Comments on: Motorized long bikes

By: Stop the excuses! « Pedego Electric Bikes Blog

Stop the excuses! « Pedego Electric Bikes Blog — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 23:47:32 +0000

[...] from some of the brilliant simplicity that makes it the tool of choice for many bike commuters. Electricity and cargo capacity add cost, maintenance requirements, size and complexity to your transportation solution. The [...]

By: reb1

reb1 — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:14:31 +0000

I have looked at several options for power assist on our tandem. During the first 12 years of our marriage we used it to haul the children in carts and do the errands and shopping. We are know back to the point where this is more practical. The stokemonkey is underpowered for two people and a cargo cart. I am looking at the EcoSpeed if I choose electric. It is allot cheaper to go with a gas motor. I am considering a cargo cart that has a gas motor and brakes on it. Lightfoot cycles makes these. I would like to travel cross country and this may be a better choice for the tandem when hauling two or more weeks of groceries or camping out.

By: Tools for Normalizing the Bike Commute | Commute by Bike

Tools for Normalizing the Bike Commute | Commute by Bike — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:43:35 +0000

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:31:00 +0000

electric, yes - specifically, hybrid, where the motor kicks in in response to torque rather than throttle. gas, no.

why? every state I've looked into distinguishes IC-driven from electric/human powered bikes and nowhere is IC legal to operate on MUPs (multi-use paths), sidewalks, or even in some cases, bike lanes on roadways.

and here in the PNW, hydro & wind power means, yes, you can buy clean battery charging. so, look again at Todd Fahrmer's StokeMonkey and an Xtracycle and skip that third-world two-stroke b.s. (those little two-stroke weed-whackers pump out more pollutants than any new car sold in the last decade or two).

By: bikesgonewild

bikesgonewild — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:59:00 +0000

…post script: james…interesting that you happened to put this up on the day that chevy’s “volt” was introduced…

By: bikesgonewild

bikesgonewild — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:05:00 +0000

…reader bob & -p have some good points…tempered somewhat by c's truthful comments, but yes, dolan is quite right also, in that 4 stroke engines can be both efficient & yet baffled (muffler-ed)…

…& ultimately, electric is still costly & not pollution free…the cost & waste just come at a different point "in the cycle", if you will…

…& jimmythefly…i used to laugh at the "need" for electric assist…'til i rode one…

…sitting bolt upright, in casual clothes, on my way down for a pot of tea…the hard-core boys on their 'nagos were looking stressed out 'cuz this old guy just should not have been sitting at the end of the group…hard on their ego's & i guess just not proper…eh, what ???…

By: jimmythefly

jimmythefly — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:53:00 +0000

Who makes those front-wheel electric assist motors? Basically you just replace your current front wheel with this one and add a battery pack to your rear rack. A few days ago I was wondering why I kept getting dropped by some guy sitting bolt upright on a full-suspension Kmart bike with knobby tires, and it turns out he had an electric motor in the front hub! Not that I’m racing on my commute….I always ride this fast..swear…

By: dolan

dolan — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:01:00 +0000

@C:

You're thinking of two stroke motors. Modern four strokes are actually quite quiet and clean, but also heavier, more complicated, and more expensive.

As far as Stokemonkey setup being more expensive.. yes, the market is tiny and Todd is pretty much putting together those kits by hand. Give it a few years; I expect in the next ten we'll see a range of electric scooters hitting the market, an expansion of the electric bike market, and lots of things in between.

By: C

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:47:00 +0000

A small gas engine could be good though I can think of a few negatives:
1) Noise. Most of the small engines I've seen are noisy. Really noisy - louder than a car. Lawnmowers, weed whackers, scooters, compressors, etc. Do they make small yet quiet engines?

2) Vehicle regulations/licensing. If you stick a gas motor on a bicycle does it start to qualify as a scooter/motorcycle when it comes to licensing/insurance requirements? I know that can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

3) Smell. Again, most of the small gas motors I've seen tend to belch nasty fumes.

I'll plead ignorance to the current state of technology with regards to small gas engines. Some sort of assist mechanism combined with a long bike would be a great form of urban transportation. My other concern would be cost. A Surly Big Dummy with a Stoke Monkey can end up costing more than a decent used motor scooter. I just checked my local Craigslist and there's a bunch of used Yamaha and Honda scooters for under $2000.

By: m e l i g r o s a

m e l i g r o s a — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:25:00 +0000

i think these are interesting, although could be a bit noisy. I don’t think I’d ride one, but I could see my mom jumping on one of these. Of course per-her preference, with a cruiser style saddle for sure.