by Maddie Parise

Sales have been very good lately for Grand Junction bike shop, Colorado Electric Bikes, according to employee Amy Cook. E-bikes seem to be growing in popularity, though their presence is still limited on CMU’s campus.

“I would caution [students] that e-bikes are really nice, but they’re also pretty pricey,” Stuart Fulks, an e-bike owner, said.

Though CMU students do not seem to have picked up the trend yet, there are many demographics who have.

“We have all different kinds [of customers],” Cook said. “We have people [ages] 60 to 75, 30 to 50, we have people with disabilities come in, we work with veterans.”

The cost of e-bikes, which ranges from hundreds to thousands of dollars, is a major hang up for many potential buyers. Longboards, scooters and regular bikes are often a much more feasible transportation options on a student’s budget.

Another option for those who want an e-bike, but are wary of the cost of a complete, pre-built bike is a do-it-yourself kit. This is the route Fulks went with his e-bike.

“I had an old bike here, one of these hundred-dollar Walmart special kind of bikes,” Fulks said. “But he said that that bike would not be effective enough on the “formidable hills” of Colorado.”

His options were to purchase a lightweight frame bike with many gears, or a ready-made e-bike.

Both of these options proved to be too economically unreasonable for Fulks, so he came up with a third solution: an e-bike kit.

This process, which ended up costing Fulks around $800, involved attaching a battery pack to his Walmart bike and adding a new front wheel with an electric motor.

“While that wasn’t cheap, it gave me what I wanted and now I can go riding Colorado style,” Fulks said.

Although the cost can be intimidating to some, there are quite a few positive reasons given for purchasing an e-bike.

“You still get exercise but it kind of flattens out the hills a bit so that’s what I like about it,” Fulks said in response for his purchase motive.

E-bikes offer the opportunity to still pedal, though with motor assistance that can allow the bike to reach up to 20 miles per hour. Because of the speed and nature of e-bikes, one Western Slope trail has already banned them.

According to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, e-bikes are banned on one of the Grand Valley’s most popular trails, the Colorado Riverfront Trail. The Riverfront Commission’s reasoning is reported to keep the trail environmentally focused, and maintain a safe haven away from cars and other motor vehicles.

Both Fulks and Cook have said that they have encountered no limitations on account of this ban.

“It never really even occurred to me whether my e-bike would be considered a motorized bike,” Fulks said. “I don’t, by and large, do trail riding so it hasn’t affected me.”

Fulks also said that he considered the problem with motorized vehicles on trails to be due to the noise and pollution of a gas-operated vehicle, of which an e-bike is not.

Despite the limits e-bike riders may face on some trails, for many the experience is still worth the confines.

“I would very much [recommend the e-bike],” said Fulks. “With the caveat that it’s still an expensive alternative.”