unused, with the bike battery plugged into the bike, the e-bike battery
will be slightly less charged if a rider comes back to the bike after
several days of non-usage, and after about 10 days of non-use, the
bike battery will be empty. After taking a break in using the e-bike
(e.g. due to holidays or illness), a trial participant has to recharge
the bike battery before taking the first ride. Alternatively, trial
participants can remove the bike battery from the e-bike, and plug
it back on the bike when resuming use (when the battery is not
connected to the bike, the SEMS cannot run it down). Trial
participants are made aware of this battery behaviour, and how it
differs from an off-the shelf e-bike. The vast majority of trial
participants are very happy to compromise battery life in return for
the ease of data collection. However, post-trial, many trial
participants also report that they would find full battery life very
useful if they were to own an e-bike themselves.
One of the unintended benefits of the SEMS became apparent
when one of the e-bikes was reported stolen by a trial participant
and the location of the bike could be determined by the researchers
via the online interface. After consultation with the police the e-bike
could be safely retrieved. The use of locational data for bicycle
safety is important for private owners and for fleet bikes.