WFSB-TV, Ch 3 Hartford, Connecticut POSTED: 5:33 pm EST November 13, 2008
UPDATED: 8:37 pm EST November 13, 2008
BLOOMFIELD, Conn. -- Greener than a car and easier than a regular bicycle, a shop in Bloomfield is the first in the state to sell the new hybrid electric bicycle.
The bikes have small, battery-powered motors that give riders an extra boost when it’s needed, said Jen Wochamurka, who works at Bloomfield Bike Shop.
With her old, pedal-powered bike, she said, “I couldn't actually get all the way up the hills.”
Now, she said, she rides her battery-boosted bike every single day, conquering the steep slopes that dot her ride to work.
“I'm sweating still, it’s definitely a cardio workout, but I make it,” Wochamurka said. “I know I'm going to get home.”
Several people were able to test the bikes in Bloomfield Thursday.
The one- or two-battery packs on the backs of the bikes will take you about 35 to 40 miles and make the bike go 18 to 20 mph. The motor kicks in when you push off the pedals or increase your speed.
Rachel Wolf said the bike shop sold out of its first shipment in just two days. She said one of her customers was a woman in her 70s.
Most of the electric hybrid customers are over the age of 30, she said, and are ready for a more restful ride.
The goal of the bikes, shop staffers said, is to conserve energy and not spend so much on gas. Wolf said the bike costs anywhere from $800 to $2,200.
