SAN DIEGO — February 25, 2016 — Electric biking is a new form of transportation and recreation that is becoming popular in the U.S. Electric bikes provide the rider with power assist as they pedal. eBikes make hills easier and enable more people to ride further and faster with little to no sweat.

As the second stop on a six-city national tour, the 2016 Electric Bike Expo is coming to the Liberty Station (2722 Chauncey Road, San Diego 92106) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, February 26-28, 2016. This free event allows San Diego County residents the opportunity to meet with manufacturer representatives and select local retailers from more than 20 of the top eBike producers and test ride more than 100 different models of power assist bicycles. Currently nearly 1,000 people are pre-registered for the event!

The specially designed Expo course, fills more than 25,000 square feet of the parking lot near Liberty Station’s Ace Hardware and includes terrain features to test the different bike suspensions, as well as a hill, that allows riders to feel the power of the electric assist motor.

Electric Bike Expo Event Hours: Friday, Feb. 26th 3pm – 8pm; Saturday, Feb. 27th 9am-8pm; Sunday, Feb. 28th 9am-4pm
Presented by Bosch, one of Germany’s leading electrical drive systems producers, with the track being sponsored by Trek Bicycles, a leading global cycling brand, attendees will be able to try a wide range of bike styles.

Brands such as A2B, BESV, BULLS, Easy Motion, Felt Electric, Focus, Gazelle, Haibike, IZIP, Kalkhoff, Polaris, Raleigh, Stromer, Tempo, Trek, Xtracycle, and Yuba will have their lines of eBikes available for test ride. For many of the models on display, this will be the first time seen in the US. Sixteen of the 20 brands exhibiting are headquartered in California, including Stromer, which is here in San Diego.

Local retailers such as Moment Bicycles, El Camino Bike Shop, and SD Fly Rides will be present in their own spaces to offer information on their bikes and services.

Easy Motion will be giving away a 350W EVO Jet electric bike to one lucky person who test rides any of their bikes. Raleigh, IZIP, Yuba, Polaris, Focus, Kalkhoff, and Gazelle, will be offering discount coupons redeemable at local dealers. The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition and SEAL — NSW Family Foundation will be selling raffle tickets all during the expo for $5 each for the opportunity to win one of these two Tempo hybrid electric models. The winner will be drawn at 3:50 pm on Sunday.

Electric cargo bike maker, Xtracycle, will be giving a series classes on commuting by bike. Haibike will be presenting on electric mountain bikes and trail behavior.

Local favorite Slater’s 50/50 will be serving food within the exhibitor area.

San Diego’s own e-Bike expert Turbo Bob Bandhauer will be leading group rides from the Expo site to Cabrillo National Park. The rides will be on Saturday at 9:30 am and on Sunday at 1 pm. It will be a casual 12 mile ride on the undulating main road to the point of the peninsula and back. Participants can ride your own eBike or conventional bike and there will be local shops with rental eBikes to use.
More information: http://www.electricbike-expo.com/locations/san-diego-california/

Video: https://youtu.be/NirMwZruj3s

The California Bicycle Coalition and the local San Diego County Bicycle Coalition are participating to share their outreach to promote e-bikes as as a smart transportation alternative.

? California Bicycle Coalition’s Executive Director Dave Snyder will present “How California is Leading the U.S. in Promoting e-Bikes” on Friday from 5:00 – 5:30 pm and Saturday from 10:00 – 10:30 am.

? San Diego County Bicycle Coalition will present on “Cycling Safety & Awesome Short Tours in San Diego” on 11-11:30 am on Saturday and 1-1:30 pm on Sunday.

? Find the full schedule of talks at the e-Bike expo at: electricbike-expo.com/locations/san-diego-california/

Why are electric bikes are great for San Diegans!

A new form of healthy transportation & recreation
Hills are no problem & no sweat — particularly in San Diego with our hilly terrain!
Fly through traffic & no parking problems — up to 28 mph top speed on most models!
Car alternative — leave the car at home for commuting and trips around town and to run errands!
The technology of eBikes — e-Bikes use a pedal assist mode which delivers various levels of power only when the rider pedals!
eBikes popularity in Europe & China — more and more are coming to America
eBikes for business: resorts, restaurants, postal deliveries, etc. are using e-Bikes

More About the 2016 Electric Bike Expo
The 2016 E-Bike Expo travels next to Houston Texas in March before returning to California to the Stanford Mall in April. In each city the public is invited to enjoy a 25,000 square foot self contained venue which includes the specially designed outdoor test track. This track will allow thousands of locals, from avid daily commuters and recreational riders, to those who may not have ridden a bike in years, to test ride the very latest e-bikes from top North American brands including city bikes, commuting bikes, hybrid bikes, mountain bikes, fat tire bikes, compact bikes and yes even cargo bikes and more!

Because of the emerging growth of the market in North America, these events will also serve as market research test beds where through the use of advanced RFID technology, riders and the bikes they try will be tracked. Everything from the order of choice, to the number of laps will be recorded and paired with their original registration data. The participating manufacturers will get to follow along on a secured live dashboard, as well as see detailed reports and layered demographic mapping technology provided by Google. Matched with census data, these extensive results will tell participating companies what attracted the most interest and where the potential customer base is concentrated.

About Extra Energy
ExtraEnergy Services North America is comprised of a talented and experienced group of electric bike industry and event experts. The U.S. based organization is a subsidiary of ExtraEnergy of Tanna, Germany, which has been providing electric bike test and review services since 1992 and providing electric bike test ride experiences in Europe since 1997 with their mobile Test IT Tracks. Prior to the E-Bike Expo, ExtraEnergy hosted the “The Circuit presented by Shimano” at Interbike in 2015. Interbike is the largest bicycle trade show in the U.S. and is held at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas Nevada. Find out more at ElectricBike-Expo.com.