in electric bike sales anyway. That is probably true but all the other factors that we’ve looked at here probably did help to increase those sales more than they would naturally have done.
5. Cost-effectiveness
COVID-19 impacted foreign trade drastically contributing to an increase in gasoline prices in oil-importing countries. Bikes don’t require fuel and are therefore unaffected by gas prices and availability.
Comparing operational costs per mile, electric bikes come in at much lower price than gasoline-powered vehicles. Electricity prices are more stable and the cost of fully charging your e-bike is negligible when compared to a car. Electric bikes are increasingly seen as a brilliant investment that will quickly pay back their initial cost.
6. Fitness factor
Staying at home, not moving around too much, closed gyms, and closed sports complexes are the hallmarks of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has forced people to seek fitness at home. Individuals have found themselves unable to get into shape and looking for alternatives to their usual routine.
The best alternative to home workout regimes came to be in the form of cycling. The double benefit comes from spending some time outside the house during the pandemic to relieve some stress and get some exercise.
Related Article: 10 Huge Environmental Benefits of an Electric Bike
7. Easier to ride
In contrast to the exercise factor, pedal-driven electric bikes are easier to ride. The e-bike allows you to hit speeds higher than 17miles/hr without much physical effort required, With the help of adaptive motor control to assist the rider, e-bikes allow you to ride uphill with ease.
The ease of riding made e-bikes a suitable choice for people looking to travel slightly larger distances during the COVID-19 pandemic. A regular bike can limit you to a few miles from your home but an electric bike can dramatically increase your reach.
8. Sustainability
A bike is easy to maintain. The most common mechanical parts of a bike do not require frequent changes. Plus, you can work on the few parts that do require servicing at home. E-bikes are similar to regular bikes in this regard.
Electric bikes are easier to maintain compared to motorcycles. You can service and put a pedal-driven e-bike back into use without much cost.
Their reliability and the improvement in battery technology has increased consumer confidence in electric bikes. On a list of pros and cons, the downsides to electric bikes in the last few years have become much shorter.
9. Environmentally Friendly
Electric vehicles have no carbon emissions and therefore contribute to the efforts against climate change. Electric bikes are part of the green initiative to give people a sustainable carbon emission-free mode of transportation.
COVID-19 has helped reduce carbon emissions the world over. With restrictions on cars and other combustion engine vehicles, the world carbon emission was reduced by 17% in 2020 compared to 2019 — half of which was from transport vehicles.
While such factors may not have directly influenced a surge in sales, it has supported the deployment of electric vehicles, including e-bikes.
10. Awareness campaigns
Before COVID-19, the public exposure and interest in the bike industry were minimal in the majority of metropolitan areas including North America.
Many environment-friendly groups have tried to promote cycling and e-bikes through events and awareness campaigns. These campaigns have proved to be more successful during the COVID-19 outbreak due to bikes being a more viable transit option during the pandemic.
It appears as though a lot more people now are aware of the benefits of electric bikes and came to realize just how beneficial they can be for a wide number of reasons.
Related Article: Transportation Improvements to Try in Your City
Final Thoughts
Electric bikes have enjoyed a dramatic increase in demand over the last two years. COVID-19 continues to be a big problem around the world but even if we ever get back to the way things were, electric bikes will still have a prominent role to play in transportation and the move to a greener world.
As we’ve seen here, there isn’t just one reason why ebikes have become so popular over the last few years. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a perfect storm to make these incredible bikes more in demand than ever.
Given the benefits that many people have seen from electric bikes, there is a good chance their popularity will continue to increase for years to come. Here at Epic Cycles, we deliver the best electric bike options in Canada. Look through our online store and join the movement today!
