• National sales of e-bikes have increased by 131% since 2018.
• Requiring less fitness than cycling but with many of the same benefits, Australians are investing, with many more international brands now available to buy.
• Here’s what you need to know if you want to buy an e-bike.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

Last year, as Australian cities eased out of lockdown, bike sellers saw a groundswell of interest as people sought new ways to get around that kept them off public transport that were quick, affordable and didn’t involve reverse parking.

In some cases, cities responded with long-awaited cycling infrastructure to help push urban areas that have long resisted bike travel to switch gears.

While you may have noticed more bikes on the road generally – for example, City of Sydney reported that rider numbers in Sydney are 20% higher than the same time last year – you may also have noticed more e-bikes.

E-bikes use rechargeable electric batteries and an integrated electric motor to power movement, with most reaching speeds of 25 to 32 kilometres per hour.

Similar to hybrid electric cars (the Toyota Prius, for example) which use a combination of electricity and petrol, e-bikes let you alternate between electric power and pedal power, however once they reach higher speeds and power, they often become reclassified as motorcycles.

The uptick in e-bikes on the roads has undeniably been driven by the explosion of delivery services, general manager of public affairs at advocacy group Bicycle NSW Bastien Wallace told Business Insider Australia.

But she says e-bikes are gaining popularity on the tailwinds of a general cycling enthusiasm, as people realise the benefits of a bike that can take you further, faster, carry a heavier weight, and deliver you at your destination without needing a shower.

“It’s a helpful way to be able to travel in a city like Sydney where there’s lots of hills,” Wallace says.

She added that “it enables people to go further, which helps people with travelling and commuting.”

It’s part of a global trend. Deloitte projects that 130 million e-bikes will be sold globally between 2020 and 2023, stating in a recent report, “the number of e-bikes on the roads will easily outpace other e-vehicles by the end of next year.”

In Europe’s already bike-friendly cities, the trend has been building for years. In 2019, more people bought e-bikes than they did conventional bikes, comprising 40% of all bike sales.

COVID-19 kicked cycling into high gear

In the past year, major Australian cities have also sought to upgrade their cycling infrastructure, with Sydney a notable example. Advocates have been pushing for upgrades to cycleways that don’t connect up for years, and Wallace says the pandemic forced them into action and six pop-up cycleways were built.

Wollongong has built 130 kilometres bike paths in recent years, part of a strategy to make cycling the preferred mode of transport. Brisbane has similarly invested, having committed $100 million since 2016 to improve its cycling infrastructure.

Australians are seizing on the opportunity: year-on-year sales of e-bikes doubled between 2019 and 2020, according to 99 Bikes, which has shops in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra.

These sales are expected to double again in 2021, with some independent stores saying they can’t keep up with demand and are facing up to a year’s waiting list for some models.

Renting vs. buying

The two e-bike rentals available are Lime – whose bikes are actually red, somewhat confusingly, because the company acquired a fleet of old Uber bikes in 2020 – and Beam. Chances are these are the bikes you’ve seen delivery riders using if you live in the inner city, although they’re not available everywhere.

Lime, which operates in 27 cities including London and Paris, launched in Sydney in June 2020 and Melbourne and the Gold Coast later that year. It’s now available in Adelaide, Brisbane, and Melbourne, too. It’ll cost you $1 to unlock the bike and 30 cents per minute to ride.

Beam’s bikes, which were unleashed on Sydney’s streets in February, are slightly harder to use as they don’t have gears. It similarly has a $1 unlock fee at the start of your ride, and then it costs 30 cents for every minute that you ride.

Buying is a bigger investment, with prices ranging from $1,200 to $10,000. However, if you’re looking to buy a road bike that works for commuting, an investment of around $3,000 will get you a bike with batteries that last longer, covering 65-100km, according to 99 Bikes.

When it comes to brands, there are plenty. However the reputable ones tend to be the same names you’d see for conventional bikes, including Trek, Giant, Specialized and Reid.

Please read the terms and conditions

Because they’re so new in the Australian market, e-bike regulation is currently something of a wild west, with international companies able to ship bikes to Australia that may not comply with Australian standards.

In Australia, all bikes, including e-bikes, can use bike paths or share paths and roads.

You’re allowed to ride on the footpath if you’re supervising a child, or if you have a note from your doctor.

Otherwise e-bikes follow the same rules as regular bikes: you can ride them on roads, bike paths, and in parks.

What is classified as a legal e-bike in Australia?

There are currently “great numbers of electric and e-bikes being sold in bikes shops” that shouldn’t be ridden in public spaces in Australia, Wallace says.

She says that one of the growing pains of e-bike popularity has been a trend towards buying and riding e-bikes in contravention of the law, or purchasing regular bikes and souping them up with motors, or taking e-bikes and overriding the limiting chips in them to make them go faster.

“There’s a bit of a problem with people doing things that aren’t in line with legislation, and doing things to their equipment that their equipment wasn’t designed for.”

There is a 200-watt legal limit on non-pedalling e-bikes, and a 250-watt-per-25-kilometre limit on those you pedal – something to keep in mind if you’re shopping online or browsing at a bike shop.

Currently, there’s a national proposal to eliminate the non-pedal varieties from the e-bike category and reclassify them with motorcycles, but until such legislation is passed there’s still a good degree of variety in what you can buy.

Buying and renting an e-bike

Online

Aseako Electric Bikes is the top-rated online seller, and you can buy used bikes online at Bike Exchange.

NSW

Rent: In Sydney, Lime and Beam; which debuted here but plans to expand across Australian cities.

Buy: 99 Bikes. Myebike sells electric bikes exclusively in Sydney, as does Volition and Sydney electric bikes.

South Australia

Rent: In Adelaide; Lime

Buy: 99 Bikes in Adelaide

ACT

Buy: 99 Bikes, Canberra Electric Bikes in Canberra.

Queensland

Rent: In Brisbane, Lime; Gold Coast, Lime

Buy: 99 Bikes in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast.

Western Australia

Buy: 99 Bikes, Perth Electric Bike Centre in Perth.

Northern Territory

Buy: Cycle Zone and Blue Cycles in Darwin

Tasmania

Buy: Teros Electric Bikes in Hobart

Victoria

Rent: In Melbourne; Lime

Buy: 99 Bikes, Melbourne Electric Bicycles in Melbourne.

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