Given a "level playing field" an electric bike or motorcycle will win over a vehicle with an internal combustion engine in almost every concievable way. What are the advantages of Electric Bikes and Motorcycles? All electric vehicles produce zero emissions at their point of use.An electric motor is, on average, 400% to 600% more efficient than an internal combustion engine. Even when charged by electricity created from non renewable fuel sources like oil or coal and electric vehicle, per mile, uses one-half the fossil-fuel resources an internal combustion engine consumes. In this "fossil fuel " charged case, the electric vehicle produces only 5% to 10% of the emissions of an internal combustion engine per mile traveled. All of the electric vehicles emissions occur at a oil- or coal-fueled power plant, which runs 400% to 500% more efficiently than an ICE and scrubs its own exhaust. Electric vehicles can use electricity from anywhere, including sustainable energy resources (wind and sun). EVs are simple, silent, and affordable to operate. Electric vehicles are also very efficient. They have to be. A pound of battery has 1/100 of the energy of a pound of gasoline. On average, a 30 mpg internal combuston vehicle uses only 5% to 10% of the energy of its fuel, whereas an electric vehicle converts 70% to 80% of the battery's pack into propulsion, for the same mile. Quiet - Lack of noise is also an advantage of getting an electric vehicle. Because motor vehicles have combustion motors, they tend to be loud and obnoxious. On the other hand, electric vehicles do not have this combustion motor ; thus, they are noticeable quieter. The world is more than ready for electric vehicles. In fact, electric motors are used everywhere. Electric propulsion is not a new technology. The modern locomotive is diesel-electric; its diesel engine-generator supplies the electricity to power the electric motor drivetrain. Electric motors also power elevators, industrial assembly lines, ventilation and air-conditioning units, refrigerators, blow dryers, washers and dryers, computers and printers, CD players and autotape decks, and pumps. Ironically, an electric motor is also needed to start an automobile's engine. Wherever silent, efficient, reliable service is needed, you will find an electric motor at work. Disadvantages of Gas powered Vehicles. Unlike electric vehicles, motor vehicles generate more air pollution than any other human-made machine. This air pollution, or toxic mixture of chemicals released be motor vehicles, is recognized as a major health hazard. According to the American Lung Association, this air pollution kills between 60,000 people and 120,000 people in the United States each year and costs $93 billion dollars in medical bills. Some of these air-polluting greenhouse gases that are emitted or attributed to gasoline powered vehicles are chlorofluorovehiclebon (CFCs), vehiclebon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and the precursors to tropospheric ozone - hydrovehiclebons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). These gasoline-powered vehicles are also a major source of vehiclebon monoxide (CO).   CFCs - CFCs are the most potent greenhouse gases on a per-unit mass basis. They now contribute nearly 24 percent of the total global warming effect. vehiclebon Dioxide - the other major greenhouse gas. When a single tank of gasoline is used, between 300 and 400 pounds of vehiclebon dioxide is formed. vehiclebon Monoxide - vehiclebon monoxide tends to react with other compounds, notably hydroxyl radicals (OH), thereby reducing their presence in the air. The loss of hydroxyl radicals is important because they normally react with other greenhouse gases such as methane, thus removing them. Since vehiclebon monoxide removes more and more hydroxyl radicals, an increased amount of methane is allowed to survive and rise to the upper atmosphere where it can contribute to global warming. Methane - As mentioned above, vehiclebon monoxide causes methane to be formed, which eats away at the ozone. HC and NOx - Both hydrovehiclebons and nitrogen oxides cause photochemical smog or ozone to result when they are in the presence of sunlight. They are precursors of troposhperic ozone. Troposhperic Ozone - Once this is formed, the ozone's lifetime is drastically reduced from decades and centuries to only a few hours and days. Another major problem of motor vehicles is its unsafe nature after its life dies out. Automobile junkyards, which litter the American landscape, contain thousands upon thousands of old broken up vehicles. From such junkyards are the problem of oil, lead, and battery acids, which enter the ground and the chlorofluorovehiclebons which leak into the atmosphere. However the lead in the batteries of electric vehicles is in a very stable form, unlike the trace amounts of lead in even unleaded gasoline and since electric vehicles do not contain oil or chlorofluorovehiclebons, they do not risk contaminating the area. FAQ Aren't electric vehicles noticeable slower than gas powered vehicles? Not necessarily. At the Woodburn, Oregon Electric Drags in August 1997, a Dodge V10 Viper was left in the dust behind a home made electric dragster. This dragster went from 0 to 90 miles per hour in 12 seconds.   How far can electric vehicles travel? This is one of the drawbacks of electric vehicles. However, one must consider these facts: About 70% of Americans in cities drive less than 25 miles per day; 90% drive less than 50. Half of all urban trips are less than 5 miles. And the average urban vehicle trip is less tahn 10 minutes; measured in time, an EV's range in typical city driving is about 60 minutes. Wouldnt the batteries cost a lot Like I have mentioned before, re-furbishing a used vehicle would be noticeable cheaper and smoother than buying a brand new vehicle. Plus owning an electric vehicle will last, (engine and battery wise) thus in the long run, it will save you lots of money. Is there a lot of maintaining? There is very little. Water the batteries once every couple of months. Not even that, if you opt for sealed deep-cycle batteries. Tires, brakes and suspension, of course, are basically treated the same as any vehicle. Electric motors are expected to last over a million miles. Once every few months battery connections should be checked for snugness. That's about it.   