Bike + electricity + high gas prices = one really hot product.
Brian Poncin, owner of My Bike of Tinley Park, figured he was taking a gamble when he started carrying Schwinn's new line of electric bicycles last summer.
(Matthew Grotto/SouthtownStar)
(Matthew Grotto/SouthtownStar)
"We figured the way gas prices were going, why not give it a shot?" Poncin said. "We were hearing a lot of good feedback about the bikes."
The move paid off.
Today, Poncin's store, 17344 S. Oak Park Ave., is the top seller in the country for Schwinn's electric bikes. No other south suburban store offers the product, considered a forerunner in the emerging E-bike field, according to a spokesman for Pacific Cycles, Schwinn's Madison, Wisc., manufacturer.
Since June, My Bike of Tinley Park and a sister store in New Buffalo, Mich., have sold more than 50 of the bikes, including four in the last week. Customers from as far away as Oregon and California have paid as much as $500 for shipping.
Previous versions of electric bikes have come and gone, relegated to the scrap heap of bicycle history because of unreliable, hulking batteries that weighed close to 50 pounds.
"There have been a ton of electric bikes in the past," Poncin said. "But nothing like this."
The "this" Poncin referred to is a bike that looks no different than anything on the road today, other than a metallic battery the size of a Kleenex box strapped to a rack above the rear wheel.
The battery, which weighs about 10 pounds and slides out for charging, powers a noiseless motor inside the front wheel's hub.
Because of the motor, a ride at a leisurely 5 mph pace on a regular bike tops out at about 18 mph on an E-bike.
The bikes also come with a pedal assist feature, meaning as soon as you stop pedaling or start squeezing the brakes, the motor dies.
The batteries come with a life expectancy of three years. One charge lasts about 40 miles.
Schwinn's Campus is the cheapest E-bike model at $1,900. At $2,500, the Continental is the most expensive. A middle model, the World GSE, sells for $2,200.
Poncin said most buyers are not your conventional bike riders.
"Some want it for commuting to work. One guy had a DUI and couldn't drive. Another lady who bought one had asthma. Some people had knee replacements," Poncin said. "This is getting people on bikes who normally wouldn't be on bikes."
Richard and Anne Brandt purchased one of the models to use during a Florida vacation in January. The Palos Heights couple, both in the 70s, were frustrated with an earlier E-bike.
"It was awfully heavy. It took the two of us to put it on a bike rack," he said. "This one looks just like a regular bike."
Soaring gas prices have helped sales.
Tinley Park's Dave Kennedy bought one of them to save on gas. He also wanted get to his job two miles away without becoming a sweaty mess by the time he arrived at work.
"I can put it in second speed and not have to put forth the slightest exertion. I can go to work and back and not break a sweat," Kennedy said. "And it does give you a good feeling to save on the gas."
Smitten, Kennedy bought two more for the rest of his family.
His advice for anyone interested in getting an E-bike?
"Buy it," he said.
You can get these Electric bikes Here!
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