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China's New Craze: E-bikes
lawrencekhoo writes "I was in Shanghai recently, and found to my surprise that bicycle crazy China is now electric bicycle crazy. Electric bikes were everywhere, and outnumbered normal bikes on the road. You could even buy them in the department stores.
Basic
models sell for about 1200 Yuan (about US$150), and more
elaborate
scooter-like
models
for up to 5000 Yuan. Apparently, this craze has been
building up for a few years.
Something like it is even
happening in parts of the US.
According to one user, electric bikes are popular because they're cheap, and can take you all around town on one charge. Who would have guessed that China would lead the way in green transportation?"
Those look really good, especially for older people with reduced mobility (which seems to be one of their major target demographics). But what I would love to be able to buy would be some kind of hybrid model. The motor would reduce the exertion required, while being able to pedal would extend the distance you could go on a single charge.
I didn't see anything in the posted links that said whether they were electric-only bikes or hybrid, but it does look like you can already get electric hybrid bikes: Electric Bikes Northwest. I would happily buy something like that over a car, assuming I could afford either, which isn't the case anyway...
Of course China is paving the way for green transportation. Having enormous populations in congested cities with low average incomes is a great motivation to produce cheap transportation.
Generating electricity is not green. Once again this is a demonstration of euphoric environmentalists not knowing how things work.
Who would have guessed that China would lead the way in green transportation?"
Trading in pedal bikes for motor bikes, regardless of power source is not as green as a regular pedal bike. Also, since this is "green" I guess, I would imagine countries like China would adopt them first as there isn't any room for American style SUV's, right?
"If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer
Unlike most places in the US, many Chinese cities do not have streets made for large amounts of vehicular traffic, so bicycles have become important to them. Then, when you consider the cost of gasoline compared to the average Chinese person's salary, what's so bad about electric bikes? Besides, in a country of a billion people, if only 10% of people use this technology, that's more electric bikes sold than all the cars sold in the US. (Plus no required age to use one).
Green transportation? These things definitly aren't designed to replace cars. Look at the min/max speeds! And the comparison was made with bikes, not cars.
What's greener, a bike powered by human-power, or a bike powered by electricity (which has to come from somewhere....fossil fuels, anyone)? I vote human-powered bikes.
--
http://nemilar.net - Not your grandmother's soup kitchen
When I first came across this technology years ago I wondered why it didn't seem to very popular. I soon realized that here in America nobody would ride one of these because of the social implications. Your either such a lazy fat bastard that you need a motor on your bike or your too weak and pathetic to just ride a normal bike or your a broke looser who can't afford a motorcycle or car. Who is gonna ride even a good electric bike (which even now there are few of) with these sort of implications attached.
vampirical
How is this green? That electricity doesn generate its self.
"Comedy's a dead art form. Now tragedy, that's funny."
Yes, finally China is making strides towards more pollutive transportation.
After many long years of primarily using bikes, they are now charging these bikes with power from coal power plants. Once a billion or so people have these, our green goals will finally be completed and mother nature will be thoroughly defeated.
Who would have guessed that China would lead the way in green transportation?
Not surprising. Now I would have definitely been surprised if the United States were the one leading the way in green transportation.
As electric bicycles aren't exactly what China needs at the moment, seeing as they need, you know, electricity. Most of China's electrical power is generated from coal in factories which have pollution controls making the U.S. coal factories look impeccably clean. Along with this the Chinese are becoming just as car crazy as us wacky Americans only once again to fuel their 8% annual economic increase they have instituted almost zero pollution control laws. Those shiny cars they drive may look modern but most are 20+ years behind when it comes to emissions; just take a look at the haze over Shanghai, it's like Los Angeles circa 1990. At their current rate China will overtake the U.S. as the World's leading emitter of greenhouse gases in a relatively short amount of time.
So like I said, not exactly leading the green revolution.
It's funny to see how this craze is taking off in China only now... since these things have existed for ages. Also interesting to think about why these bikes haven't become popular in the Netherlands, another bike-loving country.Sparta has been selling powered bikes for years, with either an electric motor or a small gasoline-powered one.
Then again, I can understand why they aren't popular here. Firstly, there's the price tag of EUR 1750 (Look on the site under "Collectie / Electrische fiets"). Secondly... crime statistics teach us that every bike owner has his bike stolen, on average, once a year in this country. And this bike would make a particularly juicy target for thieves.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Electric vehicles are all fine and good, except that until we have a good clean source of electricity, a proliferation of electric-powered vehicles will actually increase air polution. For example, in Alberta Canada, a study was done to determine the effects on the environment of government-mandated electric cars. The study found the air pollution would increase dramatically as all of Alberta's power plants (well most of them) are coal-fire plants.
