Albie,
What do you do?
I was giving this some more thought and research, and come across an article regarding the new Schwinn e-bikes. Apparently they are a 250 watts, and therefore not legal. Therefore, they are NOT being imported here to Oz. There are a good number of commercially available e-bikes in the UK/EU, that are 250 watts. Only 50 watts more, but technically illegal here in Oz.
On the same site, there was a forum, where there were several people saying that they wanted e-bikes, but didn't where to buy them, or could even find out where to buy one!
http://envirofuel.com.au/2007/07/02/schwinn-electric-bicycles/#comment-10747
So, I guess where we need to lobby the relevant Governments, is to allow an increase in power to at least 250 watts, to allow for commercially available e-bikes that can be readily imported into the country.
That could be the absolute best thing we could do to support the use of e-bikes in this country.
Most of us a 'tinkerers', and can deal with some of the issues that we come across, as far as reliability is concerned. But the general public want something they can ride, 'straight out of the box', and have good product support.
That means commercially available bikes, with a good support structure, and moderate power, so as to make the bike more 'user friendly', as far as ease of use and reliability.
Smaller motors mean smaller batteries, and better range, and lower weight. Maybe not so good hill climbing ability, but geared systems driving through the BB, or geared hubs, address that issue for most situations. It also makes for a bike that does not weigh much more than a normal bike, so more useful for the average user, that may be an elderly person, or a housewife, or a small woman, or someone who lives in a unit, so needs a bike that can fulfil their needs and be easily handled from people of all walks of life.
Not everyone is a speed demon, and 30 kph (or 250w) is plenty fast enough for Mr and Mrs Joe Average.
Notice I said needs, and wants. That is what needs to be clearly defined. What speed/power combination is enough to satisfy the needs of the general public.
Think about how fast you were riding before you got your e-bike? Now, we all know that 250 watts is going to be faster than that! And with much better hill climbing ability. Do we need more than that? Maybe not. Do we want more than that? Of course we do! But then we would all like to be able to drive around faster than the posted speed limit, don't we?
If we have a reasonable lobby, we have a much greater chance of launching a successful campaign.