Electric bicycles provide disability friendly, and cost-effective alternative to cycling

Some people are choosing electric bicycles as a disability-friendly cost-effective alternative to regular cycling.

“People that want to get back into riding that aren’t strong anymore or young anymore,” said Columbia Bike-Pedestrian coordinator Ted Curtis.

E-bikes have a rechargeable battery and an electric motor that assists the rider as they peddle, Curtis said during an electric bicycle seminar on Sunday.

He said e-bikes allow elderly individuals or people with injuries to ride.

“It was a game changer, and I’m in better shape than ever,” said Richard Rosenberg, a Pedego bike shop employee.

Rosenberg said he was hit by a car when he was 16 years old and his back injuries made cycling challenging. He said the hilly terrain in Columbia added to the difficulty of riding.

“I had to cut my distance of driving on my bike, and I had to find certain areas to enjoy my bike,” he said “I pretty much gave up biking for two years.”

Getting an e-bike, Rosenberg said, allowed him to ride again. He said he uses his electric bicycle as a main method of transportation and he rides it more than 25 miles to work each day.

An e-bike costs about a nickel of electricity to fully charge. Electric bicycles can reach a top speed of 20 miph and can be ridden on Columbia’s trails when kept under 15 mph.

Sign up for email news alerts by clicking here