Panasonic's Lithium Vivi RX-10S electric bike does regenerative braking

We're still a bit unconvinced about this whole "using our own energy to induce motion" thing, but if you got restless leg or some other siren call to the bicycle, the Lithium Vivi RX-10S seems the way to go. Panasonic is launching the bike in Japan this August, and stuffed in some fancy hybrid car-style regenerative braking to set it apart from the pack (though Sanyo does have something similar). There are four levels of assistance electric motor assistance, which means you're probably going to end up peddling now and then, but the bike's range with regenerative braking to power a secondary battery is almost 78 miles, compared to 56 miles without it. You'll obviously benefit more if you have a lot of hills and "stop and go" type stuff on your commute, but that's certainly nothing to scoff at.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 20th 2008 2:09AM]

I've worked as a bike mechanic on and off for a couple of decades and commuted by bike for 25 years. Over that time I've commuted on everything from fixed wheels and svelte road bikes to a 70 year old shopping bike.
When living in China I saw lots and lots of electric bikes ridden by folks much poorer than me and, I'd hazard a guess, you.
While masculine hubris dictated that I ride to work in the 40 degree centigrade summers, I didn't begrudge hard working locals their electric motors. Here are 3 construction workers using 1 electric motor to get to the job:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24202979@N06/2841306738/
Ma and Pa are on the electric moped, giving their buddy a tow.
Yeah, the Panasonic is at the high end of the market, but it's still a lot cheaper than a Hummer.
Peace.

[johnsaxon Posted Jul 8th 2008 11:18PM]

You guys may want to do some peddling on your bike, like selling t-shirts or something. But I always prefer pedaling...you know, like when your foot is pushing on a pedal. JS