Getting from A to B on Ultra Motor’s A2B Metro electric bicycle
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When it comes to annual sales, bicycles speed past motorcycles. About 20 million bikes are sold in the U.S. every year compared with a measly mil for motorcycles, though the two categories are, in other ways, similar. The majority of both are sold for recreation. Transportation is a small minority.
But small is a relative term. In the bicycle world, 1 million people use their rides for commuting. That population might be even larger if it weren’t for lazy people like me, who live close enough to work to entertain the idea of bicycle commuting but don’t because we’ll sweat.
Enter the bike for the inactive: An electric, such as the Ultra Motor A2B Metro, which requires absolutely no effort to ride, other than a sense of balance. A power-on-demand electric bicycle, no pedaling is required unless you want some light exercise. Just twist the grip and go.
Just don’t expect to go fast. Powered with a 250-watt lithium-ion battery, the bike is capable of only 20 mph, which it can maintain for about 20 miles on a charge. Pedaling like the Wicked Witch of the West, the A2B simply won’t go any faster unless you’re careening down a mountain or riding with a hurricane at your back (though swapping out the 42-tooth Shimano crank for one that has 46 could eke out another 3 miles per hour).
20 mph. 23 mph. Neither seem at all fast, but the A2B got me from my A -- my driveway -- to B -- my desk -- even faster than a car or motorcycle, mostly due to traffic and parking. I could just wheel the bike up to my computer and plug it into the same power strip, where it took about three hours to fully charge and cost (Sam Zell) mere pennies. The only problem is the charger. It isn’t built in to the bike. The two-pound brick needs to be lugged to where you need it.
On the road, the A2B Metro made me feel like a cheat, as I passed regular bicycle commuters without even pedaling and plowed over the manhole covers my fellow bicyclists took pains to avoid. Skinned with three-inch tread tires, the A2B’s 20-inch wheels lower the bike’s center of gravity, which gave me the option of nimbly steering around a pothole or boldly riding through it. Either way, the bike was happy, and so was my back side, thanks to a cushy seat and inches of travel provided by the front fork and rear swing arm.
All in all, I thought the A2B was an easy and great way to get around. It didn’t hurt that everywhere I went, people were complimenting me on the bike’s chic and chunky profile. But I have to say, the price is a problem. At $2,700, when gas prices are low and the U.S. Department of Energy projects them to go even lower, that’s a lot of money for so little power, especially when a small scooter, motorcycle or used car can be had for only slightly more dough. Unfortunately, many of the federal tax credits available on purchases of larger vehicles through the stimulus bill, such as a sales tax reimbursement on new cars and motorcycles and a 10% purchase price reimbursement on larger, two-wheeled electric vehicles, don’t apply to a product such as the A2B Metro. As sensible, fun, cool and high-minded as the A2B is, it takes green to be green and ride one.
Ultra Motor A2B Metro electric bicycle
Base Price: $2,700*
Battery: 500-watt, 36-volt lithium ion
Maximum speed: 20 mph
Maximum range per charge: 20 miles*
Weight: 72 pounds
* additional battery costs an additional $650 and provides up to 20 more miles of range
-- Susan Carpenter
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For the record: Battery output of 250-watts and Weight of 82 pounds were incorrect in original publishing of this article. Have been corrected to 500-watt/72 pounds.