The Japanese love-affair with bikes

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Given the cutting-edge technology found in Japan you could be forgiven for thinking the humble bicycle had been left behind. Far from it; the bicycle is much less an eco fashion accessory, more a way of life. Dotted about Tokyo are scores of bicycles piled up in 'bike parks'. Street corners and shops are often swamped with swathes of illegally parked bicycles, and local authorities are struggling to keep them in check.

Just as companies such as Toyota and Honda are committed to creating 'greener' cars, so too are the Japanese to making even greener bikes. Unlike London, a large proportion of bicycles in Tokyo have small electric motors. This is largely because old ladies use them as a sort of giant shopping basket, ferrying vast amounts of food between the supermarket and their home.

Not content with the tiny amount of pollution produced by an electric bicycle, Japanese company Sanyo has taken up the challenge of producing a greener bike. They have made use of their fantastic Eneloop rechargeable battery technology to produce highly efficient bikes powered by long-range batteries.

The SP series make use of a sort of hybrid technology similar to that powering the Toyota Prius. Essentially the rider plays the role of the petrol engine, with the battery taking up the majority of the effort. The result is the rider still keeps fit, providing 30 per cent of the energy required to get the bike moving, with the electric motor doing the rest.

The Eneloop technology means that the bicycles have a huge range; nearly 40km per 210 minute charge.

<SNIP>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/7378117/The-Japanese-love-affair-with-bikes.html