This is not to say it's not a good thing but it's certainly not a panacea at this point. Something else to remember is that internal combustion does not necessarily equal bad since practically all energy generation involves combustion in some form or another. For example, burning natural oils (vegatable oil) is environmentally neutral, since there is no net-increase of carbon in the atmosphere (which means no green-house effects).
The problem is that most alternative fuels such as hydrogen and methane come from burning fossil fuels. Although they burn clean in our engines, they've already caused pollution before we even get them in our cars! This fact combined with the fact that alternative fuels simply don't have as many joules of energy per unit as conventional fuels makes alternative fuels less attractive.
If we can get a cleans supply of electricity (from the sun, for example), then all of my points become moot.
i don't think the electric bike is driven by a desire for green transportation, but it just happens that the particular form of transportation is desireable compared to a standard bicycle, and considerably cheaper than alternative forms of "private" transportation in that country. The average motor vehicle is still considerably expensive for the average chinese urbanite. (let's not even consider the rural economy here). Besides, as a person pointed out in an earlier post, the electric bikes are only as effective as the power plants that produce the electricity. In china, a large portion of air pollution is still sourced from coal burning used for power production. china needs to improve the efficency and conditions of it's plants before the use of electricity is considered green.
Well with 1.2 billion people you can't get enough oil for all that and besides the US has basically staked out the middle east as it's own supply recently so...
But they do have 3 Gorges Dam wich produce enough electricity for 5% of all world power needs, so electricity they have, oil they do not.
Sounds like a good plan for them.
The US has too much stake in the oil industry, it's all bogged down in it. They'll be driving gas cars until the last drop is gone.
The 21st century is going to see the world power center moving east to some kind of India-Japan-China axis with Korea and Vietnam as secondaries.
People have already mentioned the urban planning of the China. Most chinese cities are already set up for bikes, not cars. If electric bike can help extend the distance that the average person can get on their bikes, then it will be a good thing. In america, bikes will never replace cars untill cities are built for bike traffic.
sorry 'bout the mess...
That electricity has to come from someplace... in China, that means mostly oil and coal powerplants with none of the pollution controls found in the west, or hydroelectric dams, like Three Gorges, that displace and literally enslave hundreds of thousands of people while destroying archaeological and historical sites. The most lethal dam disaster in history was a Chinese hydoelectric project gone wrong.
Electric vehicles by themselves are not enviornmentally friendly. In conjunction with strict pollution controls and smart energy infrastructures, they can be. That's not the case in China. They'd be better off with a reliable fleet of diesel busses and subways.
SoupIsGood Food
According to one user, electric bikes are popular because they're cheap, and can take you all around town on one charge. Who would have guessed that China would lead the way in green transportation?"
Power from the outlet requires a generator or plant of some kind, as well. If theym like the US, generate much of their electricity from fossil fuels, all they've done is move their pollution problem to a different sector.
Ahh, I was sure that this "Green transportation" thing would spawn quite a few comments. But as astounding as it sounds, electricity-powered vehicles *can* be 'greener' than directly fossil-fuel powered.
:)
... :) Obviously, a difficult question to decide.
Why?
If you consider nuclear power as a 'green' energy source, it's easy. Some do, I'm personally not sure...
If you don't:
1. A certain amount of electricity is from renewable fuels already.
2. The energy conversion efficiency is greater in power plants (about 42%) than in combustion engines (about 25%) and the conversion efficiency of an electro motor is good (about 90%).
3. Waste heat from power plants can be used (for efficiencies up to 60%)
Of course, one has to throw the building energy costs for the power plant, the motor cycle etc. into the equations. And there is bio diesel...
Oh yeah and you have to take into account the fuel logistics. And, and,
China was leading the green revolution for a long time .... With a lot of traditional bycicles....
It's hardly green transportation, not when the source of the electricity is coal and gas burning plants. All you've done is relocate the pollution out to wherever the power plant is.
It seems as if many self-styled environmentalists (who wear their badge in the form of an all-electric vehicle) are the personification of shortsighted NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard). They either don't understand that electricity comes from SOMEWHERE, or they don't care about the pollution, only that it doesn't happen where they live.
What's greener, a bike powered by human-power, or a bike powered by electricity (which has to come from somewhere....fossil fuels, anyone)? I vote human-powered bikes.
This would depend on where you get your engery from. Humans require engery in the form of food. Food must come from somewhere. Food requires land, soil, nutrients, in many cases livestock. Methane production of a cow for example is pretty signigent. Not to speak of the waste product of humans, which nothing to sneeze at as we are talking about a country with billions of people.
I'm not saying you are wrong, all I'm saying it's not a clear cut equation to balance the effect on the ecosystem between the use of human power and the use of electrical power.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
There is absolutely no evidence of any connection between human activity and "global warming".
