Anyone who recalls the thrill of getting a good push while learning to ride a bicycle can appreciate the growing popularity of electric bikes — bicycles outfitted with electric motors that lend extra oomph to your pedaling.
“E-bike” sales are booming, adding ease to urban commutes and adventure to global travel.
In 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, there were 1.1 million e-bikes sold in the United States, quadrupling sales figures from 2019. Options are expanding as well, with models available in almost every bicycle style, from lightweight commuter bikes to heavy-duty mountain bikes. And although they remain relatively pricey compared to conventional bicycles, there are now many models available for less than $1,000. What’s more, after early conflicts with traditional cyclists, e-bikes are gaining acceptance on bike paths and public lands, with the National Park Service, for example, blessing the use of most e-bikes in 2020. Local rules vary, however, even in the national parks, so make sure to check before you ride.
Writer Randy Edwards and his wife, Mary, toured Croatia’s Dalmatian Islands on e-bikes.
In 2023, my wife and I were contemplating a “bike and boat” tour of the Dalmatian Islands, a string of rocky gems lining the southern coast of Croatia in the crystalline waters of the Adriatic Sea. Let’s be honest about our fitness level: We’re both nearing retirement age, and most of our limited cycling experience has been on the flat-land bike paths of central Ohio (and our favorite destination is a brew pub) — not exactly the training regimen for the Tour de France. As we studied photos of the steep, twisty roads over craggy peaks on islands like Hvar and Korčula, I wasn’t sure we could make the climbs. The tour company, however, suggested that e-bikes might just get us up those hills.
We signed up, paying a bit more for the extra power. We’d never ridden e-bikes, though, so we went in search of experience.
Our first venture onto e-bikes was with Hocking Hills Bike Rentals (www.hockinghillsbikerentals.com), a company that rents both commuter-style e-bikes and electric mountain bikes. Owner Doug Ellis, who started the company in 2021, met us in Nelsonville, where we hopped on the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway, a rail trail connecting Nelsonville and Athens.
With e-bikes, “you can go twice as far with half the work,” says Ellis. “If you do the whole bikeway, that’s 36 miles, and if you ride [a conventional bike] 36 miles and you’re not used to it, you’re going to want to sit down the rest of the day. If you ride it on an e-bike, you can go out dancing later.”
The rail trail was smooth and scenic, and we grew comfortable with the bikes easily, learning fairly quickly that these bikes will go faster than we were used to, a good thing to know when approaching a curve or a stop.
We wanted more practice on hills than a rail trail could offer, so our next trip was to Ohio’s Amish country, where Charged Ride (www.chargedride.com), in Holmesville, caters to Amish and non-Amish riders alike. Joel Chupp, manager of the Holmesville location, says most of the Amish congregations in the area have accepted e-bikes as appropriate technology, so we saw many young people in “plain” dress on e-bikes scooting about the little village of Shreve, where we stopped for lunch.
Most people who rent the e-bikes use them to ride the Holmes County Trail, Chupp says. One section of this rail trail can be reached through an easy ride from the store, and riders can travel 30 miles out and back, visiting the popular Amish towns of Fredericksburg and Millersburg along the way.
A misconception about e-bikes is that they don’t provide exercise, but most e-bikes allow riders to dial back the assistance and choose the challenge they prefer, Chupp says. “You can still get your exercise, but you can triple your distance and still get home on time.”
Ohio e-biking
Opportunities to rent and ride e-bikes are expanding rapidly, but here are a few other spots where you can get your first experience on an e-bike while taking in some of the best scenery Ohio has to offer. Rental prices vary by the location, the type of bike, and the number of hours. In general, hourly rates are roughly $18 to $25, with additional costs for specialty bikes. Many locations are closed or have limited hours in the winter.
There are multiple options for e-bike rentals within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. In Peninsula, Century Cycles and Pedego Peninsula are adjacent to more than 90 miles of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail (including 20 miles within the national park). Valley Bike Rental occupies a spot on the park’s 35-mile Bike and Hike Trail, with access to Brandywine Falls and a connection to the Towpath Trail via local roads. Farther south, Outspoken E-Bike Rentals near Akron will get you on the Towpath Trail as well.
In Youngstown, Cruise the Creek will open a new location in May, providing a second access to the 2,600-acre Mill Creek Park, including the 11-mile Mill Creek MetroParks Bikeway.
In Marietta, the Marietta Adventure Co. rents e-mountain bikes for use on the growing Marietta Trail Network.
In Xenia, K&G Bike Center rents e-bikes with easy access to the 78-mile Little Miami Scenic Trail.
In addition, many urban bike share companies are now offering e-bikes, including Link Dayton Bike Share, which in 2022 added 140 e-bikes to its fleet of bikes in Dayton.
