Thinking of buying an electric bike? Don’t rush into it. Get in touch and we can discuss your needs and requirements. You can also loan them, or pay via subscription. Details below. But please, please, please don’t get one with a throttle, nor a cheap one from Aldi or Kmart or Gumtree.
Cycles are tools for getting life done, and the tool you need depends on the task. We designed our logo around the idea of different cycles – a tricycle, step through, hand cycle, racing bike and cargo bike – all linked by the idea that there is no such thing as “a cycle”.
There’s also nothing like an electric bike. E-bikes make hills and headwinds disappear. They’re ideal for carrying people or heavy loads on cargo bikes.
The options for getting cycles has expanded from the simple ‘visit a bike shop and buy one’ of the past. Today you can pay a subscription, join the Canberra E-bike Library, as well as buying online and getting your freedom machine delivered in a truck, as I did when I bought my Tern GSD from Dutch Cargo in Melbourne in Aug 2022.
The following are entities I recommend because I’ve used them, or know the people who created/work for them.
Pedal Power
One of the oldest advocacy groups for people on cycles, Pedal Power provides insurance, advocacy, social rides of various distances and average speeds, and more. (Disclosure: I am on the Board).
Canberra E-Bike Library
Run by SEE-Change and Switched On Cycles on behalf of the ACT Government, the library lets you borrow a cycle for 14 days. You’ll be charged a small fee to cover insurance (free for Pedal Power members) to see if it fits your household circumstances. There are 12 freedom machines in the library fleet, ranging from cargo bikes to a tricycle to step through bikes. I loaned a cargo bike in late 2020 and it changed my life.
Bike library – a Pedal Power trial service in Canberra’s far north
This operates just like a regular library, providing free, long-term access to second-hand bicycles, helmets and locks to any adult or child requiring a bike. It’s based in Taylor, north Gungahlin, at the Margaret Hendry School.
Sparque
Buy or lease an e-bike with salary packaging. Sparque’s many happy riders across Canberra include a dad with a cargo bike dad whose loads have included a free-standing oven and 60kg of turf. Other customers include employees at the Australian National University and the ACT Government.
Lug + Carrie
Subscription service offering Tern GSD cargo bikes. These bikes will replace your car, and kids will want to use it for every trip.
Dutch Cargo
Sales and financing, and an extensive range of electric bikes, including adaptive tricycles for people with special needs.