Electric Bicycles

Last updated 2006.10.18

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Electric bicycle, moped, scooter and motorcycle producers seem to appear and disappear more frequently than the producers of larger vehicles, probably because start-up costs are relatively low, but market penetration is difficult, especially in North America for such vehicles. Therefore, this page will probably be continuously out of date, no matter how often I update it. Any additions, corrections and contributions are always welcome.


Bicycles


Update!! Ontario Campaign Successful!!

The Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa's campaign has been successful! On October 4, 2006 Ontario Minister of Transportation, the Honourable Donna Cansfield announced a pilot program which allows the use of electric-assist bicycles on Ontario roads, by individuals 16 years of age or older, and wearing a bicycle helmet. You may see the government announcement here. More information at the EVCO Electric Bike Campaign webpage.


Bicycles are a wonderful form of transportation. They are quiet, require limited material resources to produce, are relatively inexpensive, take up little space on roadways and parking lots, do not pollute, they provide the rider with exercise. They do have some drawbacks, even in suitable climates. The rider is often sweating from exertion at the end of the ride, and some people are not physically capable of powering a bicycle unaided up hills or for long distances. Over the years, there have been several power-assist units developed, including mopeds and gasoline-powered add-on friction drives. There have also been electric assist drives developed. In general, electric power for bicycles has been in the form of power-assist units, not a total replacement for the human-power component. This is more for legal reasons (vehicle is still considered a bicycle, not a moped or motorcycle, and is exempt from licensing and insurance requirements in most jurisdictions) than practical reasons (you can pedal home if the battery becomes totally discharged).

General Engines

In the 1970s, General Engines produced a line of electric power assist units for bicycles and an adult tricycle equipped with an electric assist system.

EV Warrior

Announced with great fanfare in 1995, little has been heard of the EV Warrior since. Although the intention was to sell them through car dealerships, it appears few were sold in North America as of early 1997. Although details are elusive, there may have been legal (patent) problems with the sale of these units. The Los Angeles Times, on Saturday, June 21, 1997, reported that the Electric Bicycle Co. of Burbank filed for U.S. federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, 1997, and then revised this to a Chapter 7 (liquidation) filing on May 23, 1997. Electric Bicycle Co. is the company set up by Malcolm Bricklin to produce and sell the EV Warrior. Reports in September 1997 indicated that the company was officially declared bankrupt and dissolved.

Sanyo

I have not yet seen this vehicle, or any confirmation of this announcement, but Sanyo is reported to be producing a bicycle with electric assist called the CY50. The same report states the bicycle has been on sale in Japan since 1995. Procycle is expected to market a private label version in Canada as the Mikado. The CY50 weighs approximately 48 pounds (including the drive system and battery), and is expected to retail for about CDN$1,300. It does not have a regenerative charging capability. Sanyo was one of the investors in Bricklin's Electric Bicycle Co. that marketed the EV Warrior. For more information, contact Sanyo Canada Inc., 50 Beth Nealson Rd.,Toronto ON, Voice:(416)421-8344, Fax:(416)421-5878. It seems that Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha also produce electric bicycles for sale in Japan.

Other possible sources of electric bicycles or add-on power-assist units include the following. I have not contacted these firms and am not familiar with their products. Several have contacted us to be included in this list.
Charger Electric Bicycles produce a custom-built bike with electric-assist capability - this is not an add-on kit. The original company has stopped production, but the bikes and parts are now available through Electroportal.
Carmichael Cycle offers a line of scooter-style electric bikes, based in Toronto.
Convergence Tech offers the PedElec humam/electric hybrid bicycle and the no-pedals Slipstream electric bicycle.
Currie Technologies Inc. produces electric drive packages for 2-wheel, 3-wheel and 4-wheel bicycles under the U.S. Pro Drive label.
Currie Technologies - Australia carries the Currie line in Australia, and has links to other EV topics.
Daymak is based in Toronto, and carries a line of imported electric bikes (and some other small EVs).
Denali Cycles produces an EMX bike.
Eco-Brand Exim International Co., Ltd produces a line of electric bicycles, including a folding model.
eGO Vehicles are the producer of the eGO Cycle.
Electric Transportation Company (ETC) produces the Express electric assist kit and the Traveller portable (folding) electric bicycle.
Elebike International, Inc. produces an electric bicycle using a hub motor on the front wheel and human-power chain drive to the rear wheel, with a choice of three different types of batteries.
Electric Transportation Solutions carries a range of electric bikes.
Electric Vehicles Northwest carries a number of electric bicycles and broad expertise for servicing e-bikes.
Electric Wheels International is based in San Jose, CA and carry the Merida and ETC lines. They appear to be co-located with ETC.
Electrik Motion carries several lines of electric bikes.
The EV Rider is a series of electric-assisted bicycles that were introduced at EVS-14 in December, 1997. The line includes a scooter, a fairly conventional bicycle, a 3-wheeler and a police/security version of the bicycle. The company is based in Florida.
EV Global Motors are the producers of the E-bike, but probably best known for having Lee Iococca associated with them (after his conversion to clean-air technology, after his involvement with Ford and Chrysler).
Groov-E-Skootz has a couple of electric bicycles available.
Heinzmann electric bikes (and parts, such as the hub motor) are now handled by Kinetics-Online.
Omni Instruments produces the EROS electric-bicycle assist unit.
The PT50 is an all-electric pusher trailer for bicycles produced in Canada.
Soneil produces a line of small, lightweight, intelligent and affordable chargers for lead-acid batteries that are well-suited for mobile use on small electric vehicles such as electric bicycles.
Aerolope is an enclosed bicycle that offers an electric assist package as an option.
Electric Battery Bicycle Company at (813)566-1833.
Chronos at (800)989-4766.
Homebuilt electric bicycle projects are the main focus at the Homebuilt Recreational EV Design Showcase.
Based in Thailand, EV Thai produces the Wello electric bicycle and Lynx electric scooter.
Peter Vanderwal documents his building an electric bike.
Zapworld has electric bikes amongst its offerings.

University of British Columbia Electric Bicycle Club

There is an Internet discussion list for power-assisted bicycles.

Electric-bikes.com is another good page for a general survey of electric bicycles and other light electric vehicles.


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