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E-bikes, unsurprisingly, continue to grow in popularity across the home of tech, Silicon Valley, and California at large. In fact, appreciation for sustainable, light electric vehicles is multiplying not only on a state and national level, but also internationally!
In our major cities, like San Francisco and Los Angeles, commuters are spoilt with expanding green networks and bikeable-streets, enabling e-bikes to get them from A to B as safely and efficiently as possible.
With e-bikes, congested streets and traffic delays are no longer your issue. This electric alternative also facilitates shorter, cleaner and cheaper commutes, seamlessly integrating into the lifestyles of Californians.
So strap in California, here we come!
With warmer, more comfortable temperatures throughout all four seasons, Californians naturally try and spend a lot of time outdoors. If you can, why wouldn’t you? Pair this with Los Angeles and San Francisco's infamous traffic jams and an e-bike is the ultimate commuting option.
The Golden State’s fitness culture is also one of a kind with its inhabitants trying all there is to offer. Be it reformer pilates, hot yoga, bootcamp or even the peloton, we bet you’ve thought about giving it ago!
When you live in a city as beautiful as SF or LA, why sit in a house, a gym or an apartment for your daily energy hit when you could use an e-bike. Turn exercise into something productive and end up either at work, at home or wherever your next stop is.
Finally, we know living in big cities can sometimes be chaotic, especially when it comes to staying on top of both work and social commitments. When you add these both together there is very little time to fit in regular daily exercise, which in itself is proven to reduce stress and subsequently increase mobility.
So why not fit this lifestyle necessity into your everyday routine by integrating it into your commute. It’s time to swap from your traffic burdened car to the new, clean innovative alternative, the e-bike.
When it comes to the most congested metro areas* in the United States, Los Angeles and San Francisco humbly take the leaderboard at #6 and #7. Add on the time it takes for you to navigate a parking spot, walk from there to your destination and you’ve likely wasted more time than necessary.
Meanwhile on public transport, not only do you still have to consider traffic but also the potential delays and unreliability of city buses, cable cars and metro.
It’s a sight we are sure you are familiar with. It’s 6o’clock, all you want to do is go home, have your dinner and relax for the night but public transport is crammed full of commuters with the same idea. Forget cramming into public transport and the disappointment of a tedious trip home and enjoy commuting comfortably, mindful and all be it, more COVID safely, with an e-bike.
Now you may be thinking, I don't have the time or effort to bike ride home after a long day at work. However, e-bikes have motor assisted acceleration that gets you home quickly, without exerting lots of energy. That hill is no longer your problem, thanks to the small, aesthetic and electric motor embedded in your e-bike.
For the purpose of this blog, and also to make your e-bike research more efficient, we put together a list of the time it takes to get into both San Francisco (Union Square) and Los Angeles (Downtown LA) from their respective surrounding suburbs via different modes of transportation. This research was taken simply from google maps routes at peak hour.
North Beach: 17 minutes by car, 20 minutes on a bus, only 12 minutes on an E-bike.
Mission District: 25 minutes by car, 22 minutes on a bus, only 19 minutes on an E-bike.
Haight Street: 25 minutes by car, 25 minutes on a bus, only 20 minutes on an E-bike.
Huntington Park: 45 minutes by car, 32 minutes on a bus, only 39 minutes on an E-bike.
Hollywood: 38 minutes by car, 35 minutes on a bus, only 41 minutes on an E-bike.
Glendale: 40 minutes by car, 41 minutes on a bus, only 42 minutes on an E-bike.
According to LA metro**, a monthly transit pass costs $100 a month. When you convert this to a yearly sum, you are spending about 1.2k to get around the city. This yearly total makes up nearly half the sum of buying an electric bike outright, but unlike public transport you can use this asset whenever you want, to get you directly to wherever you want, door-to-door.
Better yet, some e-bike brands like Zoomo provide their riders with different financial plans, so that you don't have to face the upfront cost all at once. Zoomo also provides free maintenance and servicing on their bikes, so you can also eradicate that fee from your consciousness.
San Francisco is one of the most bike friendly cities in the United States, however as we have mentioned those steep hills may intimidate some potential commuters. With an e-bike, hills are no longer a burden, with motor assist getting you to the top quickly and effortlessly.
With bike paths in place across the city, SF also has plans and investments to continue building safer, better bikeways. If you live in a city like this, with infrastructure in place specifically tailored to bike riders, and are getting around town by any other means of transport then you are doing yourself a disservice.
LA has year round perfect cycling weather and ideal topography, however the existing infrastructure does need a slight refresh to make the city more bike friendly. The city has goals, policies and implementation strategies in place as they continue to make LA a more bike-friendly city and we can safely assume this means the presence of e-bike will also increase.
By this stage, you may be thinking about purchasing an e-bike, but before you jump the gun we have a few key considerations we recommend investigating before you invest.
Firstly, in big cities like SF and LA e-bikes are a hot property and people will go to great lengths to try and acquire one. With this in mind we recommend finding an e-bike with theft prevention technology and recovery to prevent the loss of your e-bike.
On another note, as briefly mentioned, you should consider that this bike will be used a lot and take you great distances so regular servicing and maintenance is encouraged to increase the longevity of your bike. It is in your best interest to analyse the different potential cost of servicing, should your distributor not offer it for free.
Finally, there are so many e-bikes out there it would be best to book a test ride and try out different bikes to ensure you're investing in the right one for your lifestyle.
If you’re looking for a one-stop shop, look no further than Zoomo.
Zoomo provides next-gen smart bikes designed for power users. You can get your hands on a bike that is virtually theft proof with a motor lock, GPS and bike recovery service.
View our full range of bikes, Get in-touch or book a test ride now!
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