Haha, and Burger gobbling Americans wonder why they are falling behind in science!
Oh yes, global warming is a myth just like evolution!
Bwahaha, oh well, most Americans are too ill informed to realize their rate of publication in scientific journals as well as patent applications and grants are shriveling fast in the face of a modernizing asia and europe that spends money research and schools instead of bombs and guns!
Of course Russia wants to oppose Kyoto they have a huge stake in the oil industry considering they have huuuge oil reserves! I mean it's fine to say you oppose clean fuels because the richest people in your country are making a killing off oil. But to say you oppose cleanr fuels and then make foolish psuedo-scientific statements is just lame. Just admit it, You like to see Dick Cheney be very rich and you like to pay lots of money at the pump for your gas. Just admit that and it's fine. But you just make America look pathetic when you actually try to deny global warming, hahah.
That electricity has to come from someplace... in China, that means mostly oil and coal powerplants with none of the pollution controls found in the west
Stationary power plants produce more energy and less pollution than a sea of small movable engines consuming the same amount of fuel. Chinese power plants may pollute more than American power plants, but they both pollute less than mini power plants (automobile/motorcycle engines) designed for size and weight instead of efficiency.
You can eliminate more pollution with $1,000,000 worth of pollution control equipment on one power plant, then you can with a $100 worth of pollution control equipment on each of ten thousand automobiles.
Yes, the view I had was that the bicycle had an almost Mao-ist appeal for at least most of the old guard there. An e-bike, therefore, is probably just the sort of post-modernist identity symbol that a contemporary Chinese would be interested in.
More than mere navel gazing.
does anyone else find it hillarious that everyone is chiming in, "oh, green transportation! no surprise it's not the US doing it!"? what bullshit.
Hello! These a) are electric bikes, b) are replacing non-powered bikes, and c) would not even be viable in an industrialized country where the infrastructure is dependent on massive transportation systems.
So please just stop. This isn't even "green", when you compare it to the human-powered bikes that they're replacing, ffs. There's no need to be so zealotrously anti-American; you're simply illustrating your ignorance.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
...less than horses or sturgeon.
I'm a sturgeon
hooked for the very first time...
You have my humblest apologies. I just couldn't help it. I don't know what came over me.
What were we talking about? Oh yeah, bicycles and China. On the subject of China leading the way, we might find that they will be on the vanguard of many things to come. Without IP to hamper their innovation, they could easily surpass the U.S. and Europe. Their politics not withstanding.
What?
All of you are proclaiming that this isn't leading the green movement. Well lets just take a scanario out into time and see what you think then.
Now.
we have Oil.
America makes gas using cars, and gas using moped.
China makes electric bikes. that run off of coal power plants.
years into the future.
We no longer have Oil.
millions of useless chunks of metal, formerly known as SUV's appear in junk yards in America. We have a transportation crisis because gas prices are insanely high.
China, running on its electric bikes, and possibly vehicles, loses its coal power plants. However these are replaced by hydro- and solar-electric ones.
So, ultimately having electric vehicles [bikes cars] eases the passage into utilizing sources of power that are green.
And China is leading.
face the world with eyes of fire.
That meme, that these bikes aren't green because they aren't as good for the environment as regular bikes, is really screwed up coming from this crowd. The Athlon or P4 you're writing these comments on probably use as much electricity as these e-bikes do. Not to mention that being mostly westerners we almost all drive cars. But everyone complains that these e-bikes are a bad developement because they aren't as green as regular bikes! What should the chinese do? Never advance? Live in the dark because any electricity they use has to come from somewhere? Why are we slamming them for their comparitivly small energy use instead of slamming ourselves for writting these comments on energy guzzling computers?
--HC
So I'm jump'n up and down screaming show me the money.
Don't assume that these electric bikes are gaining ground because of environmental or even traffic concerns. They're cheap, and the vast majority of Chinese people cannot afford a car. I'd bet that once they can afford them, they will happily trade in their e-bike for a big, emissions-producing vehicle. The growing middle class is already doing this, contributing to the world-wide upsurge in oil demand and price hikes at the pumps.
That's not a soda... it's a caffeine delivery device!
Who would have guessed that China would lead the way in green transportation?
Greener != green
What about the lead-acid or nickel-cadmium batteries commonly used in these? How many one-armed, 3-eyed Chinese babies will be born as a result of pollution of these terribly toxic metals?
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
While an electric bike may not be as green as a pedal bike it's sure better than a car.
In light of reports that China is the fastest growing automobile market in the world, electric bikes look pretty good.
Trading in pedal bikes for motor bikes, regardless of power source is not as green as a regular pedal bike
Well, it is more green if it causes you to bike to more places, rather than buying a car or taking a taxi. Or if it becomes popular with middle-aged/senior people.