Electric bicycle sales are on the rise worldwide, and nowhere is this phenomenon more apparent than in the Netherlands, where revenue from e-bike sales recently surpassed revenue from city bike sales.

The Netherlands was the first nation to enact an official national bicycle policy, and the country has thousands of miles of bicycle paths and lanes. Bicycle parking is plentiful and new developments are designed with cyclists in mind. It’s no surprise that the Dutch have a robust cycling culture and that industry innovations are embraced quickly.

A case in point is the electric bicycle market, which has exploded in popularity in the Netherlands. While city bike sales volume maintains a margin over e-bike sales volume every year, in 2009 the Dutch spent more money on e-bikes than on any other category of bicycle. Because the prices of e-bikes are significantly higher than the prices of the average city bikes, this doesn’t mean more e-bikes were sold; it means that Dutch riders interested in spending more money on bikes are gravitating toward e-bikes and away from city bikes.

Today, city bikes account for a little less than 50% of all new bikes sold in the Netherlands, while e-bikes account for around 15%. The gap is rapidly shrinking. Total Dutch bike sales in 2011 are forecast to top 2010 sales, reversing the downward trend that started in 2008. Fueled by sales of quality e-bikes, significant growth is expected in bicycles costing $1,200 or more.

See our article on the Best Electric Bikes Of 2011.

Folding bikes are particularly efficient when used in conjunction with public transit. Unlike regular bikes, they can be taken easily on buses, trains or ferries. In fact, some transit systems will only allow folding bikes to be taken on board. I recently reviewed the Best Folding Bikes of 2008. An efficient addition to these bikes is an electric motor. For a little extra weight, you get the benefit of going up hills easily, and this is often very important to commuters who do not work up a sweat before getting into work. Let’s take a look at one of the better folding electric bikes out there: a Dahon Mu P3 custom-fitted with a BionX electric assist motor.

This bike is called Dahon Conversion and it’s sold by NYCEWheels for $1899 (see photos above and below).

The Dahon Conversion weighs just 42 pounds. It can be folded in less than 20 seconds into a size roughly 13″ x 25″ x 30″.

The folding of the bicycle requires the loosening of 4 clasps and the bicycle collapses to its folded size without removing any of the wheels or adjusting any of the gears. The wires are out of the way and do not obstruct the folding and require no special attention in the folding process.

The bike has a range of 20-30 miles. This version of the bike uses a 250 watt motor and NiMH batteries. If you spend more, you can get a 350 watt motor (add $230) or lithium-ion batteries (add $300).

The BionX standard system includes a control console, a battery and a motor. The control console includes a multi-functional odometer, four assistance levels, four generative settings as well as a battery charge indicator.

You can also create your own folding electric bike. For example, to recreate the Dahon Conversion you could get the Dahon Mu P3 (about $590) and install the BionX motor system yourself (kits start at $1100). Of course you can also use other folding bikes and electric assist kits. Some kits are available for less than $500, however I can’t vouch for their quality. There’s also DVD that will tell you how to fit your bike with an electric motor — its a bit hokey but it shows the basic method of installation.

Another folding electric bike is the iZip EZgo. This inexpensive bike by Currie Technologies, will help you  pedal for 18 to 25 miles with speeds up to 18 mph. The bike weighs 53 pounds, including the motor. The EZgo has a simple twist throttle with a battery gauge. The wheels are 16″ heavy duty alloy with stainless steel spokes. The bike also features an integrated rear carrier to take some items on the go with you.

It’s available from Amazon for $649. The bike’s home page is here.

Biontague is a folding electric mountain bike, created by Electric Cyclery. It’s a Montague Swiss Bike LX folding mountain bike fitted with a Bionx PL350 electric conversion kit. The Biontague bike offers speeds in the 20 MPH range, great hill climbing assistance, and a range of up to 60 miles on a 3-hour charge.

The Montague Swiss is a mountain bike that folds for easy transport and the whole thing weighs only 43.2 lbs. A 36-volt lithium-ion battery pack is mounted down low on the frame.

The price is $2425 from Electric Cyclery, plus $100 shipping in continental USA.

Scheduled for release in early 2008, the iZip Express is an electric bike that will operate without a throttle. Instead, the bike has a special torque sensor that applies power as the rider requires it. Basically, the harder you pedal, the more the motor assists you. Test drivers have said that this automatic drive system is one of the most intuitive they’ve tried. The bike is said to have a 70+ mile range. In the video below, recorded last month at the 2007 AltCar Expo in Santa Monica, Steve Marshall talks about this unique drive system:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The bike is made by Currie Technologies, one of the pioneers in the electric bicycle business. According to EVWorld, the company still needs to work out some technical issues, like the belt slipping when the rider stands up to pedal hard. But company spokepeople say that this problem will be resolved before the bike is released in 2008. The iZip Express will sell for $2000.

Via EVWorld

This compact electric bike, the EC-02 from Yamaha, costs just under $2000. First introduced in Japan two years ago, the EC-02 is similar to the Enertia motorcycle I wrote about recently in TreeHugger. But this scooter has more modest specs: a top speed of 18 MPH and a range of 40 miles. So it’s more suitable for commuters and scooting around in your neighborhood. There’s also a special iPod edition of the EC-02, that has a built-in iPod dock.

Interestingly, this scooter also glows in the dark Why? Yamaha says: ‘The technology enables the exterior to give a more vividly stereoscopic impression of the three-dimensional shape of any surface treated with the film.’

From what I’ve read, this bike is only currently available in Japan.

Personally, the most impressive electric bike I’ve seen is the Optibike.

Via: AutoblogGreen