May 20, 2010
Electric Xtracycles – are they the wave of the future? Or a bastardization of the bike?
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/noel-wiggins-bike.php
Seems like every time I pick up the phone these days- I get to talking to someone about electrified Xtracycles. I’ve been a purist in this regard for years- which was fairly easy when my whole world was within about a 1 mi radius, living in Berkeley. After my recent relocation to Tucson AZ, where my bike commute to daughter’s pre-schools is 7 miles, with a pretty swell climb on the way home, I’ve been seriously thinking about how electric assist would mean that my family drives less, rides more. The cost of many assist systems, while high in the bike world, is so vastly less than it would cost to 1) buy an electric car, 2) charge an electric car, 3) repair an electric car, the economics of it start to make some sense. But I can’t help but feel a little goofy increasing the weight of my bike 20 lbs so I can throttle my way aronud town – feels like I should just sell my bike and invest in a motorcycle, or better yet, this. Don’t think they make a child seat for that crotch rocket… Besides, my wife is an ER Nurse, and she’s not letting me on a motorcycle, let alone my daughter.
Over the next few months, I’ll be evaluating at two systems that come well recommended from Xtracycle riders, the Stokemonkey, and E-BikeKit (the founder of from E-BikeKit is going to be on Good Morning America tomorrow, check it out). My hope is to not only resolve whether or not I too could be an electric bike rider, but if in fact I can come to terms with my bike needing to be plugged in at night.
This guy (pictured above) seems pretty smug about his ride – just found this post about his electrified X on TreeHugger. This MadMax beast is the creation of some electric vehicle entrepreneurs out of Texas. They used to make electric assist kits for military use, now they’re selling vehicles to peaceful backpack hauling folk like you and me. Now go fig’re.
I’m very curious about your thoughts on e-assist bikes – are they the wave of the future? Or merely a bastardization of the simplicity of the bike?
I always used to have a snob’s attitude to electric bikes, thinking that they were a complete cheat’s bike, and the rider’s should just stop being lazy and ditch the electric bit. However, as congestion around my home town (Oxford UK) has grown, and the number of electric bikes has risen, I’ve changed my mind.
If each of the electric bike riders *didn’t* have an electric bike, would they have chosen a push bike or a car/motorbike? Probably the latter. Therefore, I now see them as a step towards my utopian ideal (more bikes). They’re not my own personal preference, but they do mean more “cyclists”.
Maybe somewhat still shy of an absolute solution to city transportation, an electrified X remains the best option that I can think of. Fairy quick, a joy to ride when compared to other cargo bikes, and capable of hauling all kinds of configurations of people and gear, the bike has so many advantages over an electric car. Even here in snowy Minnesota, most trips for an urban commuter are short enough that year round biking is not too difficult. It would help of course if the batteries were lighter, but maybe in time?
Thanks for that, Andy. If you can imagine a sizeable percentage of the people who are capable of cycling getting on a bike, it’s easy to see the need for electric bikes.
Many of us are out of shape, having driven around in cars all our lives. Even weekend cycling warriors do not have the endurance required to live by bike. This is where the electric bicycle comes in. Getting millions around with a reduced carbon footprint. I’m thinking about getting a conversion for my Xtracycle. It is hard to think about because i love it so much the way it is. But I can’t get up the big hills with my 50-lb daughter on the back.
I’ve been using an Xtracycle cargo bike for work, for 5 years. I’ve had a Stokemonkey on it with 3 years.
Kite and juggling stall on a Saturday morning (http://radio-weblogs.com/0128644/categories/peakOil/2007/02/03.html#a954) and Permaculture gardener/designer/teacher during the week.
As a transition technology to a low energy consumption post-carbon future, this is light years ahead of any hybrid car, and more energy efficient than just pedalling.
Check out http://knol.google.com/k/energy-global-warming-and-electric-bicycles#
Regards
Ted Howard
Nelson, New Zealand
As long as you choose a system like the Stokemonkey that supplements, rather than replaces, your muscles.
I use a Big Dummy with Stoke Monkey for back country roads and camping. The roads I travel are very steep, usually gravelled and often rough. It would take a serious athelete to climb these without electric assist — and I’m over 65, with arthritis. This bike has enabled me to get to places that are basically inaccessible to most healthy people. I also have a hybrid bike with an electric hub motor — it can’t begin to match the Stoke Monkey, so my advice is to go for the SM if you expect to haul more than yourself and a very light load. Also, the Big Dummy is so much more comfortable, easy to load/unload. I’m hooked!
I’ve built all sorts of things electric, at age 31 and arthritis, i enjoy riding bicycles but there are times when i need to get from A to B without sweating, electric power has changed my life on more ways that i can count.
On the flip side, i’m itching to try an Xtracycle !
I think adding electric assist to your cargo bike is a great idea as it extends the range you can use it practicably and increases the convenience of the bike, making it more likely you’ll leave the car at home. For those you who can do it without you are awesome. But for the rest of us, it really makes the bike a car-replacement vehicle. I carry my 3 kids over hilly terrain 5-7 miles each way every day and need to have energy to deal with them when I get home. I’m not lazy, but I’m not a super athlete either. The assist makes it an every day thing rather than a once or twice a week.
At Cycle 9, we help people electrify their cargo bikes (or regular bikes). I’ve got many stories of happy customers who find that they ride much more often than they would otherwise. And if we’re going to make a difference for our energy challenges, the goal should be more people riding more and driving less, right?
More thoughts on this from our RootsRads group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rootsradicals/message/11761
The elitist attitude that electric bicycles are somehow “a bastardization” of cycling is completely absurd and unproductive. Usually, the folks who harp about the “impurity” of the electric bicycle are the same folks who strap their carbon-fiber road bike to their SUV to drive it to their next race.
The fact is that any tool that enables people to avoid using a car is a tool that benefits both cyclists and the environment. Less cars on the road = less pollution and safer streets. What’s more, systems like Stokemonkey allow cyclists to take on hauling tasks that, even with a great physical effort, they could not possibly accomplish otherwise.
Anyone who would be quick to throw stones at the Electric Bicycle should be sure that they themselves are not living in a glass house.
Agreed, Will. Anything to get more people on the road, using less fossil fuels and reintroducing the human scale to our communities is grand by us.
I would suggest you look at the Bionix system. I have one on the Family Xtracycle and find it very helpful for my wife and i when we take the Xtracycle out. The best feature over the stoke monkey is the regenerative braking and the lake of a second drive chain.
It is hardly a bastardization as it only gives you up to 200% of your peddling power.
I would have to agree with many of the comments here: electic assist might seem to affront the notion of exercise and fitness but that is actually a negative attitude. We want people out of their cars, and we want to provide accessibility to people who might not be as agile or spry as our young selves. For an increased level of security, check out Lightfoot Cycles electric-assist recumbent trikes. This would completely remove the barrier for many people who are not confident with with balance: http://www.lightfootcycles.com/trikes.php
I would suggest not to listen so much to those self-proclaimed (fitness) purists … just pass by with a happy smile on your face while pedalling easily on a steep trail :D