Ready to go Green?

We know that last year was big on going green, and this year we hope it's much of the same. At least we know we're ready for it, after a winter season with more snow, and cold temperatures than most past years. Well, not only do we all try to "go-green" here at work by watching what we eat, (which we highly recommend Stonyfield Farms yogurt, and Bear Naked granola... good stuff), and by riding bikes or car pooling to work, but now we are bringing you the Electric bike from Schwinn!

You may ask, "Why an Electric bike, a regular bike is still environmentally "green"?" Well we think it's the first step to giving you an alternative to driving a car, especially while city riding, or what we call out here "a wondrous rendezvous with nature in Michiana" because theres not much city here. But... with average speeds of up to 15-17 mph holding the throttle, and a capability of traveling between 45 and 60 miles per charge, you can spend a lot time in nature, (or city), with no hurt. Plus it's a hybrid! Meaning you can turn off the electric motor and ride it as a regular bike (which is easy, because they don't weigh much) , or you can simply use pedal assist, so when you challenge your friends to a race they won't know what's going on while you zoom right past them!

Any who...

You may also ask "Why do you think this is new, the electric bike has been around for a while?" And to that we say, "yeah if you want to look stupid!" Sorry, to those who already have a different electric bike, but these look like normal cruisers or comfort/hybrid bikes. It doesn't have a huge bulky generator and battery holder between your legs, instead the battery is mostly concealed beneath a convenient rack on the back. Not only that, but it's front hub driven meaning you're pulled and not pushed. This makes it a whole lot safer, and capable of going faster because you have more control.

So we say Cheers to Schwinn for making a great Electric bike that will advance the "green" attitude a little farther. Now we hope to hear future news that you can recharge the battery by pedaling and braking...

These Schwinn Electric bikes are only available through us for now, as we are the official tester's for their new electric equipment upgrade from their release version last year. So these will technically be the 2008 models...

-The Harbor Country Bike Team