I always have loved cycling but when I moved to ‘hilly’ Hobart the terrain took the fun out of it somewhat. Every now and then I would cycle to work and back home but I hated the steep hills on the way and so I used my bike less and less. I always thought that it would be great to have a little ‘booster’ engine to help on the climbs and started looking around on the net. When I came across SolarBike I really liked what they had to offer as it is a complete conversion kit, very good quality parts and extremely easy to install. Also, the great responses to my questions and technical insights from Matt along the way were a great help!
All in all, it was so easy to convert my old Malvern Star bike and it was also a nice surprise to see a thumb controller and a tyre in the package. The thumb controller is a much better option in my opinion. The range is pretty good and I estimate that I use about 50% of the battery (2.5 hrs charging time) for my 16km return trip to work.
To sum up the experience riding the ‘all wheel drive’ bike is easily done with one word: FUN! I ride my bike to work almost every day now and I still work out on my bike climbing up the the steep hills and trying to go faster on the flat sections but my travelling time has been cut in half and I always cycle with a smile.