Electrobikes are losing their image as OAP-Ferraris as their price and weight fall, and range and reliability improve. In continental Europe two trends are particularly obvious and encouraging: Fixed centre hire and touring.
Fixed Centre Hire
More and more bike hire firms and day tour operators are offering electrobikes to rent for day trips or for the holiday duration. Alpine resorts, in particular, wish to market not only the peace, quietness and possibilities of contact with nature for their area, but also its air quality. Heavy road traffic has negative effects on all of these. A group of resorts in the Alps has gone so far as to offer “Soft Mobility', low carbon footprint sustainable tourism. These are known as the Alpine Pearl resorts (www.alpine-pearls.com/home.php). Here guests are encouraged to take car-free holidays, to travel to the resorts by public transport, i.e. rail and leave the car at home or at least parked whilst in the resort. Holiday makers are offered subsidised public transport and facilities for human powered activities. The electrobike fits in well with this concept and currently eight of the 20 Alpine Pearl communities offer electrobike hire: Bad Reichenhall in Germany, Berchtesgaden, Werfenweng in Austria, Arosa and Interlaken in Switzerland, and Tiers, Welschnofen and Deutschnofen in the semi-autonomous province of South Tyrol in Italy.
Many other resorts too have learned to appreciate the value of electrobike hire. These resorts offer cycle and even MTB trails that can be used by the electrically assisted cyclist. Typically the organisers set up a number of battery exchange or charging centres across the area in beer gardens, monastery breweries or cafes where the thirsty can recharge both their bike's batteries for 1-2 cents an hour and their own batteries for the cost of a beer and roast pigs' legs or coffee and cake.
Interestingly Switzerland and Japan are world leaders in electrobike ownership and about 70% of the electrobikes in Switzerland are Swiss Flyers.
Touring
Tour companies are offering electrobikes as an extra to encourage people who have not ridden a bicycle since Adam was a lad to take part in their holidays. In this way weaker members of the group can keep up with members of the Charles Atlas calf brigade. The tour companies hope to widen their customer base and make their customers' holidays a little less strenuous.
NB The prices shown in the tables are not written on tablets of stone and can vary, but should be taken as a guide. At the time of writing the pound was worth about 1.15 Euro and 1.4 CHF, but if we knew what was going to happen in the money markets we would not be writing this, but be down the bank changing our savings. There is too a distressing tendency for foreigners to insist on writing their websites in foreign languages, The cure is to use Google Translator, Babel Fish or similar translation program, or send the company or tourist office an eMail in English. They will reply in English. Absence of a resort or tour company just means that we haven't seen their names on various Internet lists, but not that electrobikes are not on offer. In our experience most of the members of a guided cycle group will be able to speak English and they will be overjoyed to practise it.
Fixed centre hire
France
Burgundy Electrobikes to rent from the tourist office in Auxere: http://www.ot-auxerre.fr/Tourist-office.html
Switzerland
Between Rapperswill on Lake Zurich, Walenstadt on Walensee and GlarusTourismus Amden-Weesen
Dorfstrasse 22, CH-8873 Amden, www.amden.ch,
Emmental (Emme Valley) between Bern and Lucerne Gemeindeverwaltung Trubschachen, CH-3555 Trubschachen,
www.trubschachen.ch/tourismus.html (in German), eMail:gemeinde@trubschachen.ch Flyer 25 Flyers (CHF40,-/day) Three tandems (CHF70,-/day)
NW of Lucerne, Willisau-Hasle-Rüegsau Reisezentrum Willisau, CH 6130 Willisau www.willisau.ch, eMail: emailinfo@willisau-tourismus.ch Flyer 2 Battery exchange stations
East Switzerland Appenzell Appenzellerland Tourismusmarketing AG Schäfligasse 12
CH-9050 Appenzell Telephone +41 (0)71 788 08 18
eMail: info.ag@appenzell.ch Flyer At least 40 bikes and 20 recharging stations
Engadine SE Switzerland Albula Valley (Bergün), Lenzerheide, Davos 15 Hire stations with about 40 electrobikes and 20 battery charging stations Flyer Between CHF 30 and 40 per day, depending on length of hire
Engadine SE Switzerland near St Moritz Flying Cycles GmbH
Tolais (opp. station) l, CH-7504 Pontresina
250 eBikes all over Switzerland at the railway stations in
Airolo, Andermatt, Basle, Bern, Biel, Disentis, Fiesch, Illanz, Interlaken West, Locarno, Lucerne, Meiringen, Murten. Neuchâtel, Noiraigue, Oberwald, , Romanshorn, Saignelégier, Samedan, Willisau Rent a Bike AG, Merkurstrasse 2, CH-6210 Sursee www.rentabike.ch (In German and French, English language promised) Flyer Daily hire costs between CHF 42 and 50. Bikes can be returned to other railway stations.
Southern Switzerland, Locarno, Ascona, Lago Maggiore Electrobikes are widely available from 32 centres, e.g. from hotels, the information desks of the Ente Turistico Lago Maggiore (Tourist Offices) in Locarno, Ascona and Brissago amongst others. www.maggiore.ch/idee/bike/common_details.jsp?lang=en&id=87017&index=1 Flyer
Switzerland: Erstfeld on the Gotthard Pass railway line. Velo Infanger, Gotthardstrasse 107, CH 6472 Erstfeld (300m from station) Flyer
Germany
North Germany, Cuxhafen Mietrad, T. Larschow, Schillerstr. 45, D-27472 Cuxhaven
Bavarian Alps/Austria Salzgammergut Movelo GmbH (www.movelo.com) offers over 50 electrobikes in SE Bavaria around Berchtesgaden and near Lake Chiemsee at about a dozen hire stations (info@movelo.com) Flyer
Bavarian Alps Three companies in and around Bad Tölz SE of Munich offer electrobike hire with 11 charging points: Flyer
Italy: South Tyrol Tiers/Tires, Welschnofen/Nova Levante and Deutschnofen/Nova Ponante (www.alpine-pearls.com/home.php) Flyer
Tours
Austria Danube Valley, Styria, Switzerland Lausanne St Gallen ROTALIS - Reisen per Rad, D-85604 Zorneding www.rotalis.de, info@rotalis.de Modified hire bike 140€ extra per trip (about a week)
Austria Danube Valley Passau Vienna Colditzer Reisebüro Töpfergasse 5 D - 04680 Colditz, Germany www.fahrrad-wandern.de/danube_cycle_path.htm Flyer About 700 € per person for seven nights bed and breakfast with baggage transport. An electrobike costs about 90€ a week.
Switzerland All nine Swiss National Routes SwissTrails GmbH Chlupfstrasse 8, CH-8165 Oberweningen www.swisstrails.ch/swisstrails_engl/veloland/veloland.html Flyer
Switzerland Jura Saignelégier to Neuchâtel via Mont-Soleil, Tête de Ran and Couvet. Goût & Région Case postale 131 CH 2108 Couvet www.gout-region.ch (Only in French and German) eMail: info@gout-region.ch Flyer About CHF 370 to CHF 500 per person with baggage transport for two nights bed and breakfast.
Switzerland Meiringen, Grosse Scheidegg, Grindelwald, Interlaken, Kandersteg, Brig, Rhone Valley, Grimsel Pass, Meiringen Alpavia GmbH, Bahnhofstrasse 35, CH-3700 Spiez www.alpavia.ch eMail: info@alpavia.ch Flyer A trip round the Jungfrau and Eiger. Good value for money at CHF 1280 for 6 nights HP.
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