Today’s happiness and personal-finance gurus have no shortage of advice for living a good life. Meditate daily. Sleep for eight hours a night. Don’t forget to save for retirement. They’re not wrong, but few of these experts will tell you one of the best ways to improve your life: Ditch your car.
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A year ago, my wife and I sold one of our cars and replaced it with an e-bike. As someone who writes about climate change, I knew that I was doing something good for the planet. I knew that passenger vehicles are responsible for much of our greenhouse-gas emissions—16 percent in the U.S., to be exact—and that the pollution spewing from gas-powered cars doesn’t just heat up the planet; it could increase the risk of premature death. I also knew that electric cars were an imperfect fix: Though they’re responsible for less carbon pollution than gas cars, even when powered by today’s dirty electric grid, their supply chain is carbon intensive, and many of the materials needed to produce their batteries are, in some cases, mined via a process that brutally exploits workers and harms ecosystems and sacred Indigenous lands. An e-bike’s comparatively tiny battery means less electricity, fewer emissions, fewer resources. They are clearly better for the planet than cars of any kind.
I knew all of this. But I also viewed getting rid of my car as a sacrifice—something for the militant and reckless, something that Greenpeace volunteers did to make the world better. I live in Colorado; e-biking would mean freezing in the winter and sweating in the summer. It was the right thing to do, I thought, but it was not going to be fun.
I was very wrong. The first thing I noticed was the savings. Between car payments, insurance, maintenance, and gas, a car-centered lifestyle is expensive. According to AAA, after fuel, maintenance, insurance, taxes, and the like, owning and driving a new car in America costs $10,728 a year. My e-bike, by comparison, cost $2,000 off the rack and has near-negligible recurring charges. After factoring in maintenance and a few bucks a month in electricity costs, I estimate that we’ll save about $50,000 over the next five years by ditching our car.
The actual experience of riding to work each day over the past year has been equally surprising. Before selling our car, I worried most about riding in the cold winter months. But I quickly learned that, as the saying goes, there is no bad weather, only bad gear. I wear gloves, warm socks, a balaclava, and a ski jacket when I ride, and am almost never too cold.
Sara Hastings-Simon is a professor at the University of Calgary, where she studies low-carbon transportation systems. She’s also a native Californian who now bikes to work in a city where temperatures tend to hover around freezing from December through March. She told me that with the right equipment, she’s able to do it on all but the snowiest days—days when she wouldn’t want to be in a car, either. “Those days are honestly a mess even on the roads,” she said.
And though I, like many would-be cyclists, was worried about arriving at the office sweaty in hotter months, the e-bike solved my problem. Even when it was 90 degrees outside, I didn’t break a sweat, thanks to my bike’s pedal-assist mode. If I’m honest, sometimes I didn’t even pedal; I just used the throttle, sat back, and enjoyed my ride.
Indeed, a big part of the appeal here is in the e part of the bike: “E-bikes aren’t just a traditional bike with a motor. They are an entirely new technology,” Hastings-Simon told me. Riding them is a radically different experience from riding a normal bike, at least when it comes to the hard parts of cycling. “It’s so much easier to take a bike over a bridge or in a hilly neighborhood,” Laura Fox, the former general manager of New York City’s bike-share program, told me. “I’ve had countless people come up to me and say, ‘I never thought that I could bike to work before, and now that I have an option where you don’t have to show up sweaty, it’s possible.’” (When New York introduced e-bikes to its fleet, ridership tripled, she told me, from 500,000 to 1.5 million people.)
But biking to work wasn’t just not unpleasant—it was downright enjoyable. It made me feel happier and healthier; I arrived to work a little more buoyant for having spent the morning in fresh air rather than traffic. Study after study shows that people with longer car commutes are more likely to experience poor health outcomes and lower personal well-being—and that cyclists are the happiest commuters. One day, shortly after selling our car, I hopped on my bike after a stressful day at work and rode home down a street edged with changing fall leaves. I felt more connected to the physical environment around me than I had when I’d traveled the same route surrounded by metal and glass. I breathed in the air, my muscles relaxed, and I grinned like a giddy schoolchild.
