Bike commuters go electric

Though they look like ordinary bikes and trikes, with handle bars, rubber wheels and cushioned seats, one feature makes some of ding! Bikes’ vehicles stand out: the electricity.

The public can check some of these electric bicycles and tricycles out at the “Electric Bicycle & Tricycle” event on Thursday, Feb. 7 from 4-8 p.m. at the Downtown Winter Park Farmer’s Market, located at 200 W. New England Ave.

Those who attend will not only have the opportunity to test-ride some of the latest electric bikes from brands like Polaris and EG-Bikes, which can range from $1,400 to $2,000, but they can also have their own bikes motorized for a fee of $690 or talk to ding! Bikes “Chief Wheelie Popper,” Darren Lefkowitz, who started the company in July 2011 with a sole purpose in mind.

“I believe bicycles should help people,” said Lefkowitz, who acknowledged the electric bicycles have a pedal-assist motor. “That’s why ding! Bikes exists.”

When it came to picking a location to display the electric bicycles, Lefkowitz knew why Winter Park would be the right fit.

“Winter Park is the ideal location to enjoy a bicycle for fundamental purposes, meaning for commuting purposes,” Lefkowitz said. “It’s a dense community where people live close to their offices, and they can benefit from the use of a bicycle as a functional tool.”

In terms of who typically purchases these vehicles, Lefkowitz explained the market ranges from individuals 55 or older, either healthy or physically-challenged, to professionals ages 25-45 or even people who cannot drive for a specified reason.

With this varying target market, in addition to traffic congestion and approximately two dozen electric bicycles sold at his store, including electric bicycle modification kits, Lefkowitz predicts that electric bicycle sales will increase in the near future.

“People are going to increasingly demand and use public transit as I-4 continues to become more and more congested,” Lefkowitz said. “People want alternate forms of transportation.”

For example, although only around 89,000 electric bicycles were expected to be sold in the United States in 2012, according to Pike Research, a market team that analyzes global clean technology markets, sales will nearly triple to 265,000 per year by 2018.

Even with this growing trend, Chief Brett C. Railey of the Winter Park Police Department has not seen any of these particular electric bikes on the road as of yet, and he actually plans to check them out at the event, just as the public is invited to do, to see what they are all about.

In addition, despite not having sufficient information on this vehicle, Railey also said that he does not expect that these bikes are any less safe than a normal bicycle.

When it comes down to the ultimate goal with these electric bicycles and tricycles, Lefkowitz wants to make sure individuals experience one thing in particular.

“Our bikes give people the option of enjoying the outdoors again with … less stress, period,” Lefkowitz said.

For more information on ding! Bikes, visit facebook.com/DingBikes.