Electric Bicycle

I am sure a lot of you heard about electric bicycle before especially when country's petrol price was at its highest ever. That time, people started to look for alternative vehicles which could reduce the use of petrol hence cut down the expenses. That was the time vehicles using electrical power to move became more well-known in our daily life.

Almost that period of time, bicycle with electrical power started to appear and being introduced to consumers in the market. However it is not widely marketed and public acceptance on this vehicle is still unknown. Furthermore I heard there might be some legal issues on using this vehicle therefore I don't think those doing business in this field would like to take the risks by importing the vehicle in large volume.

Last week, when I was having tea time with friends near a kopitiam at roadside, an old man suddenly ride an electric bicycle and parked near to our table. I was quite curious as I heard about it yet never saw one before. Coincidently, I had my camera with me. Thus, I quickly took it out and shot some photo just for fun.

[Close look of an electric bicycle]

The electric bike looked a bit weird for me in term of its appearance. From side, it is looks like a bicycle and motorbike hybrid to me. The body size is much smaller than a motorcycle yet slightly bigger than a normal bicycle. The seat is just like the one on a normal bicycle with an additional seat at the back to accommodate another person. However I doubt if its electrical power is enough to move the vehicle if 2 person riding on it. ;)

[Side view]

The head is just like a motorbike's head with a big head light and two signal lights. There are also signal lights and a brake light at the rear side of the vehicle which is similar to a normal motorbike. Yet there is no speedometer but just some indicators on the front panel.

[Front panel with indicators but no speedometer]

[Tell me, is it look like a bicycle or motorcycle?]

I didn't see the old man using helmet when riding this electric bicycle. This is one of the controversial issue when using this vehicle. If it's treated as a bicycle, according to country's law, helmet is not a must. But if it's categorized as motorcycle, then not putting on helmet will be summoned.

[Rear view of the vehicle]

Oh ya! There are pedals on electric bicycle which allow the riders to pedal it just like a normal bicycle or as a backup just in case the vehicle is out of electrical power.

I think it's a good idea to use this kind of vehicle to move around in near distance as it's environmental friendly, energy and space saving and can avoid traffic jam.