If you are still not convinced, 10 reasons to buy an ebike 1. Hill Climbing That may sound obvious, but it's the primary advantage. A good electric bike effectively flattens hills, increasing your average speed and eliminating the 'groan' factor when a gradient comes into view. Provided you supply a reasonable amount of effort, you can expect to climb hills of 1 in 10 (10%) on an electric bike with ease, and clear a maximum gradient of 1 in 7 (14%), or much more. In hilly country, the effect is nothing short of miraculous. 2. Safety It sounds unlikely, doesn't it? But the mathematics is compelling. Think of a steep and busy road, with vehicles climbing at 30mph. If you previously slogged up the hill at 6mph, but can tackle the same gradient at 12mph with an electric bike, you will see 33% fewer vehicles, and they will pass you at 18mph rather than 24mph. Or at least, we think that's correct. Whatever the figures, there's no doubt that an electric bike helps to keep you out of danger. The same general principle applies to road junctions - the faster your acceleration, the sooner you can get out of trouble. And with no need to rush the hills, you won't be tempted to ride downhill at breakneck speed... another useful safety feature. 3. Running Costs Purchase cost is a little more than a conventional bike, mechanical wear and tear is about the same, and electricity is so cheap as to be largely irrelevant, but there is an extra expense in terms of battery depreciation. Consequently, an electric bike costs more to run - typically 9 - 14 cents per mile against 7 pence per mile for a non-assisted bike (a). However, electric bike running costs should really be compared with those of a moped, or a vehicle, when the electric bike replaces vehicle mileage. With vehicles costing 92 - 147 cents per mile, an electric bike can save a great deal of money. 4. Personal Fitness Surely a conventional bike will keep you fitter? That, of course, depends how much - if at all - you use it. Research (b) has found that 46% of conventional bikes are used only once or twice a week, with a further 30% being used once a fortnight or even less. By contrast, a recent survey of electric bicycle owners reveals that a third ride their bike at least once a day and 81% use the bike at least once a week (c). The figures confirm our experience that an electric bike typically gets used at least twice as often as a conventional machine. Because riding an electric bike is a great deal more enjoyable in hilly country, into strong winds, or when vehiclerying heavy loads, users tend to make better use of them. The motor provides up to half the effort, but more regular use means more exercise for the rider. 5. No Sweat! Sweat may not be a serious issue when you're out for a leisure ride, but it's more important if you're cycling to work. Although some employers are rather grudgingly providing showers and other facilities for cyclists, the great majority have no intention of doing so. An electric bike eliminates the problem at source. In hot weather, it's possible to maintain a normal schedule by transferring a bit more load to the electric motor. In colder weather - or if you feel in need of exercise - just throttle back, or turn the motor off. 6. Clean & Green Electric bikes obviously consume energy, where a conventional bikes does not (provided we ignore the environmental cost of growing and processing food - see below). However, the amount of energy used is very small compared to a moped, motorcycle or vehicle. Besides fuel, the only consumables are the batteries, and these can normally be recycled when life-expired. As for energy use, electric bikes typically consume fuel at an average rate of 100 to 150 watts of electrical energy, against 15,000 or so for a vehicle (admittedly travelling much faster). In terms of fuel consumption, an electric bike achieves about 800-2,000mpg (290 - 700 litres/kilometre) (d). No other commercially available vehicle can match figures of this kind. If it's hard to place these numbers in your own lifestyle, think of a 100 watt electric light bulb burning for an evening - that's enough energy to propel an electrically-assisted bike for 20 to 40 miles... 7. Genuinely Sustainable There's a lot of nonsense talked about sustainability in transport, but an electric bicycle can be made genuinely sustainable. Purchase electricity from a 'green' supplier, or generate your own with a roof-mounted windmill or solar panel array, and the vehicle's fossil fuel consumption will be zero. Surely a conventional bike does that already? Only if you grow the food you consume whilst riding it. Unfortunately, most modern food production and distribution is so fuel-intensive that the consumption of a typical cyclist is not terribly good. 8. Faster travel In theory a vehicle can average a high speed, but in practise speed often falls below 10mph in cities. The problem is congestion - motorcycles get around this to some extent, but they're still confined to the road network. An electric bike can maintain a higher average speed than a bicycle but take advantage of the same network of cycle facilities, giving access to routes that vehicles and motorcycles cannot reach. The result is often a faster door-to-door journey time than any other mode. And by taking advantage of the uncongested cycle network, but eliminating hills and headwinds, electric bikes are often the most consistent mode of travel. 9. High Resale Value Electric bikes are new technology, and it's early days yet, but the evidence points to a much better resale value than a conventional bike. True, a typical electric bike costs more to buy, at £400-£1,000, but it seems you'll get most of that back if you sell the machine on. 10. Motorised, but no Red Tape! You know how it is... MOT due, log book missing, insurance costs rising year on year. Electric bikes are treated just like ordinary bicycles for legislative purposes, so there's absolutely no registration or legislation to worry about. You are of course free to insure the machine if you wish, but there's no compulsion to do anything but enjoy yourself!