We here at Techjaja love electric rideables and we shall be writing more about them. Rideables include; cars, hoverboards, skateboards, scooters, motorcycles, mopeds, unicycles, tricycles… you name it, we shall look for it. But electric bikes belong in a category of their own because they’re more than just a fun tech fad. They could actually be the future of transportation in Kampala, given the fact that most people relied on normal bikes to travel during the total COVID-19 lockdown.
Electric bikes aren’t new or without controversy. Some feel threatened by the rising popularity of e-bikes, as though standard bikes will suddenly vanish like the penny-farthing once everyone goes electric. Rest assured: e-bikes won’t make human-powered mobility obsolete besides the normal manual bikes will always be more affordable.
That said, there’s really no better time than right now to start shopping for an electric bike. The world market is flooded with battery-powered bikes of all shapes and sizes. It would also be a great idea if Kiira Motors Cooperation expanded its product portfolio to include e-bikes. Meanwhile, major bike manufacturers globally are finally waking up to the profit potential of e-bikes and are introducing their own lineups. Prices are fluctuating, but you can get a solidly built, reliable e-bike for less than UGX 3.7 million.
Obviously, there’s a lot to choose from out there, and you don’t want to get fooled, so here’s what you need to know.
The Rise of Electric Bikes
As previously stated, electric bikes aren’t new; they’ve been around for decades. And if you live in China or Europe, e-bikes are probably already a way of life for you but here in Kampala we are used to our normal manual bikes or those with gears also known as mountain bikes. But it wasn’t always that way.
For years, European electric bikes were used primarily by people 65 and over. For seniors who were already dependent on their bikes in places like Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Berlin, e-bikes offered a way to continue riding for many more years. As such, e-bikes had the unfortunate reputation of being just for old people. E-bike manufacturers have been laboring to tamp down this perception, and it seems like it’s working. Young urban commuters in Europe are finally giving e-bikes their attention.
Amazingly, some of the same design details can be found in eletric bikes today: a rear-hub motor with a battery centrally mounted in the frame.
Nuts and bolts of e-bikes
Generally speaking, electric bikes are bicycles with a battery-powered “assist” that comes when you pedal or, in some cases, use a throttle. Pushing the pedals engages a small motor, which gives you a boost, so you can zip up hills and cruise over rough terrain without breaking a sweat. Twisting a throttle does the same with no pedaling necessary.
ALSO READ: This is the cost of Yaka if you owned an electric Tesla Model X in Uganda
Motors
There are two main motor types: mid-drive motors, with the motor positioned in the middle of the bike, usually between the pedals; and hub-drive motors, which are located in the center of either the front or rear wheel (usually the rear).
There merits and demerits to both. Hub-drives have been around forever and tend to be cheaper and more versatile. They’re excellent motors for anyone needing a reliable electric bike for long, mostly flat commuting. Mid-drives are usually smaller and lighter and can allow for greater torque than hub-drives, making them particularly well-suited for hilly areas and off-road use. The centered position on the bike also creates a more balanced ride, and changing a tire on a mid-drive bike is usually less of a pain.
Mid-drives are more efficient and are usually able to deliver more torque without expanding nearly as much battery capacity
Sensors
Electric bikes tend to use different types of sensors to determine how best to dole out power. There are two types: torque sensors and cadence sensors. Torque sensors regulate the motor based on how hard you’re pushing the pedals, while cadence sensors work off of how fast you pedal. Most good bikes use torque sensors, while the low-enders have cadence only. A lot of bikes use both.
We highly recommend if possible to try out both types of motors before buying an electric bike to see which is the best fit for you. Think about how you plan on using the bike: commuting, off-roading, touring. The better e-bike brands usually match the appropriate motor placement with the type of bike they’re selling. Most mountain bikes come with midrange motors, while the majority of commuter bikes sold in hill-less cities like Amsterdam are hub-based.
Power and Yaka Costs
Now let’s talk power and the cost of Yaka when you own an electric bike in Kampala. The main measurements for power are watts (W), volts (V), and amp-hours (Ah). Beyond that, things can get a little sticky.
Manufacturers often list “power ratings” in their spec sheets. For example, rates on the motor of the Scorpion e-bike is rated at 750W. But this can get confusing because rated power isn’t the same thing as peak power or actual power output. Some companies creatively measure their power ratings in order to avoid EU regulations that kick in above 250W. As such, it’s probably best to ignore it altogether.
