Right now in the u.s. the electric bicycle market is infinitesimal, but my crystal ball sees a perfect storm brewing on the horizon. Fueling this perfect storm is a confluence of factors quietly happening almost unnoticed to the untrained eye.
For starters there's a federal initiative promoting the construction of walking/biking trails, using phony baloney federal money that's being offered to all localities across the country. Here in Dallas, which has had the dubious honor of being considered the most unfriendly bicycle city in America for many years, hundreds of miles of trails have recently been built, and hundreds more miles are planned. Many of the new planned trails will join up with existing trails forming a network of trails independent of city streets. Soon for the first time ever it's going to be possible to commute on a bicycle all across the city without riding in traffic on city streets.
Of course whenever federal money is used there's always strings attached. A little noticed clause in the initiative states that trails built with federal money must allow electric bicycles, and other electric vehicles access to these trails. Perfect Storm
Next, we have improved battery technology available now, with even better technology coming soon, that makes electric bicycles more practical than ever in the past.
Added to this is the ever higher cost of driving, and maintaining a motor vehicle, combined with a poor economy, and job market that makes owning, and using an electric bicycle for commuting starting to look very good.
Combined with all this is the fact that not only is it economical, and feasible for individuals to custom build their own electric bicycles, there's also more and more manufacturers coming into the market with complete, nicely built models for people less inclined to make their own.
As soon as electric bicycles are common on bicycle trails, and bicycle trails are common in city's, it will probably be the death of gas motorized bicycles, because they aren't included in the federal statutes, and would never be accepted anyway. But it won't matter, because everyone and his mother with want an electric bicycle.
For starters there's a federal initiative promoting the construction of walking/biking trails, using phony baloney federal money that's being offered to all localities across the country. Here in Dallas, which has had the dubious honor of being considered the most unfriendly bicycle city in America for many years, hundreds of miles of trails have recently been built, and hundreds more miles are planned. Many of the new planned trails will join up with existing trails forming a network of trails independent of city streets. Soon for the first time ever it's going to be possible to commute on a bicycle all across the city without riding in traffic on city streets.
Of course whenever federal money is used there's always strings attached. A little noticed clause in the initiative states that trails built with federal money must allow electric bicycles, and other electric vehicles access to these trails. Perfect Storm
Next, we have improved battery technology available now, with even better technology coming soon, that makes electric bicycles more practical than ever in the past.
Added to this is the ever higher cost of driving, and maintaining a motor vehicle, combined with a poor economy, and job market that makes owning, and using an electric bicycle for commuting starting to look very good.
Combined with all this is the fact that not only is it economical, and feasible for individuals to custom build their own electric bicycles, there's also more and more manufacturers coming into the market with complete, nicely built models for people less inclined to make their own.
As soon as electric bicycles are common on bicycle trails, and bicycle trails are common in city's, it will probably be the death of gas motorized bicycles, because they aren't included in the federal statutes, and would never be accepted anyway. But it won't matter, because everyone and his mother with want an electric bicycle.
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