Dear Bridgestone, please bring your lovely mamachari ebikes to the US!

Yup. The blogger's (who is an avid cyclist) first introduction to ebikes. :) I wish somebody had introduced me to ebikes in 2012!!!
 
Your eye-roll emoji reflects my sentiments exactly! I hope a Japanese maker would bring in hub drive mamacharis! I am not in the market for one at present, but maybe someday!
 
The basic mamachari's by Bridgestone, Yamaha and Panasonic for $1000 are single speed or hub 3 speeds, 15 mph max assist, caliper brakes, no suspension. Practicality at it's finest, but probably almost impossible to sell here in the U.S.

Panasonic has a few beautifully made videos of their "Dendo Assist Jitensha" (electric assist bicycle) you can see on this site.

http://cycle.panasonic.jp/special/jcs/
 
I would be surprised.....best bet is Yamaha, but these monster mamachari bikes would be a tough sell too many Americans. Its really amazing how ebikeshave taken off in Japan. I guess over 50% of the bikes around are ebikes, many just simple bikes with electric motors. Tokyo Docomo bike share is 100% ebike.
 
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