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Shop owner Afshin Kaighobady outside Philly Electric Wheels with an electric bicycle, Photo by Pam Rogow, courtesy Technically Philly

If you’re ready for a new kinda kick, I highly recommend you head up to Mt. Airy and give the bicycles at Philly Electric Wheels a test ride. They’re a brand new shop at Greene and Carpenter, just across from Weavers Way Coop, and their grand opening is this Thursday from 2 to 7.

Remember how you felt the first time you rode a mountain bike after riding only cruisers? Or a really fast road bike after owning a 70s 10 speed? The bikes at Philly Electric Wheels are remarkably different in a truly fun way that brought enormous grins to myself and my two sons when we stopped in for a test ride last weekend.

They have several different styles designed by Dutch and Spanish engineers that incorporate a rechargeable battery that kicks in while you’re pedaling, at whatever level you decide it should. The nudge of power is cool and refreshing, and I was so unaccustomed to such a feeling, such a sensation, that it took me a moment to get used to it.

I rode it down Greene Street towards Lincoln Drive just like a regular bike, but on the way back up that considerable incline, I merely pedaled gently and the electric motor kicked in. Literally… no sweat!

The implications for commuters are enormous. You can pedal the length of Kelly Drive to work in your work clothes, get just enough cardio, and leave almost zero carbon footprint. The battery sucks up about the same juice as a cell phone when you recharge it.

Now just like road bike folks had to make room in their hearts for mountain bikes and vice versa, this is a totally new kind of bike, and I suggest that everyone climb aboard at least once and give them a try… then imagine where they’ll fit into our new world view, and our new consciously greener lifestyles.

Philly Electric Wheels
550 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia PA 19119
(215) 821-9266
www.phillyelectricwheels.com