“E-bikes are like a miracle drug,” David Zipper, a transportation expert and Visiting Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, told me. “They provide so much upside, not just for the riders, but for the people who are living around them too.”
Of course, e-bikes aren’t going to replace every car on every trip. In a country where sprawling suburbs and strip malls, not protected bike lanes, are the norm, it’s unrealistic to expect e-bikes to replace cars in the way that the Model T replaced horses. But we don’t need everyone to ride an e-bike to work to make a big dent in our carbon-pollution problem. A recent study found that if 5 percent of commuters were to switch to e-bikes as their mode of transportation, emissions would fall by 4 percent. As an individual, you don’t even need to sell your car to reduce your carbon footprint significantly. In 2021, half of all trips in the United States were less than three miles, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Making those short trips on an e-bike instead of in a car would likely save people money, cut their emissions, and improve their health and happiness.
E-bikes are such a no-brainer for individuals, and for the collective, that state and local governments are now subsidizing them. In May, I asked Will Toor, the executive director of the Colorado Energy Office, to explain the state’s rationale for a newly passed incentive that offers residents $450 to get an e-bike. He dutifully ticked through the environmental benefits and potential cost savings for low-income people. Then he surprised me: The legislation, he added, was also about “putting more joy into the world.”
This story is part of the Atlantic Planet series supported by HHMI’s Science and Educational Media Group.
Did you know that electric bikes are selling better than electric cars in the United States? The U.S. e-bike market is on the rise and is expected to keep growing as more people turn to e-bikes.
But just what's all the buzz about?
Are e-bikes just a fleeting trend?
Is an e-bike worth the investment?
These are some of the questions you may be asking yourself.
Rest assured, e-bikes aren't just some fluffy fad. They've got tangible, practical benefits, and there's a good reason consumers are clamoring for them.
Read on for a roundup of just some of the benefits of e-bikes.
Biking is a great exercise for building physical strength, especially in your legs. You primarily use the hamstrings and quadriceps (in the upper legs) when pedaling a bike. You may also feel the burn in your calves and glutes, depending on your bike seat height and riding posture.
If you don't have the strongest legs, e-bikes have a feature called "pedal assist" to help. When you engage pedal assist, the e-bike motor helps power the bike on a set level. Pedal assist comes in various levels. For example, the Velotric Discover 1 and the Velotric Nomad 1 both have five levels of pedal assist.
With pedal assist, you can build your strength up slowly over time. If you're starting off with weaker leg muscles, you can engage a higher level of pedal assist. Then, decrease the level of pedal assist as you gain more muscle mass.
Riding an e-bike can improve your well-being in other ways, too. Research shows that e-cycling is a good form of cardiovascular exercise, which can improve your heart and lung health.
Regular cardio exercise is known to improve overall circulation. This can boost metabolism and help you maintain a healthy weight. Plus, it can reduce your risk of adverse health events like stroke and heart attack.
Cycling is also a great form of moderate exercise because it's low impact and doesn't place a lot of stress on your knees. This is one reason e-bikes are a good choice for people with arthritic knees. Cyclists can maintain their range of motion without placing too much pressure on their joints, especially if they engage pedal assist.
E-biking can also help reduce the risk of joint problems. For one thing, it helps to maintain a healthy weight (since being overweight increases stress on joints). Plus, cycling strengthens leg muscles, which help carry weight instead of leaving the burden on the joints.
You might think that an electric bicycle doesn't offer as much exercise as a traditional bike, since it "helps" the cyclist with pedal assist. However, research shows that e-bike riders can elevate both their heart rate and breathing enough to count as a workout.
This may be because the assistance electric bicycles provide means people are more motivated to get out there and use them. You won't be deterred from hopping on your road bike because you know you'll have support when you need it.
This means you can get more regular physical activity for longer periods. The result? It's easier to build up endurance. For example, you might start by tackling hills with a high level of pedal assist, but use less pedal assist as you improve your fitness levels.
