Auckland Now Has Its First E-Bike Rechargery

New Auckland company Big Street Bikers are at the helm of Auckland’s first e-bike recharge station that has recently opened in Viaduct Harbour. They call it the rechargery. The company says they are dedicated to encouraging more of us Aucklanders to use e-bikes and not just cars for transport.

To be honest, I’ve never heard of e-bikes before I read about this new rechargery. I mean based on the name, I put two and two together and figured it was referring to electric bikes. I seriously didn’t know this type of bike existed beforehand. But this doesn’t surprise me since it seems the only time I bike nowadays is when I’m away on holiday and riding a bike is the thing to do at that particular place – I’m talking about you, Europe!

I watched a video on YouTube to have a better grasp on how an e-bike works. You still need to pedal when using an e-bike or else the motor will not run. The motor does not run all the time however. You can change the settings on the e-bike and decide when you want the motor on.

While this all sounds very interesting, it got me thinking… Will most Aucklanders actually use e-bikes to get around town? Immediately, I think an e-bike is definitely useful for going up Upper Queen Street. I remember the first time I walked up Upper Queen Street I had to stop midway to catch my breath. Sad, I know. Clearly, my fitness level back then was tragic. Riding a normal bike up this street would be admirable but excessive. I think a majority of people wouldn’t put themselves through that because for the most part, they simply just want to get from point A to point B without being drenched in sweat all the time. So this would be an instance where an e-bike would be useful. Personally, would I use an e-bike to get around town? Most likely not. I’m not a fan of helmet hair. I’ll stick to walking.