The AM1 e-bike is a minimalist bike with a boost

It's already blown through its Kickstarter target, perhaps because people are realizing that this is all that you really need.

There is an interesting electric bike on Kickstarter. The AM1 is not very powerful; it only has a 200 watt motor. It doesn't go very far compared to many e-bikes; only twenty miles or so. It's not very fast; the motor will only get you to 15.5 mph.

But it doesn't weigh very much at thirty pounds, and doesn't cost very much at about $US 665 and it looks pretty much like a normal bike. As Carlton Reid of BikeBiz notes:

How come this e-bike is so cheap? It's no-frills – there are no gears, no fancy LCD screens, and the frame and the battery are lightweight compared to other electric bikes.

It also is pretty much all most people need in an e-bike. In Europe, where e-bikes have been around for a while, there are rules that set limits on power and speed, and the motor is engaged by pedalling rather than a throttle, so this bike isn't too much of an outlier there.

American Exceptionalism on wheels

When I have tried to make the case that these limits are sensible, a lot of American e-bikers tell me that it is not enough, that North Americans travel longer distances, or the hills are worse, or they have a need for speed, or that Americans are heavier and need more power, or that they need a throttle because pedalling is hard.

Perhaps for some people that is true (and disabled cyclists have complained that they need a throttle) but for the great majority, what they need is a little bit of help on a commute, to deal with hills or the fact that they are really just a bit tired at the end of the day and want an easier ride home. As the AM1 designers note:

The motor gives you a boost when you really need it. The sensor in the pedals delivers smooth, controlled power relative to the speed of your pedalling. Pedal slower to slow down, faster to speed up.

Just now a man riding this e-bike blew a red