Electric Bikes in Japan || ロカフリーム　マカミ　

What’s the first piece of advice I give anyone visiting Kyoto who wants to check out the sights? Rent an electric bike.

And just like that their visit is a completely different experience compared to others who are forced to slog their way over the numerous hills that surround the country’s former capital as they work their way from temple to temple in a bid to cross off all the historic sights on their itinerary.

But it’s not just tourists that are jumping on the electric bike bandwagon. The country’s residents have been using them for some time. Parents carrying children, elderly folk looking for a bit of exercise, sales staff scurrying from meeting to meeting and delivery couriers hauling trailers — they’re all fans of the humble two- or three-wheel electric vehicle.

In fact, electric bikes have become as commonplace as, well, bicycles themselves.

Yet, when it comes to electric vehicles, the car industry captures most of the headlines, as automakers such as Telsa and Nissan push technology beyond combustion engines.

However, the number of electric cars on the roads — about 2 million worldwide — is dwarfed by the number of electric bikes that are in circulation.

Navigant Research estimates that annual global sales of electric bikes are expected to reach 40 million by 2023. China, which has for decades been leading the electric bike market, accounts for about 80 percent of all electric bicycles sold.

In Japan, the electric bike industry is booming in an otherwise declining bicycle market.

In 2016, the domestic market for electric bikes was worth an estimated ¥4.7 billion, with Panasonic Corp., Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. and Bridgestone Corp. producing the bulk of the nearly 550,000 electric bikes sold last year. By comparison, Japanese carmakers produced 939,025 units last year.

What’s more, as the country’s population ages, domestic manufacturers are making fewer standard bicycles, largely ceding that role to Chinese imports.

In 2016, electric bikes accounted for nearly 6 out of every 10 bikes manufactured nationwide, according to the Japan Bicycle Promotion Unit, which tracks bicycle production in the country.

The future of the bike is increasingly looking, er, electric.

A man sits on an electric bike near Lake Kawaguchi, Yamanashi Prefecture, in March 2010.
A man sits on an electric bike near Lake Kawaguchi, Yamanashi Prefecture, in March 2010. | KYODO
Technology vs. rules
People have been tinkering with the design of the humble bicycle ever since it became a common feature of daily life in the latter half of the 19th century. Early innovators tried to harness the power of electricity to enhance the mechanics of a bicycle — helping a bike to do more and its rider less.

For the next 100 years or so, electric bikes remained largely in the realm of hobbyists. Legislation also kept these bicycles off the roads.

“Before electric bike legislation, most countries treated any sort of powered bicycles as a moped and, thus, a motor vehicle, requiring insurance, tax, helmet and other paperwork,” says David Henshaw, editor of A to B Magazine and co-author of a book titled “Electric Bicycles.”

“Things only really took off in the 1980s,” Henshaw says. The first generation of electric bikes used gel lead-acid batteries and weighed as much as 40 kilograms.

“The vast majority were Chinese made,” he says. “Today, Germany and Japan dominate the luxury end, with China at the lower end.”

As the name implies, electric bikes assist a rider while cycling. Unlike a moped — where you hop on and twist a throttle to start moving — pedal-assist electric bikes won’t go anywhere until a rider starts pedaling. Once a rider does start pedaling, a tiny current — via the battery — powers the motor, which helps to turn the crank and propel the rider forward.

If you’ve ever been waiting at a traffic light alongside a parent and two kids who are sitting at the front and rear ends of a bulky bicycle, you’ve probably noticed the ease at which the bike takes off. When the signal changes, the electric bike glides forward easily and is well ahead of you by the time you get up to speed.

“With pedal-assisted bicycles, it’s like riding a bicycle and not riding on a bicycle,” says Byron Kidd, a cycling advocate and editor of the website Tokyo By Bike.

By contrast, many electric bikes that are popular in China have a throttle similar to a moped, and while they don’t require as much physical exertion, they can be more difficult to control and are more prone to accidents.

Pedal-assist electric bikes in Japan have a range of between 30 and 70 kilometers, depending on variables such as motor efficiency, battery capacity, gradient and weight of the bike and rider.

The maximum speed limit of all electric bikes is set at 24 kilometers per hour in accordance with domestic transport law.

Electric bikes generally use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that are removable and typically take between two and three hours to charge.

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