E-bike technology, particularly the batteries, is improving. “Batteries are getting smaller, they’re getting lighter, they’re getting more reliable and they are lasting longer,” says Don DiCostanza, the founder and CEO of Pedego, an electric bikemaker and retailer. Companies like Bosch, the German electronics giant, and Shimano, the leading manufacturer of bicycle gears, are entering the business, which should help erode resistance from bike shops. “This has really caught the attention and the imagination of bicycle dealers,” says Currie’s Larry Pizzi. Pedego and startup ElectroBike aren’t waiting for the shops to come around; they are building their own stores. In the meantime, lobbying efforts are underway to permit the use of e-bikes everywhere. Perhaps most importantly, as more cities build cycling infrastructure, including dedicated bike lanes, bicycle commuting has become more popular. As the US Census Bureau reported in 2014, the number of bike commuters grew from about 488,000 in 2000 to 786,000 in 2012. That’s a “larger percentage increase than that of any other commuting mode,” the report notes. Electric bikes make commuting more practical – and fun – by easing worry about hills, headwinds, fatigue and sweat. Most of our customers are “ageing baby boomers who want to rekindle the experience they had as a kid,” says Pedego’s Don