The extra help from the bike's electric motor also helps cyclists go further than they might on a regular bike using the same amount of energy. It's easier to travel longer distances and explore new terrain when you know you have pedal assist to fall back on if you get tired.
Similar to conventional bikes, e-bikes also offer varying models suited to different types of terrain. For example, the Discover 1 has 2.5” tires , making it well-suited for cruising around the city.
In contrast, the Nomad 1 has 4” fat tires. The thick tires give you better traction and stability, so you can take the Nomad 1 on rougher surfaces, like gravel, without sacrificing a smooth and comfortable ride.
Thanks to pedal assist, riding e-bikes requires less effort than riding normal bikes. This means you can travel faster and further without pedaling yourself into utter exhaustion.
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The Nomad 1 bike can travel up to 55 miles on a single charge, while the Discover 1 has a maximum range of 60 miles. Each bike takes just six hours to fully charge the battery power, meaning as long as you charge after your ride regularly, you should be always ready to go. But if you’re a heavy rider, you can always buy an extra battery for your Velotric e-bike.
The e-bike motor can also enhance speed. For example, the Discover 1 has a 500W motor (peak 900W), while the Nomad 1 has a 750W motor (peak 1200W). For context: These bikes will give you an effortless riding experience even when you're going up an incline of 8 degrees.
An e-bike isn't just good for your physical health; it can also help your mental health. Remember, research shows that e-bikers can generate just as much physical activity as traditional cyclists because they take longer trips.
It's no secret that regular exercise is the key to good mental health. Studies have suggested that exercise can alleviate anxiety, reduce the risk of depression, and blast away stress. It's even been shown to boost brain power, sharpen memory, and combat age-related mental decline. Plus, exercise improves sleep quality.
With an e-bike, you can reap the rewards of more regular exercise. Knowing you have conveniences like pedal assist and walk mode (where the e-bike powers itself forward while you walk alongside it) to fall back on can make you more eager to hop on your bike. There's really no excuse!
Research suggests that spending time in nature combats stress and improves emotional well-being. E-bikes can help you get out into nature. You'll be more mobile and able to reach natural areas with a fat-tired e-bike like the Nomad 1.
Psst: Check out this roundup of the best bike trails in the U.S. to reap the rewards!
E-bike pedal assist can improve maneuverability and the time it takes to get your bike moving, which can enhance safety. For example, let’s say you're a big-city cyclist. Being able to seamlessly pick up speed lets you keep up with the flow of traffic and stay safe.
Similarly, if you have to cross a street quickly, pedal assist can help you jumpstart and go so you can get from point A to point B safely. E-bikes like the Discover 1 and Nomad 1 also have walk assist, a setting that gently powers the bike forward as you walk alongside it, which can also improve maneuverability and safety.
Of course, it's still important to follow best practices when riding an e-bike, just as you would when riding a conventional bicycle. For example, you should wear a helmet and highly visible clothing when riding.
E-bikes are relatively quiet when they operate. In fact, some people suggest that a quality e-bike motor isn't much louder than pedaling on a regular bicycle, with decibel levels being comparable.
This can be beneficial, as it cuts down on noise pollution and is a more relaxing way to ride. If you like riding in natural areas, having a quiet ride is a bonus. After all, you don't want a loud motor to drown out the sound of chirping birds and babbling brooks, right?
For safety purposes, e-bikes offer the option to "make noise" when needed. For example, Velotric's bikes include bells. You might use a bell to alert a pedestrian standing in your path or make your presence known to a car that's driving into your lane on the road.
As people become more eco-conscious, they're increasingly becoming aware of the downsides of driving. Traditional cars require gasoline, which creates harmful emissions that can hurt the environment and pollute the air we breathe. E-bikes are a great way for anyone making last-mile trips, or any trip under 10 miles.
That said, people still need to get around! If you live in a city where public transportation isn't great (or isn't available at all), you need an alternative. An e-bike can get you where you need to go quickly and with minimal effort, thanks to the pedal assist option.
