I can’t STFU. I watched the same sort of over reaction on a Vespa forum. There it was whining about how scooter riders were intimidated by Harley riders. There will always be butt heads making untoward comments. None of which, IMNSHO, are worth even acknowledging. Ride and smile with the confidence that we are in fact the leaders in the future of sustainable transportation.
and invest in rare earths...
-BIKES AND RARE EARTHS
May 4, 2015
Rita Schulze
1. Types of e bikes / electric two-wheelers
Electric two-wheelers/bikes are powered by a combination of manpower and electric power, or electric power only. They include bicycle-style electric bikes (BSEB), namely pedelecs (pedal assisted bikes), or throttle-controlled e-bikes, where pedaling is not required, and scooter-style electric bikes (SSEB), i.e. electric scooters and electric motorbikes (Fu, 2013))
2. Current e-bike adoption
The largest market for e-bikes is China (Hoganas, 2010; Statistica, 2015), followed by Europe, Japan and US (INSG, 2014). The electric bicycle boom in China was triggered by local bans of motorcycles motivated by the aim to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion, a well as safety concerns (Yang, 2010). However, legislation discouraging the use of e-bikes was put in place in some cities, including bans of-e-bikes in some cities and the introduction of e-bike licenses (Shaw and Constantinides, 2012), most likely due to safety concerns. A survey conducted in Shanghai revealed that e-bikes are mostly used for commuting, closely followed by shopping trips (An et al., 2013). The main motivation stated in the paper was that e-bikes were “more labour-saving than bike and more convenient and faster than bus” (An et al., 2013). The typical Chinese bicycle looks like a cross between an e-bike and a scooter (Zeit Online, 2013).
The largest European markets for e-bikes are Germany, the Netherlands, France and Italy (Bike Europe, 2014). A study on early adopters in Austria found that users there were mainly aged 60 plus and used e-bikes for leisure trips (Wolf and Seebauer, 2014). With that image in mind, some cyclists may consider e-bikes a lazy option - see for example the following blogs: London Cyclist (2012); npr (2014). However, according to marktforschung.de (2013), at least in Germany, age is becoming a less important factor in the definition of the target group for e-bikes.
3. Technology, Magnets, RE content
E-bike motors constitute an important application of NdFeB magnets. They were responsible for around 10% of the neodymium use in 2010, with a similar percentage projected for 2030 (Bast et al., 2014). The motors are either mounted on a hub of the bike – the most common type – or between the pedals (so-called mid-drive system). In accordance with the expectance of an expanding e-bike market, the demand for NdFeB magnets for use in e-bikes is expected to grow (Bast et al., 2014; Shaw and Constantinides, 2012). Estimates for the weights of magnets used in e-bikes range from60 g to 350 g (Shaw and Constantinides, 2012). Zepf (2013) assumes an average of 100 g per magnet used for e-bike applications, Habib and Wenzel (2014) assume 300 g. The rare earth content of the magnets is estimated at 30% Nd and 4% Dy (Binnemans et al., 2013; Zepf, 2013).
However, research aiming at the replacement of magnets relying on rare earths is underway. A US start-up company won a prize for its patented switched reluctance motor intended for use in e-bikes, an alternative to motors based on permanent magnets (Wang, 2012; Yale Global Online, 2012). However, no evidence of those types of e-bikes on the market could be found. Other researchers work on rare-earth free nanocrystalline permanent magnets for e-bikes, with a public demonstration planned for June 2015 (Archer-Boyd, 2015).
4. Environmental considerations
Environmental considerations regarding e-bikes focus around use-phase impacts and impacts associated with lead batteries rather than rare earth use.
Chinese bikes often contain lead acid batteries, which do not have a long battery life and are not disposed of in an environmentally sound manner (Zeit Online, 2013). The bikes have a lifetime of approximately four years during which the lead acid batteries are replaced five to seven times (Zeit Online, 2013). E-bikes sold on the European market are mainly equipped with lithium ion batteries.
Environmental benefits of e-bike usage depend, amongst other factors, on intensity of usage and the “direction of modal shift” – see Wolf and Seebauer (2014). i.e., the shift in impact will be different depending on whether conventional bikes, walks, cars, or public transport options are replaced. According to Bike Europe, e-bike sales in Europe have affected sales for conventional bikes (Bike Europe, 2014) – this however, is not directly transferable to shifts in user behavior. In their Austrian study, Wolf and Seebauer (2014) found that carbon-intensive travel modes on commuting trips were barely substituted (Wolf and Seebauer, 2014). According to Zeit Online (2013), traditional bikes are becoming less popular as a transport option in China; cars and e-bikes are on the rise. Results of a survey conducted with e-bike users in Shanghai by An et al. (2013) indicate that the survey participants would mainly shift to bus (55%) or conventional bikes (33%) if an e-bike ban was introduced. Similar findings are reported by Cherry et al. (2009), who found that Chinese e-bike users mainly shifted from, and would mainly shift back to, buses or bikes.
The modal shifts associated with e-bike can differ between cultures, social groups and change over time, since the market is still developing.
