Our favourite bike to electrify of course is one we have designed ourselves from high-quality parts and suits a specialised electric kit (the fixi kit). This is a fixed wheel bicycle, it is a great looking bike and can be purchased and used with or without an electric kit. It has a single fixed gear, there is a free wheel sprocket on one side of the wheel and a fixed wheel sprocket on the other side so the bike can be ridden in any mode. All the best components we could find have been used and the design is completely our own - rush brakes, reinforced frame to suit the electric kit, wide flange rims, velo seat and handle grips. This bicycle is very streamlined, funky and fast. With the electric kit all the deficits of a single gear are taken care of and this becomes a super commuting machine. This fixi bicycle can only be purchased from the Cottesloe Cycles shop (see dealers page for details). The bicycle sells for $890 and delivery Australia wide is an additional $60. The matching electric fixi kit can only be purchased from solar bike ($800) and has a 200W to 350W inter-convertible motor with a light weight high power density battery designed into the shape of a water bottle. See the picture of a similar bike on the electric bicycle page to envisage the kit on this bicycle. The electric fixi can also be bought as an assembled electric bike from Cottesloe Cycles for $1780. At the time of writing, the above picture is the last remaining Solar Bike Fixi model in stock until approximately November 2010, please contact the shop directly if you would like to purchase this bicycle and contact me on 0404 695 106 (Matthew) if you want the specialised electric kit to match it.

Any bicycle in the price range of approximately $400 - $500 is usually suitable for conversion. In general, you should aim for a good quality bicycle that is neither too cheap or expensive. Cheap bicycles will break down with the extra weight and strain and expensive bicycles are made to be light weight so are not ideal. It is highly recommended to have steel forks, especially when fitting a 350W or 500W kit. The high motor torque can result in the fork tips snapping off if a soft alloy or carbon fibre forks are used. An easy test is to get a magnet and make sure it sticks to your forks, the stickier the better. Mountains bikes generally have 26 inch rims while road or hybrid bikes generally have 700c rims, ensure that you match the correct kit to the rim size of the bike - this should be written on the side of your tyre.

When using your electric bicycle you should ride with extra care, both towards the traffic and to your bicycle. You will be adding approximately 10 kg to the bicycle with the motor and battery combination so you have to be careful not to jump off gutters too quickly and slow down when riding over rough terrain. Traffic is always a problem but in a way you will be safer because you will not be dangerously overtaken nearly as often. However, you will also be riding at a reasonably faster average speed and cars do not expect this.