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1. Hill Climbing
That may sound obvious, but it's the primary advantage. A good electric bike effectively flattens hills, increasing your average speed and eliminating the "groan" factor when a hill comes into view. You actually enjoy your ride!

2. Safety
It sounds unlikely, doesn't it? But the mathematics are compelling. Think of a steep and busy road, with cars climbing at 30 mph. If you previously slogged up the hill at 6mph, but can tackle the same gradient at 12mph with an electric bike, you will see 33% fewer cars, and they will pass you at 18 mph rather than 24 mph. There's no doubt that an electric bike helps to keep you out of danger. The same general principle applies to road junctions - the faster your acceleration, the sooner you can get out of trouble. And with no need to rush the hills, you won't be tempted to ride downhill at breakneck speed.

3. Running Costs
Purchase cost is a little more than a conventional bike. Mechanical wear and tear is about the same. Electricity is so cheap its largely irrelevant. Typically, an electric bike costs 1 to 3 cents per mile compared to 4.2 cents per mile for a non-assisted bike. However, electric bike running costs should really be compared with those of a moped, or a car, when the electric bike replaces car mileage. With cars costing 50 - 80 cents per mile, an electric bike can save a great deal of money.

4. Personal Fitness
Surely a conventional bike will keep you fitter, right? That, of course, depends how much - if at all - you use it. Research has found that 46% of conventional bikes are used only once or twice a week, and that 30% are only being used once every two weeks or even less. By contrast, a recent survey of electric bicycle owners reveals that a 33% ride their bike at least once a day and 81% use the bike at least once a week. This confirms our experience that an electric bike typically gets used at least twice as often as a conventional one. Because riding an electric bike is a great deal more enjoyable in hilly country, into strong winds, or when carrying heavy loads, users tend to make better use of them. The motor supplies up to half the power, but more regular use means more exercise for the rider.

5. No Sweat!
Sweating may not be a serious issue when you're riding for leisure or to exercise, but it's pretty important if you're cycling to work. Although some employers may provide showers and other changing facilities for cyclists, the great majority have no intention of doing so. An electric bike eliminates the problem at its source. Oddly enough, you won't sweat on an electric bike, even if you put in the same amount of effort as you would riding an ordinary bike. This is because you will be going faster, and the "wind chill" effect is greater, keeping you cool. In hot weather, just transfer a bit more of the load to the electric motor. In colder weather - or when using the bike for exercise - just throttle back, or turn the motor off.

6. Clean & Green
The amount of energy used is very small compared to a moped, motorcycle or car. Besides fuel, the only consumables are the batteries and these can be recycled when life-expired. Also, electric bikes typically consume fuel at a rate of 100 to 150 watts of electrical energy, compared to an average of 15,000 watts for a car (admittedly traveling faster, out of town at least). In terms of fuel consumption, an electric bike achieves about 800 to 2,000 mpg. No other commercially available vehicle can match figures of this kind. To put this into perspective, think of a 60 watt light bulb burning for even few hours - that's roughly the same amount of energy it takes propel an electrically-assisted bike for 20 to 40 miles.

7. Genuine Sustainability
There's a lot of talk about sustainability in transportation, but an electric bicycle can be made genuinely sustainable. By purchasing electricity from a "green" supplier, or generating your own electricity with a roof-mounted windmill or solar panel array, an electric bike's fossil fuel consumption is zero.

8. Faster Travel
In theory, cars travel at much higher speeds than electric bikes. But, in practice, a car's speed often falls below 10 mph due to traffic and congestion. Motorcycles may be able to avoid congestion to some extent, but they're still confined to the roads. An electric bike can maintain a higher average speed than a bicycle but take advantage of the same network of cycle facilities, giving access to routes that cars and motorcycles cannot reach. The result is often a faster door-to-door travel time than any other mode of transportation. By taking advantage of the uncongested cycle network, but eliminating hills and headwinds, electric bikes are often the most consistent mode of travel.

9. High Resale
Value While electric bikes are new technology, evidence suggests that they will have a much better resale value than conventional bikes. True, the typical electric bike costs more to buy but you'll likely get most of your investment back when and if you sell it.