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e is for effortless hill rides.
Meet Esti. An e.bike e.revolutionary.

 

Esti and her e.bike

When Esti moved to Auckland from Amsterdam she was keen to keep commuting by bike, “Where I’m from cycling is a big part of our culture. There are more bikes than people”.

But she soon realised that Auckland’s hilly terrain meant riding a traditional pushbike would be a sweaty start to the day “I’d need to shower at work, which would be a hassle”.

So she dismissed the idea and looked at driving. But with parking costs as steep as some of the hills, she couldn’t make the maths work. “I’m a researcher at the University of Auckland, based at Auckland Hospital and the options around Grafton are really expensive – $15 a day adds up to thousands a year”.

Still on the hunt for a solution Esti took the bus, but the timings didn’t always work with her morning routine “It could take up to 50 minutes each way and any delays were stressful when I had important meetings.”

So, pushbike too sweaty, carparking too expensive, bus ride too long. What’s a girl to do? Her goldilocks moment came when her flatmate got a new e.bike.

Her flatmate’s enthusiasm for his electric wheels was compelling. Then Esti found out about the Mercury customer discount on e.bikes with Big Street Bikers. So she took the plunge and Joined The Electric Revolution.

“I have been e.biking to work for almost a year now. My flatmate was right. It’s a wonderful way to start the day.”

Although Auckland isn’t as bike-centric as Amsterdam, Esti feels more confident on her e.bike than a pushbike. “Having the extra power makes it easier to flow with traffic. Because you are faster, car drivers don’t try to overtake on hills, quite as much.”

Not only does Esti arrive at work cool, calm and collected with more money in her wallet she also arrives better rested. “I can get to work in 20 minutes now” so that means she can hit the snooze button for more duvet time “an absolute win for someone who’s not a morning person”. Sweet dreams Esti. After your long search for the perfect commute, you deserve a wonderful lie-in.


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