Electric Bikes

What is an Electronic bike? 

An electronic bike supplements the bikers pedaling with power generated by a motor instead or in addition to peddling. This allows the rider to travel faster, with less fatigue on daily commutes. Electric bikes offer an economic friendly way to travel while also providing the opportunity to exercise. 

In America, electronic bikes are divided into a three class system: 

Class 1: A motor assisted bicycle whose motor only assists when the rider is peddling and has a speed cap at 20 mph. 

Class 2: A bicycle whose motor is exclusively used to power the bike, and is not capable of speeds above 20 mph. 

Class 3: This bicycles motor only assists when the rider is peddling. This bike has a speedometer, and the motor stops assisting the rider at 28 mph. 

In Arkansas you are not required to have a license or register your bike. Arkansas doesn't have an age limitation on electronic bikes, but they do have a 750w and 20pmh limitation. Arkansas does not require riders to wear helmets, and they are allowed to use paths and sidewalks. Visit this link for more information regarding the legislation concerning electric bikes: https://leg.mt.gov/content/Committees/Interim/2019-2020/Transportation/Committee-Topics/Autonomous-Electric/e-bikes-montana.pdf

There are two types of electronic bikes you can get: factory e-bikes and kit e-bikes. Factory e-bikes have the built in features of an electric bike. A kit bike is where you take a regular bike and modify it with an electronic motor. https://www.bicyclejunction.co.nz/pages/faq-what-is-an-e-bike-how-does-it-work-how-do-i-ride-it 

On Campus

There are several students that use bikes on campus, but not many use them for transportation across Searcy. Electric bikes would enable students to get between classes faster and enable students without a car to travel around down town Searcy. This could save gas money on short trips and it may even eliminate some students need for a car. If there were less cars on campus there would be more parking. In some cases, students can bring a bike back and forth each year easier than they could a car. Additionally, if students plan on living in a high density city such as New York it may be more cost effective long term to invest in a bike than a car. In cities where the distance from point A and point B are short, but a high density population bikes can be a quicker mode of transportation. Electronic bikes cost less than a car and produce less pollution than most cars. While electronic bikes may be more expensive than a basic bike, they are definitely a solution I wish I had known more about when i moved here as a student. I urge you to consider, is an electronic bike for you?