There is a joke told in transit circles about people who ride electric bicycles: How do you know if someone has an e-bike? They’ll tell you. The idea, of course, is that users of the battery-powered two-wheelers tend to be proselytizers for the technology.
Take Monte Paulsen, a building energy consultant in Vancouver, British Columbia, who used to drive a car five days a week. A former “fair-weather cyclist,” he rode his bike maybe twice a month, weather permitting.
The pandemic, he decided, was a good time to buy a RadWagon, an electric cargo bike from Rad Power Bikes, a top-selling e-bike company. Now, Mr. Paulsen said, he makes 90 percent of his trips on it.
“I started as a personal experiment to see how I could lower my carbon footprint,” he said. “I’ve stuck with it because it’s really fun.”