LEBANON, N.H. (WCAX) – As the use of e-bikes continues to grow, an Upper Valley nonprofit is working to give more people the chance to try one out with a mobile e-bike lending library.
The bike tune-up shop at Omer and Bob’s in Lebanon is seeing more and more e-bikes. “At least half of the bikes we sell are oriented some ways toward commuting,” said the shop’s Sal Cania.
The bikes, which combine pedal power with a small motor for an added boost, are especially catching the eye of those who are looking to get back into biking. “Maybe a little afraid of the hills. We live in the Upper Valley — there’s a ton of hills. But they really just want to get back out and there is some of that hill anxiety people have. This really helps them get over that,” Cania said a
And that’s where the local library comes in. “The Upper Valley E-bike Lending Library is a traveling fleet of four e-bikes that demonstrate different price points, different sizes, different types of e-bikes,” said Anna Guenther with Vital Communities, a nonprofit focused on addressing issues like climate change and transportation by building systems to find long term solutions.
For the next several months, the small e-bike fleet will be moving from town to town visiting libraries, schools, and even a few businesses. It’s a chance for people to test out the e-bikes for free in a non-commercial setting. The bikes can be reserved online. A permanent e-bike borrowing station is now located at the Kilton Library in Lebanon as well.
“It did start with greenhouse gas emissions but it’s proven to be such an interesting solution to so many different problems that we are really leaning into it,” Guenther said.
The four-bike fleet will be at the Sharon Elementary School beginning Saturday. From there it will travel to Lebanon for a “Curb Your Car” demo day on May 17th.