Re: electric bicycle

[Douglas Ridgway <ridgway@dridgway.com>]

On Wed, 30 May 2001, Peter VanDerWal wrote:

> The quote 'average' cyclist can produce about 100 watts continuous.
> 500-1000 watts is way more power than you need for a bicycle on flat land,
> unless you are looking for a bicycle that can go 50+ kmh which is illegal in
> almost every nation in the world.

I don't think I'm really looking for a standard bicycle -- after all, if
100 W were sufficient, I could just pedal. No need for a motor at all.

There are two reasons for speed: one is economics, the other safety. In
order to help justify the cost, it has to replace a lot of car trips,
which for me means commuting. I probably won't want to use it if it makes
me late for work. As far as safety goes, when I actually was bicycle
commuting 5 miles to work my first year of grad school, the part that made
me most nervous was having to merge with traffic going much faster than
me. Both of these indicate that being able to keep up with motor vehicles,
at least on side streets, is a good idea.

The other way to go is all the way up to a motorcycle or car. The
available range worries me, though, so I'd like to have something not too
painful to pedal home.

I've never actually tried an EV, though, so all comments appreciated.

Doug Ridgway