There are also practical aspects. For example, e-bikes are cheaper than cars. If you don't have the money for an automobile, an e-bike can be a solid pick instead. With ranges of 55 to 60 miles, Velotric's e-bikes are perfect for trips to pick up groceries, especially once you deck it out with its front and rear racks.
Sure, cycling is a great alternative to a car and gets you to and from work, social meetings, and other events. That said, odds are you don't want to roll up to your 9 a.m. meeting drenched in sweat.
Enter e-bikes. An e-bike is a good alternative to a typical bike, thanks to the pedal assist and walk modes. Avoid strenuous physical effort when you're headed to an appointment and need to show up looking healthily flushed instead of being soaked in sweat.
Feeling stressed after work? Get a full workout session by dialing down the pedal assist and getting your heart rate pumping. In short, you get the best of both worlds with an e-bike.
One of the most talked about benefits of electric bikes is their environmental friendliness. Since they don't require gasoline, they don't burn fossil fuels (which contribute to dangerous greenhouse gas emissions and deplete the ozone). Using an e-bike instead of a car reduces your carbon footprint.
If you're interested in helping the planet, an e-bike is a logical choice with demonstrable environmental benefits. Research has even shown that e-cyclists are keenly aware of their environmental impact when picking a mode of transportation — more than those driving cars or using public transportation.
E-bikes are also quiet. They don't contribute to noise pollution in the same way as cars. This can create a more harmonious environment for people and animals alike. Noise pollution is a serious issue that can have health repercussions, like hearing loss.
Yes, e-bikes have health benefits. Yes, e-bikes are good for the environment. Yes, e-bikes are convenient. But, let's face it, at the end of the day, the big question is: Can you afford one? Does an e-bike make sense financially? All those advantages don't mean much if this mode of transportation is going to break the bank, right?
Don't worry: E-bike technology has come a long way from just a few year ago, and affordable models are available. You can find quality bikes from brands like Velotric for less than $2,000, for example. On top of that, you may be able to get tax credits for buying an e-bike, saving even more cash on your purchase.
These initiatives are becoming increasingly common. California — a state striving for zero emissions — is developing the E-BIKE Act, which includes a consumer tax credit covering up to 30% of the cost of an electric bicycle (up to $1,500).
For now, e-bike tax credits are offered on a state-by-state basis; there's no nationwide initiative, although there have also been attempts to introduce a federal e-bike tax credit. The most recent attempt to pass this act (as part of a larger climate deal package) didn't work out, but advocates are still working on it.
Pro tip: Check out our full guide to e-bike tax rebates here.
Ready to experience the benefits of e-bikes for yourself? With many new models coming out, Velotric is working to create an e-bike that is right for you.
The Velotric Discover 1 has great 2.5” all-round city tires, five-levels of pedal assist, and walk mode. Hydraulic disc brakes and a Shimano 7-speed derailleur help give you maximum control for safe riding.
This bike can travel up to 60 miles with one charge. The exact range depends on details like load weight and riding style — for example, the battery drains faster if you engage high-level pedal assist.
Want to tackle rougher terrain?
The 750W Velotric Nomad 1 is the way to go. This durable e-bike has 4” fat tires that are suitable for riding on gravel, dirt, and other rough surfaces. It has hydraulic disc brakes, a Shimano 8-speed deraileur, and five-levels pedal assist, plus conveniences like walk mode.
This bike has a maximum range of 55 miles. Again, the actual range in practice depends on real-world details like weight, riding style, and incline. For example, going uphill drains the battery faster.
Whichever bike you choose, it will come with a battery certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL 2271), a global independent safety standards organization. The 48V 14.4Ah rechargeable batteries take just six hours to charge completely.
Each bike comes in two models: The traditional High Step style fits rider heights 5’6” to 6’9”, while the Step-Thru model fits rider heights 5’1” to 6’4”.
Whether you want a bike for smooth city rides or a fat-tire bike for offroading, Velotric has a model for you. Visit the online shop now to find your perfect match — and start reaping the rewards an e-bike has to offer.
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