The electric bike sounds good, but...  |  October 9, 2008  

The environment is hot, hot, hot and marketers and innovators are rushing to deliver green products to planet-conscious consumers. But as we all hurry towards this goal it's possible to see every green-tinted product as a good thing, and not all of them are.

Case in point: Dorel Industries' improved electric bicycle. At first glance this looks like a good idea: people who ride an electric bike instead of driving a car will dramatically reduce their carbon footprint, and that's good for the planet.

And to the extent that people climb out of a car and onto an e-bike, this is a valid argument. But I wonder how often that is going to happen. Anyone who sees a bike as a suitable replacement for a car is probably already pedaling one. The rest of the population will still drive cars.

Now the electric car is a different thing, because people who want to drive a car may view an electric model as a viable alternative, and the Chevy Volt actually has a shot at mainstream success.

But the electric bike just seems like an answer in search of a question. It's not big enough nor versatile enough to replace a car for most people, and it doesn't have the health benefits or -- at US$3,200 a pop -- the economic benefits of riding a real bike.

I acknowledge that lots of people apparently want these things, because Dorel reports that 20.8 million e-bikes were sold worldwide in 2007 (according to the Electric Bikes Worldwide Report). But I just don't get why people would buy one. I would, however, love to hear from anyone who has an e-bike or is thinking about buying one.      

Peter Wolchak