Since buying my electric bike, people have asked me, “Why didn't you just buy a car? a scooter? a regular bike?” Having now owned my electric bike for 3 months, I thought I'd share the advantages over these three alternatives for anyone curious. Of course, my experience has to do with some particulars that aren't going to apply to everyone else, but I think most of my points aren't going to stray too wildly from person to person. See disclaimers and specs at the end of this article.

My Top Five reasons an e-bike is better than a car:

1. SO MUCH CHEAPER. My bike costs about $0.07 an hour to recharge the battery, $0.35 to charge from completely empty to completely full. Let's say I did a complete charge every day (which I never do, but let's be extreme) for the whole year. That's $128 a year. The bike shop quotes me no more than $100 a year in maintenance.According to AAA's 2010 report, owning a car can cost an average of $5500 to $9500 dollars per year with gas, finance costs, basic maintenance, insurance, registration, license fees, and parking fees. Buying an electric bike (mine was $1200, but 800-6000 is common) could pay for itself in a year if you used it regularly, and especially if you gave up your car completely.

2. GREENER. Even though most electricity comes from coal plants, an e-bike's carbon footprint is minimal compared to the exhaust of a conventional car. L.A. alone emits 730 tons of carbon dioxide per year just by people circling the parking lot for prime spaces.

3. LOWER STRESS. Driving is stressful, especially in town. Traffic jams, crowded lane changing, intersections, endless traffic lights, honking, and construction detours-yikes. Bikes let you get some air, some sun, and usually lend themselves to taking the scenic route. You don't have to search for parking, you can zip to the front of a traffic light line, and take backroads away from traffic jams.

4. EQUAL SPEED OR FASTER. My roommate and I left the grocery store parking lot at the same time, her in her car, me on my electric bike, to see who would get home first. She arrived one minute ahead of me. And most of that was residential, had we come from downtown, I would have put money on beating her.

5. STILL TOTE YOUR STUFF. If you're not moving refrigerators you'd be amazed what you can transport by bike. All you need is a bike trailer and you're hauling groceries, kids, dogs, etc. The extra power on those hills really comes in handy in such scenarios.

My Top Five reasons an e-bike is better than a scooter:

1. DODGE THE RED TAPE. A scooter requires a special license, registration and insurance.

2. ESCAPE THE TRAFFIC. Scooters are treated as cars, they cannot use bike lanes, bike paths, or ride past waiting cars at traffic lights.

3. ESCAPE THE NOISE AND SMELL: Personally I've heard enough weed wackers, mowers, and leaf blowers, to forever burn me out on that motor sound. I LOVE that my bike is essentially silent, and has no exhaust to blow in the face of the person behind me.

4. CHEAPER AND GREENER. Scooters take gas, e-bikes don't.

5. RIDE WITH YOUR FRIENDS. Scooter riders can't maintain conversations while riding due to the noise and the tendency to follow high traffic routes. All my friends ride bikes. A scooter wouldn't fit in so well, but an e-bike is unnoticed.

My Top Five reasons an e-bike is better than a bike:

1. EASE THE KNEES: I bought this e-bike because of bad knees. I had been riding for almost 10 years, I wanted to keep the cycling lifestyle but my body wasn't having it. Praise e-bikes for those of us whose physical conditions are limiting factors! This for me is the ultimate reason why an e-bike is better than a regular bike. It's not as green, but given my options, it's as green as I can get.

2. EQUIVALENT IN COST? Yes, you pay money to recharge the battery, but when I rode a normal bike I was ravenous. I needed energy to fuel all those rides. I don't know that I could prove that the cost of recharging my battery matches the cost I'm saving by not eating as much, but I bet it's comparable. As for cost of the bike itself, my ebike was $1200. I know many regular bikes thousands more than that.

3. MORE ENERGY WHEN YOU GET THERE: All the benefits of a bike, without the exhaustion. I am much more motivated to go somewhere after work if I don't have to factor in how tired I'll be from biking. E-biking to a hiking spot lets me hike farther when I get there and just enjoy resting on the ride home.

4. a) YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE LAZY: You can still exercise. Many people use the power just to help them on the tough spots. And if ever the thought of those hills pushes you to drive the car instead of biking, e-biking might offer the perfect exercise compromise.

    b) LAZY HAS IT'S PLUSSES TOO. I e-biked to work today in a pencil skirt. 'Nuff said.

5. BIKE EVEN WHEN YOU'RE UNDER THE WEATHER: When I would get sick I used to borrow a car from a friend or take the bus because my body or throat were in no condition to ride. Now I can zoom to work without worrying that I'm being too hard on myself.

For all these reasons, I highly recommend the electric bike.

Disclaimers: Different laws apply to different states and different electric bikes. My experience and their advantages apply to an e-bike with the following specifications:

My electric bike is actually a regular bike ($600, Motobecane mountain bike with disc brakes) converted with a kit ($1200, 350W E-Bike Kit with a Lithium Ion battery). Each charge lasts about 20 miles.

My ebike is a TAG (Touch and Go, as opposed to Pedal Assist) system and has a top speed of 20mph on flat ground. I weigh about 135lbs, the bike 30lb, and the kit 30lbs also, which includes the removable battery (8lb).

Photo credit: me!