Electric Biking
Happy April!
I love biking. You might know this already, but I've been tackling city bike shares whenever possible and it's a weekend activity that I've been enjoying immensely, especially since I got a little bike basket for my dog to sit in. Typically, I would just ride around my neighborhood but recently, my sister got a new bike and we started attempting longer rides. As it turns out, having a 25 pound pup sitting in a front bike basket kind of ruins your momentum when you're biking and makes it supremely difficult to bike if there is even the slightest hint of an incline.
So, back in December, I converted my regular beach cruiser into an electric bike. I bought a motorized wheel from Leed Bike, replaced my front wheel (which was super easy) and now I have a little bit of extra help when I'm riding with my dog and for any steep hills when I'm on my own.
This whole venture was inspired by my trip to Copenhagen. We used the bike share over there and the bikes had built-in tablets (which were amazing) but also the bikes were electric and as we biked, we got a boost from the motor. It was so easy and quick and convenient that I started to research how I could get something similar for myself.
Through my research, I found the Copenhagen wheel, which looked amazing but had a few flaws: it wouldn't work on my bike, it was really expensive, and it wasn't even available yet. Same thing with FlyKly. And Bionx wouldn't be compatible with my bike. So, I kept researching and I ended up finding Leed Bike and I purchased the 10K 250 series (which has a battery capable of taking you 10 miles, but will likely last longer for me since I'm not using it constantly).
It was supremely easy to install - it took five minutes and I just followed the instructions on the video on their website. It has one speed and works when you press the little button (which attaches to the handlebar with a little silent velcro) and I just use it to give me little boosts. The motor certainly makes a little noise, but it's just a whirr, not an overwhelming sound, so GM is 100% comfortable with it.
It's been so much fun and we took our bikes out so many times through the winter, thanks to the bouts of warm spells global warming blessed us with, and now we're taking our bikes out every weekend, as long as it isn't raining.
We did make a bit of a mistake one time. I found a park that looked nice with bike trails about six miles from our house. It turned out, getting there required navigating up some really steep hills; I'm talking like a 40% grade. At least it was a good workout.
We need to do a bit more research so we can find a few more fun routes in our area that are practical (re: no insane inclines) but so far, we've been loving exploring our own town.
I love biking. You might know this already, but I've been tackling city bike shares whenever possible and it's a weekend activity that I've been enjoying immensely, especially since I got a little bike basket for my dog to sit in. Typically, I would just ride around my neighborhood but recently, my sister got a new bike and we started attempting longer rides. As it turns out, having a 25 pound pup sitting in a front bike basket kind of ruins your momentum when you're biking and makes it supremely difficult to bike if there is even the slightest hint of an incline.
This whole venture was inspired by my trip to Copenhagen. We used the bike share over there and the bikes had built-in tablets (which were amazing) but also the bikes were electric and as we biked, we got a boost from the motor. It was so easy and quick and convenient that I started to research how I could get something similar for myself.
Through my research, I found the Copenhagen wheel, which looked amazing but had a few flaws: it wouldn't work on my bike, it was really expensive, and it wasn't even available yet. Same thing with FlyKly. And Bionx wouldn't be compatible with my bike. So, I kept researching and I ended up finding Leed Bike and I purchased the 10K 250 series (which has a battery capable of taking you 10 miles, but will likely last longer for me since I'm not using it constantly).
We did make a bit of a mistake one time. I found a park that looked nice with bike trails about six miles from our house. It turned out, getting there required navigating up some really steep hills; I'm talking like a 40% grade. At least it was a good workout.
We need to do a bit more research so we can find a few more fun routes in our area that are practical (re: no insane inclines) but so far, we've been loving exploring our own town.
Comments
Post a Comment