We cover electric bikes every now and then at CrunchGear, but while millions are sold in Asia and Europe, they remain a rarity here in the US, even on the mean cycling streets of Seattle. Certainly the convenience of cars and our highway-orientated infrastructure is partially to blame for the lack of interest in these extremely effective transportation tools, but I also think that accessibility has been an issue. The Eneloop bike I rode last year at CES, for instance, I have never seen nor heard of since, and the major conversion kits and full bikes seem like too great of an investment for the chary, green-curious consumer.
Clean Republic, a local Seattle start-up literally run out of a garage, seems to be of the opinion that what matters is simplicity, modesty in design, and of course low cost. In 2010 they’ve gone from prototype to 1,000 kits shipped and although they’re not bucking to be a billion-dollar company, they are building a sustainable business and could be trading in millions pretty soon. → Read More
If you’re just remotely interested in electric cars, you will know of i-MiEV, Mitsubishi’s mini “green” vehicle. The i-MiEV has been around for years in Japan (the US will get it in 2011), and now a local retail chain called AEON is offering two e-bikes [JP, PDF] whose design is supposed to resemble said car. → Read More
We’ve covered quite a few electric bikes over the last years, but this new model developed by a Japanese company called Hama Zero (no website) offers a new twist. Their “Solar Bike Fujin” is an electric bike that’s powered by electricity generated by an on-board solar panel. The bike can be used on public roads (at least in Japan) and boasts an assisted travel range of 220km on a single charge. → Read More
We’ve shown you countless electric bikes over the past months, but there’s one feature that makes the RX-10S [JP, PDF], Panasonic’s newest model, stand out: it boasts an assisted travel range of a a whopping 97km (60 miles) in “eco-mode” – on a single charge. → Read More
Yamaha Japan announced [press release in English] the EC-03 today, an electric 50cc scooter that’s powered by a 50V/14Ah lithium ion battery. The vehicle has a driving range of 43km (at 30km/h on flat roads) per charge. A charge takes six hours, with Yamaha saying that a household electrical outlet (100V) is all you need. → Read More
We’ve covered plenty of electric bicycles from Japan in the past, but there’s a significant problem with most of them: usually they’re really ugly, for example this one or this model from Toshiba. But just today, Yamaha has announced [JP] the PAS Brace-L, a nice-looking electric bike that’s specifically towards the young and male part of the population. → Read More
One critical factor that stands in the way of electric vehicles becoming mainstream is the lack of charging stations once you’re on the road with your e-bike or electric car. In the case of bicycles, 37km, for example (as seen in Panasonic’s newest models), isn’t a bad number for an assisted travel distance, but it’s not enough for those really long trips. → Read More
Japan is to get another three electric bikes, two of which are being marketed as “sporty”, while one is targeted specifically at women. All three models are made by Panasonic (which announced one of the coolest e-bikes ever just a few weeks ago).
The two sport bikes [JP] are called the “Rustic” (BE-ENHL63/pictured above) and the “Little Bee” (BE-ENHB03/pictured below). Technically, both models are very similar, offering an assisted travel range of 32km (Rustic) to 37km (Little Bee), three different driving modes (eco, power, and automatic), and a charging time of about three hours for the lithium-ion battery. → Read More
Volkswagen just announced their latest gadget, the Bik.e – a folding electric bicycle designed to fit in the trunk of your car, in the space currently taken up by your spare tire. With a maximum range of 12.5 miles, I question whether it would be a good spare tire replacement, but I still like it. It is interesting to see a company like Volkswagen get into the electric bicycle concept though. → Read More
We’ve covered plenty of electric bicycles from Japan in the past, but let’s be honest: Most of them are really ugly, for example these (technically interesting) models Sanyo introduced three weeks ago. But this new Panasonic e-bike, the BE-ENV [JP], looks rather cool and is something I could see the younger (and male) population actually using, too. → Read More
We have reported about electric bicycles multiple times in the past, but today Sanyo in Japan announced [press release in English] the “eneloop Hybrid Bicycle” whose battery riders can actively charge while pedaling on flat roads. Previous models, for example this one Sanyo released in 2008, mainly harness energy from braking when the bike goes downhill (“Loop Charge Mode”). → Read More
While electric bikes are gaining more and more ground in Japan, the situation in the rest of the world (at least for highly advanced models) is quite different. These vehicles seem to have a hard time in America in particular, although there’s anecdotal evidence the concept does have the potential to catch on in the US as well – basically speaking.
But most of the makers of these bikes, powerhouses such as Panasonic or Sanyo, never tested waters outside Japan. Yamaha, another such company, now announced [JP] a total of five electric bikes over the weekend, all of which are likely to never find their way outside Japan. The new models are part of Yamaha’s series of PAS electric bikes. → Read More
Sanyo landed a huge hit with its eneloop brand that includes a number of “green” products, such as lamps, batteries or even Wii controllers. In the past few months, the company also introduced electric bikes that featured eneloop technology, one of which it wanted to sell outside Japan as well.
Now Nippon gets another two eneloop-branded bikes [JP], a carbon fiber model and a foldable bicycle. The way both models work is the same: Every time you drive downhill or decelerate, the electric motor switches to a dynamo, allowing for regenerative charging. Both bikes are pretty cool but have one disadvantage: The hefty price tag. → Read More
There are more and more electric bikes coming out of Japan in the last few months. Bridgestone Cycle, which is based out of Tokyo (yes, the tire company), has developed a new model [JP] that’s boasts an assisted travel range of up to 30km with a single charge. Bridgestone claims this is 30% more than what their previous electric bike reached. → Read More
Electric bikes are becoming more and more popular in Japan as top electronics brands such as Panasonic, Toshiba and Yamaha are rolling out new models monthly.
In December last year, Sanyo announced an electric bike and said it may even be exported to overseas markets soon. Today, the company said [JP] that from March on, the local government of Tokushima Prefecture in Southern Japan will get three Sanyo eneloop bikes and the electricity they need from a special solar parking spot. → Read More
It seems that electric bikes have gained significant momentum in the last few months on the market for “green” products, especially in Japan where Yamaha just announced a total of three new models [JP]. → Read More
