You may have heard about a rise in popularity for e-bikes and wondered if an e-bike might be right for you.

Well, we sent Rick Sullivan, who is an avid cyclist himself, to go check it out.

[cheerful music] - [Rick] Walking with the family and dogs used to be a daily ritual for Kim Desselle of Cary, but this wife and mother of two suffers from increasingly reduced mobility due to painful psoriatic arthritis.

Good news though, walking has given way to a less inflammatory method of exercise, bike riding.

- [Speaker] Good form, good form.

- [Rick] Specifically an electric bike.

- I used to walk for exercise every day.

Where I have my arthritis the most is in my feet and attacks my joints, my ankles, and my heels primarily.

So I'm not able to walk anymore.

But since I wanted to exercise and he's a cyclist, he had the idea of getting an e-bike to help me try to exercise and stay active.

- [Rick] Kim's husband, Gary, routinely trains alone at high speeds and long distances.

But with this e-bike, Kim can now join him for some of those rides.

Her bike can reach speeds of up to 28 miles per hour with pedal assistance.

It can also go as fast as 20 miles per hour with only a throttle, no need for her to pedal.

- It's worked better than I thought it was gonna work.

I didn't think I would like it at first.

I was a little nervous about how fast it might go, but it's been great.

We've been able to spend time together, which is fun, doing something that he loves.

I'm learning to love cycling now.

I used to like it and I'm able to get the exercise I need since I can't walk anymore.

- I was anti electric bikes until I got on one and now seeing her on it and what she can do versus before, I could say I get it now.

She's able to keep up where she would struggle before and have a hard time with just getting up the small hills that we encounter on some of the trails around here.

And now she just hits them no problem and usually goes a little faster than I do and I found myself having to keep up with her.

- [Rick] E-bike capabilities are divided into categories.

The most popular e-bikes are classes two and three.

Class two e-bikes can throttle or pedal assist up to 20 miles per hour.

Class three bikes can hit 28 miles per hour with pedal assist.

E-bikes are typically heavier than conventional bikes, but their capabilities for on-road and off-road riding can be just as diverse as the unpowered bikes.

- [Kim] I've been on the greenways.

I've been a little bit in some dirt, on the bridges, on the roads, sidewalks, and it has handled all of the terrain beautifully.

It just goes over everything.

- I didn't expect the level of quality.

There's a nice interface that it came with.

Nice lights, brake lights, so she's visible for out a little bit close to dark, and the battery charges pretty quickly.

- I think one of the first myths is that every e-bike has a throttle on it and you can sort of ride it like a scooter, but that's in fact the minority of products we sell have a throttle option.

- [Rick] One of the many e-bike dealers in North Carolina is eBike Central in Greensboro.

This is one of the few sellers in the southeastern United States that deals exclusively with e-bikes.

The showroom here at eBike Central keeps a healthy variety of e-bikes in stock and customers are encouraged to sample.

- Because so many people have not seen the product before, you're simply not gonna buy it if you can't see and test it.

We try to have a variety of models, also sizes, and some of the different components or accessories so people can get a feel for the e-bikes in general by seeing and testing maybe a few bikes.

And then we can always order a bike if they don't find something here in the store.

- [Rick] But you can find a bike for pretty much anyone who is willing to consider the many possibilities it could be used for.

- We think a compact bikes being the smallest with smaller wheels that even fold.

So we've had bikes fit in airplanes, vans, buses, RVs and boats.

Then we get into something like a cargo bike that can carry up to five or 600 pounds and up to three children.

Another category would be off-road bikes if you want to go mountain biking.

Then the most common category would be urban bikes, anything with fenders and a rack that can be sort of general use either for errand running or just going out and having fun and getting exercise or commuting.

- [Rick] The concept and feel of pedal assistance is hard to describe, but it's a good feeling.

eBike Central store manager Eric Jackson was a college bike racer before he was exposed to e-bikes.

He could produce plenty of wattage on his own, but he still digs riding an e-bike.

- How it felt for me the first time riding one of these bikes, it felt like I was like four or five when you're first riding without training wheels and that helper, you know, my dad pushing me along.

- [Rick] It's a subtle thing, sometimes even hard to know if it's working until you bump the control up to the next level and get a little extra help.

It's also easy to turn off the assistance and go it alone for an old fashioned ride, but why would you do that when you can do this?

[bikes whirring] - There are dozens of quality bike shops selling e-bikes in North Carolina.

eBike Central is one of the few that deals exclusively with e-bikes and their showroom is at 400 State Street in Greensboro.

You can find them online at ebikecentral.net or give them a call at 888-876-6473.