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Electric Bike Sales On The Rise In Sacramento

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A new set of wheels has hit the streets in Sacramento, as electric bikes are selling like crazy at local stores.

It doesn't look much different than your traditional bicycle, but Tim Castleman is riding easier than he would on a traditional bike.

"It's fun, practical transportation," he said. "It's economical, environmentally friendly."

E-bikes are powered by batteries and can assist with your pedaling while going up to 30 miles on a single charge.

"You still pedal, it's still a bike. it just makes it so you can go further, faster without getting all sweaty," he said.

He's the president of Practical Cycle in Old Sacramento, and says more than half of his sales come from E-bikes.

"Once they've ridden one, it's like they get the bug and they just gotta have," he said.

Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates Executive Director Jim Brown thinks E-bikes are a great way to get more people to use bikes as a way of transportation, not just exercise.

"They're particularly popular with older folks who might not have the same strength to ride a conventional bike or to ride it as far as they'd like to go," he said. "It's fewer cars on the street, it's a smaller footprint for everybody."

By law, the bikes are only allowed to go up to 20 mph, which is how fast many people can pedal a traditional bike.

It's not clear legally whether the bikes are restricted from places where motorized vehicles aren't allowed, like bike trails.

"There isn't really a definition in the law for an e-bike, and so having one is useful because it's a way to allow e-bikes to go where you don't want mopeds to go, for example," he said.

The bikes range in cost from $2,000 to about $3,600.

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