A WELCOME BOOST
Hills are mostly a breeze, but steep routes take some work, René Bruemmer writes.
Montreal Gazette reporter René Bruemmer test-drives an e-Bixi on Wednesday, the first day the electric bikes were made available by the bicycle-sharing service. Takeoffs are a breeze, and going uphill is far easier, the avid cyclist says.
Step on the pedals of the new Bixi electric bike and it sets off with a pleasant surge, like someone has given it a mini adrenalin shot. Since regular Bixis lumber in an amiable kind of way at the best of times, and the electric version, at 66 pounds, is considerably heavier than its 50-pound manual counterpart, the smooth boost comes as a welcome surprise.
You have to pedal to make the electric motor kick in (it’s called “electric pedal assist”) so there’s no sitting there with your feet up in the air as the bike whisks you along. But it’s summertime and the pedalling is easy, as the motor takes the brunt of the pushing power. It feels like riding a conventional Bixi, but with less effort. Takeoffs are a breeze, and going uphill is far easier, although as I found out, on very steep routes there is still some work involved.
The Montreal Gazette test drove the new e-Bixi on Wednesday morning, the first day that the city’s popular bike-sharing service introduced 20 electric bikes to its 6,500-bicycle fleet as part of a three-month pilot project to road-test them and get feedback. More may be added by November. Bixi made the move in response to requests from their regular users, and to keep pace with a trend in electric bike-sharing services that is increasingly popular worldwide, said spokesperson Audrey Messier-Morissette.
Bright blue and with a slightly wider frame to accommodate its electric motor, the bikes are made by Quebec firm Cycles Devinci and being loaned out by PBSC Solutions Urbaines. They have a top speed of 25 kilometres an hour and a range of about 60 kilometres. Since the solar-powered Bixi docking stations don’t have sufficient energy to charge the bikes, Bixi will monitor their energy levels and recharge them as needed. There are also tests being conducted in St-Laurent, where bikes will be parked in electrified docks that can charge the bikes in four hours.
Bixi officials have noted in the past that 70 per cent of customers use their bikes for downhill rides. I assume the electric bikes are designed in part to coax them into commuting uphill as well.
I find my bike at a docking station on de Maisonneuve Blvd. downtown near the Bay (the e-bike locations are indicated on the Bixi app with a lightning-bolt symbol). There are a handful available in the downtown core Wednesday morning. I rent one for the usual Bixi rate of $5 a day. Other than the electric boost, it feels much like riding a regular Bixi. The electric ones require users to wear a helmet to conform to Quebec Highway Safety Code rules, and to be at least 18 years old (or between 14 and 17, if you have a scooter or moped licence). I take mine down into Griffintown, pedalling lightly the whole way, enjoying the added push when I ascend slight hills. Disc brakes in the front and back provide excellent control. Since the motor does much of the work, there are no gears.
“You have to try this thing,” I tell Gazette photographer Allen McInnis when we meet for the photo shoot. He does, likes it, but wonders how it might handle when people do slow U-turns. I find it handles fine. Using it is intuitive and easy. Contrary to the fears of some, there is no sitting back and laughing maniacally as the bicycle zooms haphazardly down crowded bike paths. The 25 km/ h limit puts a quick brake on any zooming.
I take the bike back up Peel St. toward downtown, and find I have to pedal with a bit of force to ascend, but nowhere near what it normally takes. To give the motor a real test, I ride up steep University St. next to the McGill University campus. Again, it requires some extra pedal power, and I am perspiring lightly by the time I get to Pine Ave. Pedalling a manual bike in our current heat wave conditions, however, I would have been soaked. To go up the even steeper stretch leading to the McGill University residences next to the old Royal Victoria Hospital, I have to stand on the pedals to coax the bike up.
My Bixi ride history tells me I rode for one hour (with stops for chit-chat and photos), covered 14.7 kilometres and burned 393 calories, but I suspect the app didn’t take the electric motor into account for the calorie count. Despite the humid 24 C, I’m dry. And in a good mood. The e-bike elicits a lot of looks, and I get a taste of what it’s like to drive a Ferrari. An ecologically friendly, very cheap Ferrari.
The only drawback? Getting back on my regular, rusty commuter bicycle and having to do all the work myself. Turns out the guilt over using electric assistance is very short-lived.