After running through the figures and different makes, attempting to compare electric bike power ratings is a great way to lose your sanity.
To get a better idea of how much maximum power you’ll actually feel, check to see if a manufacturer lists an electric bike battery’s voltage and the continuous amperage (measured as amp-hours) from the motor controller. Multiply those to get the watt-hours, or the number of watts that can be delivered in an hour. This gives you a great sense of how much range you’ll get out of a bike.
Rad Power Bikes’ cargo bike, the Radwagon (see featured image), has a power rating of 750W, but a 48-volt battery pack and 14 amp-hours: 48 x 14 = 672 watt-hours. If you’re thrifty with your energy usage, each kilometer you travel will cost you about 12.5 watt-hours.
As of writing this article, the cost of 1,000 Watt-hours of Yaka domestic power is about UGX 886. If a 672-watt-hour pack gets you a range of about 53.8km, then the YAKA cost will be about UGX 600 to re-fill the battery pack. This means for less than a one Yaka Unit, you can ride for over 50 km — you can ride from Kampala to Mukono for 34.9 Km on one single charge.
Speed rating for e-bikes
In the USA, there are three classes of electric bikes.
- Class 1 is pedal-assist with no throttle on speeds.
- Class 2 is throttle-assisted with a maximum speed of 32 km per hour.
- Class 3 is pedal-assist only, with no throttle, with a maximum speed of 40 km per hour.
In Europe, pedal-assisted electric bikes with 250W motors are capped at 25 km/h are treated as regular bicycles. In general, e-bikes capable of 25 km per hour are called pedelecs (from “pedal electric bikes”), whereas the faster 45 km per hour bikes are called speed-pedelecs.
E-bikes on the Streets of Kampala
E-bikes lower the barriers to biking, making it easier for people who are older or more anxious about the stresses and strains of biking to justify riding. You’re more likely to ditch your car or delete your Safeboda or Uber app if you know you can get to where you’re going faster and more efficiently without getting overly tired or sweaty.
There are several draw-backs when it comes to owning an electric bike in Kampala. This ranges for the high cost of buying one, the terrain, poor road systems, traffic regulation and enforcement, to mention but a few.
If you’re worried that electric power will take all the fun, exercising and recreation out of biking, well, you’re wrong. A study looked at the cognitive and psychological effects of outdoor cycling and found equal results for traditional bikes and e-bikes. Climate change got you down? Electric bikes are more sustainable than electric cars, and they will help clear up traffic congestion and make cities more livable. Besides, you can always shut off the motor if you’re looking for a little exercise.
As Kampala will get more congested in the near future, some businesses are turning to electric bikes to make their deliveries.
ALSO READ: Feiying Electric Vehicles Uganda launches electric bikes in Uganda.
Where to buy an electric bike
So where can you buy an electric bike in Kampala? Your local bike store would have been the best bet, but there is no such thing yet. In December 2016, Feiying Electric Vehicles Uganda launched the first-ever electric bikes in Uganda. What befell that project is still unknown. Zembo a start-up got a UGX 5.5 bn fund to assemble e-bikes in December 2016.
Amazon is another place, obviously, but there are some pretty serious trade-offs. For example, your bike could arrive banged up, and some of the companies that sell their bikes on Amazon are a bit more ephemeral: here one day and gone the next.
Most e-bikes don’t come with warranties or customer support. Some are overpriced. And it’s very likely that you’re buying a Chinese model that’s just been rebranded with Western marketing so it can be sold at a markup. If you find a bike online that you like, an interesting test is to search for the bike’s specs on Alibaba and see whether there is something similar being sold in Asia. It may even be cheaper.
E-bikes can come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes, from city bikes with thick tires and stylish designs to cargo bikes with enough power to haul heavy loads or even a couple of kids. There are some fun retro designs and some really cool space age ones. My personal favorites are the taco mini bike designs with fat tires and long banana seats.
Finally, Electric bikes can make getting around so much easier for everyone, including older people and people with disabilities. Look, everything is terrible in Kampala, and obviously, e-bikes won’t solve anything unless more people start riding. What do you think? Leave us a comment below.
