More people in Brisbane are choosing to ride bikes with a little extra push, thanks to the hot weather and hills.
Dr Ronald Schroeter from the Queensland University of Technology's Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland said there has been an increase in the number of people in Brisbane using electric bikes.
"Not only are we seeing a greater uptake in the use of electric bikes, we are also seeing a change in the type of riders," he said.
Samantha Willis from Electric Bikes Brisbane said electric bikes – or e-bikes – are attracting a much wider demographic than they used to.
"To start with, e-bikes were considered something for old people, and they're fantastic for older people, particularly those who want to stay active, but we do have a rising interest from school leavers and uni students who have opted to never get a car," she said.
Ms Willis also said commuters were also interested in electric bikes, for a couple of different reasons.
"Commuters (are) kind of split into two groups: inner-city dwellers who look for an easy way to get to work without getting sweaty, or people who live quite a way out … looking still to get an active commute with a bit of help."
Ms Willis, who uses an e-bike on her commute from Samford to the bike store in Milton, said e-bikes are particularly handy in Brisbane.
"Brisbane is very hot and humid, so having extra assistance is fantastic for summer," she said.
"You can still ride and you don't arrive at work completely dripping, so from a commuting perspective it's great.
"But also Brisbane has got some famously steep little hills, so it encourages people to ride because they can tackle those hills where they ordinarily would not have."
Ms Willis said e-bikes use a "pedal-assist" technology, so cyclists still have to pedal but it is "nowhere near as hard".
They are more expensive than a normal bicycle – a good-quality bike from a respected brand can cost upwards of $1500 – but Ms Willis said the low long-term costs associated with e-bikes make them an attractive choice.
"From a running cost perspective, charging up your e-bike each time is probably going to cost you about 10 cents," she said.
"So when people start comparing that against the Ks they're doing on their bike versus the Ks they would do in their car ... it's almost a no-brainer."
Thanks to the up-tick in the number of people embracing e-bikes, Dr Schroeter said they are looking into how augmented reality can improve cyclist safety.
"You may have heard that there is technology development around connected cars, cars talking to each other and talking to the infrastructure, and that allows cars to then get the safety applications like collision warning systems," he said.
"So the question is why do we not connect bicycles and give them similar functionalities?"
Dr Schroeter said these sorts of technological developments were in the early stages for bicycles because it was a complex task.
"The bicycle is a very interesting platform to develop interactive technologies for, it's very challenging because the rider's hands and legs are very busy, you need to be super vigilant on a bike ... so there's even less room for distracting technologies," he said.
"That requires really careful consideration, and that's where the augmented reality idea could come in as these technologies become a bit more mature.
"By designing innovative interactive devices, it will be possible to improve safety and the enjoyment of riders."
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