I bought a second hand bike and attached a Solar Bike kit to it and now it’s is so exciting and fun. It has breathed new life into my working days. I have a 12km ride to work with a few mean hills in the morning and a shocker long climb in the afternoon. I could do it on my normal bike but it took over 35 mins and I arrived home in the evening pretty exhausted at a time when I needed to have lots of energy to get dinner ready for my family etc . It wasn’t really a viable alternative to the car.
With my Solar Bike the whole commute is fantastic. I am out in the open, making great time, zooming past all the cars stuck in traffic jams and the occasional lycra-lad and I can go door to door – no time and petrol wasted going round in circles searching for that elusive car park. It is such a great way to get around. Since I have the extra help from the motor to get me up hills I am not so concerned about carrying excess weight and have added a big carrier basket to the bike that fits my hand bag and lap top etc, while my lithium battery is disguised in its own custom made box inside an old pannier bag.
While I was very nervous about making such a large purchase over the net, Matthew could not have been more helpful. While I was doing all my research he was happy to answer numerous questions. When I placed the order it arrived in very good time and even though I had a few teething problems Matthew was very quick to help. Now my Solar Bike (‘Travelling Mac’) and I are a well-oiled team. Every day when I get home I plug in the charger and its all ready and waiting to go again the next day. No problems, just all the enjoyment that comes with riding without any of the drawbacks.
From Lil in Canberra July 2010