My Bicycle – once a tortoise now a hare!
Over the weekend, I installed an electric conversion kit that I had purchased from SOLAR BIKE onto my 15 year old Trek hybrid. The motor is 200watt and powered by a 36V lithium battery. This combination should allow me a top speed of 30+km/hr with the battery lasting for around 50kms before it needs to be recharged.
I have ridden it to work for the last couple of days and I can report that it has turned my bike into a rocketship! I am arriving at work in half the time it normally takes and no longer in a lather of sweat. I seem to be able to use a higher gear overall even without the assistance of the motor because I can use the motor as I am starting to pedal to get me up to a good speed which I can maintain with further blasts from the motor as required. There is a little more friction with the motor off, but in reality it is not really an issue.
There is a hell hill just before my home that I have been forced to push the bike up as my usual strategy of zig zagging up does not do the job. With the electric motor, I can get all the way up without too much trouble albeit in the lowest ratio.
So it has made making the decision to use the bicycle a far more viable proposition and I am still getting plenty of exercise. Highly recommended