Big on other continents for a long while, electric bikes haven't caught on here -- yet.
But a local entrepreneur wants to change that. Ray Carrier has opened Green Rider LLC, at 714 Broadway in Fells Point. He is selling electric bikes, some that are folding, as well as electric scooters.
The bikes, which sell for a little over $1,000 to around $2,500, use batteries that plug into any socket. Riders can peddle when they want and use electricity when they need to go uphill or keep up with traffic. They can go up to 20 mph, which means they are still classified as a bike under federal rules.
Officials say they could probably hold a charge for a week.
Carrier said they could overcome some of the issues that we have with regular bikes in Baltimore. They can better keep up with traffic, at least downtown where drivers have to go a bit slower. That means less passing, which is one of the scary parts of biking. The scooters go a bit faster.
The electricity also means you don't have to sweat, so you can ride to work and not need a shower.
Carrier said he became interested in the electric bike years ago on a trip to China to visit his wife's family. He was almost run over by one of the bikes because he said they were so quiet.
There are an estimated 11 million e-bikes on the roads in China, according to data provided by Carrier and his suppliers. In Europe, about 500,000 have been sold, or 10 percent of the bike market in 2008. In the United States, there have been about 30,000 e-bikes sold in 2008, or about a quarter of one percent of all bike sales.
Carrier got a loan from the Abell Foundation and opened up about a year ago selling electric scooters. He moved across the street to his current location and began selling electric bikes only recently when he met Dave Knutsen, who supplies the Pedego bikes.
He invisions delivery people using the bikes to bring us our pizzas and other food. He also would like to see low-income people who can't afford a car get a bike. And, of course, he'd like to see the big biking community in Baltimore get on board, as well as the green-minded folks who would like to get out of their cars for their commute.
Councilman Kraft came by the store today and seemed interested in using a bike to get to City Hall from his Patterson Park home. But he noted that the city still needs some more bike lanes. The city continues to work on the master plan for bikes that has already produced some bike lanes around town. But Kraft said money is an issue and so are logistics. How do city officials find room for bike lanes on already crowded street and how do they separate the lanes?
In any case, Carrier believes the city and its residents could benefit environmentally, physically and economically from these bikes. No one else in Baltimore sells them, but there are about 20 other retailers around the nation.
Once there is a critical mass of electric bikes -- and more importantly, electric cars -- we could expect to see charging stations cropping up around Baltimore and the rest of the country, according to Mahi Reddy, CEO of SemaConnect, which provides the stations. He says that sales of the cars will jump in the next five years as major manufacturers come out with there electric modesl. There is also federal infrastructure grant money available.
So, anyone interested? Is Baltimore ready for this? If you're not ready to commit, Carrier says he plans to start renting the bikes, too.
Photos courtesy of Green Rider