Trying before buying is a common tip for people considering an e-bike. They can range in price from $2,000 to $9,000 and require a lifestyle adjustment.
Community Pedal Power, a nonprofit founded in 2023 by Cambridge-Somerville area bike advocates, has a backyard e-bike library with 30 vehicles ready to borrow for free, including commuter-style bikes and folding bikes for solo trips. Family and cargo bikes are the focus – front-loader and long-tail bikes that seat up to four children.
Which is better for a family often comes down to details such as storage space or personal preference, and a loan lets people see how the vehicles integrate into their lives.
“The biggest thing I always tell people is: Try things out,” said Christopher Schmidt, president of Community Pedal Power.
Borrowers can try a bike for up to one week, taking casual rides, commuting and making grocery runs. Many of the cargo bikes come with kids’ seats installed, a benefit many bike shops can’t offer.
Having completed more than 1,300 loans, the library has helped fuel 400 to 500 purchases, Schmidt estimated.
Pickup process
The library has pickup locations in Somerville near Porter Square and in Roslindale near Roslindale Village. A librarian will bring borrowers through the details of each bike, from how to shift gears and adjust seats to how a model differs from any you’ve tried before.
Pickups are kid-friendly. The Porter Square location has toys and trinkets to entertain children while parents ask questions.
The Porter Square directs pickups toward Saturdays, but there’s flexibility. June to October is peak lending season, and most bikes have at least a small waitlist; a borrower scheduling a pickup for Sunday evening frees up a bike for someone else to try for a day, Schmidt said.
“I really enjoyed it. My kids are already asking me, ‘When are we going to have this bike forever?’” said Sahil Gulati, who was returning a bike. He had done a school drop-off with the whole household aboard a single bike: Gulati, his wife, their two kids and a dog. “We were a spectacle,” he said.
Best-in-class bikes
The library can’t stock every bike, but has what it considers the best option in each category – and multiples of the same long-tail, even though there are other budget models, because it’s the one the library recommends, Schmidt said. The library has cargo bike models by Bunch, Urban Arrow and Tern.
The library keeps up to date on recommendations as bikes are released and stocks models that are available for purchase, so borrowers can be confident they’re not falling in love with a bike they can no longer buy, Schmidt said.
To boost accessibility and capabilities on budget bikes, Community Pedal Power creates 3D-printed parts. “This is all part of Community Pedal Power’s effort to solve all the needs someone has to keep biking in summer, in winter, and to answer any questions that would keep them from doing that,” Schmidt said.
Safe streets
In addition to the e-bike lending library, Community Pedal Power hosts the Boston Bike Bus, which organizes rides to schools that gets kids participating in active transportation; cargo bike test drive events, including one last summer that drew 150 people; and Family Bike Rides, which show safe routes to popular destinations and draw 300 to 400 people. The next Family Bike Ride is July 12 from Belmont High School to Cambridge Common.
“We’re all one big, happy family. The goal is to get more people on bikes,” Schmidt said.
Safe infrastructure is essential, though. “Often those routes are 95 percent safe but have two blocks that are really bad, so you can’t take the route,” Schmidt said. “If you could just close that gap, it would work.”
North of the Charles, work remains but a buildout of safe infrastructure continues. Somerville recently broke ground on the Shore Drive Greenway and has a concept design for Somerville Avenue between Elm and Bow streets. Cambridge recently had a close 5-4 vote to keep Garden Street one-way with separated bike lanes in each direction; bike advocates say the alternative would have led to people blocking the lanes.
Boston has paused or canceled street safety projects, though, as reported by Streetsblog, and it’s frustrating to Schmidt to see the city step back. “Promises were made that have not been kept, and people have made purchasing decisions and where-they-live decisions based on that,” he said. “As more kids are on bikes, which is better for active transportation, the environment and in a lot of ways everyone, it’s really important that we protect them and make sure they have a good experience.”
Overall, said Jessica Schmidt, Christopher Schmidt’s wife and a volunteer at the nonprofit, “there’s lots more infrastructure now because people want it, and that’s going to be a very valuable thing not just now but 10 years from now, when those kids are 15 and want to go to a movie or go around with their friends.”
To borrow a bike, get in contact with Community Pedal Power through the interest form on its website.
Bike activities calendar
Boston Cafe Bikers (recurring). A ride from East Somerville to Farmer’s Horse Coffee on Massachusetts Avenue in Boston at 11 a.m. Saturday. Free. Register on Partiful.
Cambridge On-Road Skills Workshop. Designed for adults who know how to ride but want to build confidence for safety on city streets. At 10 a.m. July 2 at Sennott Park, Broadway at Norfolk Street, near Central Square, Cambridge. Future workshops are July 9 and July 11. Free.
Family Bike Ride. This sixth annual event is 9:30 a.m. July 12 with community, a safe, curated ride, playground, ice cream, crafts stations, face painting, nail painting, bubbles and outdoor play equipment. Parents must accompany children at all times. Donations encouraged.
About The Author
