Granny Trude likes being mobile. And, as you’ve no doubt noticed by now, she’s awfully curious about everything! So no wonder she jumped at the chance to try her granddaughter’s e-bike – or more precisely, her “cargo pedelec”. Trude’s verdict? Thumbs up – across the board.
Don't you get the impression electric bicycles are everywhere you look these days? E-bikes, pedelecs, electric assist cargo bikes and s-pedelecs. What’s the difference? And did you know the e-bike is actually nothing new? I discovered all sorts of stuff when I made up my mind to tell you about my latest visit to family in Hamburg and my first ride on a cargo pedelec. Because first I needed to clear up the confusion in my mind. But I always get a kick out of researching subjects like this one.
Pedelec
The first thing I realized is that when we say “e-bike”, we actually mean “pedelec”. “Pedal electric cycle” simply means you have to pedal to activate the motor. The vast majority of e-bikes on the market are pedelecs. They’re considered bicycles because the motor automatically shuts down at a speed of 25 km per hour. So you don’t need a driving licence and you’re allowed to use the cycle paths.S-pedelec
An S-pedelec, on the other hand, can go a lot faster: up to 45 km per hour. The “S” is short for “schnell”, i.e. “speedy”. And it requires registration, a licence plate with an insurance sticker, third-party liability insurance, a helmet (mandatory) and a driving licence – as for a moped. The minimum age is 16 and you’re not allowed on cycle paths. S-pedelecs can go a pretty long distance. A friend of mine’s daughter now rides her S-pedelec 30 km to work every day, for example. It takes her 40 minutes to get there by car, two hours by "ordinary" bicycle, and just one hour on her S-pedelec. Fantastic, isn't it?E-bike
E-bikes have an electric motor that’s activated by the push of a button, so you start rolling even without pedalling. They’re only considered as bicycles at under 6 km/h. Any faster and they’re regarded as motor vehicles, hence requiring a licence plate with an insurance sticker on it and so on. The term “e-bike” is often used generically – and incorrectly – for pedelecs, which account for 99 per cent of the so-called “e-bikes” sold in Germany.How it all began
I remember all those bicycles with auxiliary motors way back in the 1950s. My father had one too – to save money. It was first legally regulated in Germany in 1953 as a Fahrrad mit Hilfsmotor (motor-assisted bike) or FmHi for short. But the first electric bikes go much further back in time: The US inventor Ogden Bolton Jr patented his e-bike in 1895. Philipps was already mass-producing e-bikes in the 1930s, which were competing with petrol-powered mopeds – and of course cars.Off to Hamburg!
Recently, it came time once again to visit my daughter Silke in Hamburg, along with her husband Olli and their children Emiliana and Arthur, and my granddaughter Miri with her boyfriend Daniel and their children Ava and David. So a trip up north is always worth my while to see my family there. Plus I got to take a spin on Miri's cargo pedelec, my first ride ever on such a vehicle. That was incredible! Incredibly exciting, incredibly practical and incredibly fun. Though it took some getting used to at first... I was a bit uneasy because the faster you go, the more dangerous it gets. But after a little while I got the hang of it and I can warmly recommend darting off on one of those bikes yourself. At first it feels a bit like flying, if you ask me. But be very careful not to underestimate how fast you’re going! The large number of accidents speaks for itself!Green subsidies for e-bikes
Two years ago, Miri received a grant from the City of Hamburg towards the purchase of her cargo pedelec. Hamburg aims to get greener, more sustainable and quieter, which is why the city has started up the so-called #moinzukunft (“my future”) programme to “promote climate protection in everyday life”. The programme funding ran out pretty fast, so Miri was lucky. But subsidies of this sort are fairly widespread in Germany now. So check with your local administration to find out whether they’ll help you pay for an electric bike. The grants are sometimes surprisingly generous.Pros without cons
Miri and her boyfriend opted for a cargo pedelec for a number of reasons:- It's an excellent means of transport to and from the daycare centre. Little David loves riding in the bamboo cargo box, which is actually pretty big. Ava sometimes climbs in too, there's plenty of room.
- When the kids aren't in the box, says Miri, "there's always something to carry," especially groceries and empties.
- Miri and Daniel don't need to hunt round for a place to park anymore, which saves time – and their nerves!
- They were able to sell their car, so now they use either the cargo bike or public transport to get around in the city, which is cheaper in the long run.
- A cargo bike doesn’t pollute: it runs on green electricity.
- They get more fresh air now, so they’re doing something for their health, too.
The environmental aspect
If you use a pedelec for shopping and errands in lieu of a car, you’re already doing a lot right. For trips of up to 20 km, a pedelec is definitely a practical alternative to driving. If you want to get a pedelec for outings and cycling tours, you might consider choosing one that’s suitable for shopping purposes as well.You may have heard one objection to lithium-ion batteries: namely, the environmental impact of mining raw materials like lithium. According to Germany's Federal Environmental Agency, however, the greenhouse gas emissions involved in battery production and disposal are relatively low. Cycling roughly 150 to 300 km on an e-bike is enough to offset your battery’s carbon footprint.
So a pedelec reduces CO2 and particulate matter pollution in the atmosphere. Sounds good to me. To go a distance of, say, 10 km, a pedelec consumes only about as much energy as it takes to boil 0.7 litres of water.
But it’s also important for the environment that you return spent batteries to dealers or recycling depots that specialize in handling this kind of industrial battery.
I’m sufficiently mobile as is thanks to my e-scooter and my motorless bicycle, but I sure had a lot of fun riding my granddaughter's pedelec. Try it yourself sometime, it's thrilling!
Yours on the move,
Granny Trude
October 2021