Speed and road grade dynamics of urban trips on electric and conventional bicycles

Electric-assist bicycles (e-bikes) allow cyclists to travel at higher speeds and climb hills with less effort. Beyond average speed differences, little is known about the unique travel dynamics of e-bikes. The objective of this study is to examine systematic differences in speed and road grade dynamics between electric and conventional bicycle trips. Data were collected for 1451 utilitarian bicycle trips in Vancouver, Canada (10% on e-bikes). A subset of conventional bicycle trips were matched to the age, gender, purpose, and terrain characteristics of the e-bike sample. Biking schedules were constructed to represent the archetypal speed and grade dynamics of each set of trips. Results show that in addition to higher speeds, e-bike trips have significantly greater speed dynamics, substantially increasing the motive power and energy required for e-bike travel. Speed and grade dynamics are important aspects of microscopic cycling behaviour, with applications including vehicle design, facility design, and health evaluation.

电动助力自行车（electric-assist bicycles, e-bikes）可使骑行者以更高速度行进，且更省力地完成爬坡。相较于二者在平均速度上的差异，目前针对电动自行车独特的出行动态特性仍知之甚少。本研究旨在探究电动自行车与传统自行车出行在速度及道路坡度动态特性上的系统性差异。研究收集了加拿大温哥华地区1451次实用型自行车出行数据（其中10%为电动自行车出行），并选取一组传统自行车出行样本，使其在骑行者年龄、性别、出行目的以及出行地形特征上与电动自行车样本匹配。针对每一类出行，研究构建了可表征其典型速度与坡度动态特性的骑行工况。结果表明，电动自行车出行不仅速度更高，其速度动态特性也显著更强，这大幅提升了电动自行车出行所需的驱动力与能耗。速度与坡度动态特性是微观骑行行为的重要研究维度，其应用场景涵盖车辆设计、骑行设施设计以及健康评估等领域。