pressure fell 10 points in the first six months he owned the bike , he says . The Felches do n't exactly classify themselves as `` environmentalists , '' although Mary said it is important to have a positive effect on the planet . `` I learned that the worst amount of smog that you put out -LSB- in an automobile -RSB- is in the first mile , so if we can make even some of those shorter trips on our bicycles , it makes a big difference , '' she says . Who wants one ? Brent Meyers , director of sales for Ultra Motor US , says electric bikes attract different types of buyers . Many are looking to make a green imprint . Some are `` active adults '' who have ridden bicycles for years who -- as they get older -- are unable to do the same kind of riding they did when they were young . Other buyers want to ride their bikes to work quickly -- and avoid a sweaty entrance into the office . Oddly -- or perhaps not -- Ultra Motor US sees its strongest sales when the price of oil skyrockets
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Keith Felch is admittedly a big guy , but more than a few super-fit cyclists in Southern California have been left wondering how that dude just went flying by . Keith Felch calls his electric bike a `` hill eraser '' because he can ride it to work without breaking a sweat . And then his wife , Mary , comes motoring past . `` They stare , like how can a girl go past me , '' she says , laughing . It takes the other riders a few seconds but then they figure it out . They have electric motors . The Felches , who live in Aliso Viejo , California , used to drive everywhere , except when they used their bikes for recreation . That changed when they got their new e-bikes , made by a company called Optibike . Now , they ride to go shopping and to go to breakfast -- but mostly they ride to work . Keith Felch says the couple has cut 50 percent of their car-use since they started electric biking . And there are other benefits . Keith Felch dropped 30 pounds and his blood