Category: Electric bike

  • Catching up- Paper Bicycle and other links

    Catching up- Paper Bicycle and other links

    I had quite a bit to post last week, but I was way too busy with work to think about the blog. Today, I want to catch up a bit and pass along a few of the links that I have meaning to share recently. The Paper Bicycle, designed by Nick Lobnitz, was recently exhibited…

  • Fast Forward powered pedals

    Fast Forward powered pedals

    Stephen Britt is one of three finalists in the UK based Barclays ‘Take One Small Step competition’, where he could win £50,000 to develop his idea into a business. His “Fast Forward” entry, the only cycling related product in the contest, is a pair of electric assist pedals. Stephen explains the idea behind his e-pedals:…

  • Shimano STEPS group for e-bikes

    Shimano STEPS group for e-bikes

    The Shimano Total Electric Power System, aka STEPS, is due to be launched at Eurobike in September. Bike Radar has a first look at the group, which includes a 250W electric motor and a 24V/4.0Ah lithium-ion battery that can be charged by regenerative braking. The 8-speed internally geared hub is operated by electronic shift buttons,…

  • Transport+ from Trek’s Gary Fisher Collection

    Transport+ from Trek’s Gary Fisher Collection

    There was a good bit of interest in the Gary Fisher El Ranchero longtail bike when I posted it in 2008. Though the El Ranchero was presented at Trek World ’08 as only a concept bike, Gary himself commented at the time saying, “we will make a long bike, E bike? RIGHT on!” Well… that…

  • Mechanical doping and the future of e-bikes

    Mechanical doping and the future of e-bikes

    I posted about lightweight e-bike designs back in April. At the time, I jokingly remarked in a discussion group on LinkedIn that, “the way I am riding this spring, I could use a little electric boost to bridge the gap in the local Tuesday night training rides”. I may have been kidding, but apparently I…

  • E-bikes from Lexus and VW

    E-bikes from Lexus and VW

    Bicycles from automakers are nothing new. Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ferrari, and BMW are just a few of the car companies that have offered bikes in the past. Some of the designs are better than others, but usually they are really just relabeled bikes that were designed and manufactured by another company. In many cases, the bicycles…

  • E-bikes for “red ocean” cyclists

    E-bikes for “red ocean” cyclists

    I post about e-bikes from time to time, and I am definitely a fan of the category. I believe that urban oriented e-bikes, like the Sanyo Eneloop, have potential to get more people riding, and that is definitely a good thing. Longtails and cargo bikes are another type of bike that I really think could…

  • City Cycle concept bike

    City Cycle concept bike

    I am back from a short family vacation, so I am extra busy today trying to catch up on some work. I want to quickly passing along a reader submitted design before the weekend, but first I will point you to Eric Stoddard’s commentary on Mark Sanders’ presentation at the Bicycle Design Trend Forum, which…

  • Sanyo eneloop e-bike at CES

    You have probably seen the Sanyo eneloop bike quite a few times in the past year, both on this blog and at other sites. Though it was making news on the web long before, the pedal assist hybrid e-bike, which offers regenerative braking and coasting, was officially unveiled to the US bike market at Interbike…

  • Joules, the electric stoker

    I talked a bit about electric bikes in my last post, so today I will share a different take on that subject. Meet Joules, the stoker on Carl’s home built electric tandem. Carl challenged himself by asking, “Could I build an electric tandem based on actually pumping the pedals?” The result is a design that…

  • Eurobike and nouveau penny-farthings

    Believe it or not, show season 2009 is already underway with Eurobike taking place this week in Friedrichshafen, Germany. CyclingNews already has several tech articles from the show online (here, here, and here). It is probably no surprise that super light bikes and components and smarter electronic gadgets will be big at the show this…

  • Folders, e-bikes, bent-ply and more

    Well… the 2009 Tour de France just wrapped up yesterday and I am already starting to experience withdrawals. No more live feeds or up to the minute tweets to follow each morning…how am I going to get by? It was an exciting Tour to watch this year, but now I can move on to some…

  • BTWD, Di2, and more

    Whew… it has been a very long day! I left my house at 5:00 AM to ride downtown and help set up for Greenville’s Bike to Work Day breakfast/ festivities. I was concerned about attendance due to overnight storms, but I think our BTWD event went pretty well. We had a nice ride led by…

  • Bamboo Bike studio and assorted links

    I have definitely been a bit behind in keeping up with the blog lately. In the last couple weeks, I have bookmarked quite a few links, and received several good tips from readers, but I just haven’t had the time to pass along. Tonight, I want to quickly a share a few of those links…

  • Zoomla folding bike

    Many of you will recognize the name Eric Stoddard. He is the guy who recently wrote three excellent guest posts here at Bicycle Design about his impressions of the Taipei Bicycle Show. Eric has an interesting new design that he just added to his website. It is a small-wheeled, lever-driven folding bike called the Zoomla.…

  • GM/ Segway P.U.M.A.

    I am sure that you have all seen the Segway P.U.M.A. (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility) vehicle by now. The vehicle, which is basically a seated position Segway with an enclosed shell, integrated wireless navigation technology, and a top speed of 35 mph, is slated for development by General Motors in the next few years.…

  • The Sanyo Eneloop electric bike and more

    It has been a crazy week for me so far and I don’t foresee a slow down in the next couple of days. I will be leaving for a 2 week long business trip next week, so I have a lot to do in the office and at home before I hit the road (or…

  • Less bikes in China?

    Well, I don’t really know if there are less bikes overall or not, but I do want to point out an observation from this trip. On past trips to China, I have posted several shots of various bikes on the street, including pictures of hundreds of bikes outside of factories that I have visited. Don’t…