The Bicycle
Bicycles, bicycle parts, varieties, bicycle posters and bicycles in art
Electric Bicycles
Electric
bicycles or Motorized bicycles have a small motor attached to the bicycle to
eliminate or reduce the pedaling effort. These should not be confused with
motorcycles. Electric / Motorized bicycles can even be
operating by pedaling alone if required, unlike motorcycles. The bicycle motor
is used only when assistance in pedaling is felt to be necessary.
Apparently, the idea of a motor powered bicycle was first conceived in France in
the early 1860s. The first patents for electric bicycles can be traced back to
the 1890s. Since then various ideas involving the use of different varieties of
batteries for different purposes came up. There was a flurry of innovations in
the late 1800s. However, the idea of a bicycle with a bicycle motor attached did
not really catch up fast with the general public and t
he
concept slowly faded away. It was as recently as in the early 1900s that
interest in the electric bicycles was revived. With batteries available at cheap
prices and the bicycle culture getting popular owing to environmental concerns
and traffic congestions, electric bicycles have made a strong comeback,
especially in Asian countries.
Some motorized bicycles, especially the old ones, also use internal combustion
engines for the generation of power. However, the obvious advantages of the
electric bicycles such as lesser emissions, ease of use, compactness etc have
ensured that they still remain the more popular choice.