Carl Chatfield home page | Getting from A to B | Electric Bicycles

Carl's Electric Bicycles

I've been playing with electric power-assist bicycles since 1998, and have owned a variety of bicycle types and power-assist options. This page chronicles my experiences with power-assist cycling.

Click the pictures or links below to get more information about my power-assist bikes, in approximate reverse chronological order (most recent bikes at top):

	Introducing The Shocker: my dual Heinzmann-powered Electra Townie (details soon). The Bacchetta Giro short wheelbase recumbent fitted with two Heinzmann hub motors: a.k.a. the 2-Stage Rocket, a.k.a. The Scorcher.

	The very elegant Mercedes Hybrid bike. I owned this one in 2000-2001, then sold it.

	BikeE AT compact wheelbase recumbent fitted with a Currie US ProDrive motor: a.k.a. the EBikeE. I owned this bike from 2000-2003.

	Currie US ProDrive motor fitted to a Novara Viaggio Upright Bike, a.k.a. The Electric Wedgie. This was my first e-bike, and I still own it.

Other E-Bike Links of Interest

As many other people have already noted (but I'll repeat here anyway), e-bikes may be much more promising than electric cars. Here's why. Add electric power to a bicycle, and the resulting e-bike is generally superior in most ways to a standard bicycle: you can go further, go uphill easier, and carry more gear. Add electric power to a car, however, and you have to make some compromises: you can't go as far, or (in most cases) as quickly. I think this will improve as manufacturers develop better hybrid and electric vehicles and batteries, but for now e-bikes make more sense to me than e-cars.

Following are links relating to e-bikes that I've found interesting.

Electric Vehicles Northwest in Seattle, the great folks who did my e-bike conversions.
A to B, a British website and magazine devoted to folders, e-bikes, and in general alternate forms of transportation. I get their quarterly magazine shipped over from the UK and it's a treat.
Two recent stories from my local paper, the Seattle Times, on e-bikes: first story and second story.
A very good FAQ about power assist and electric vehicles.
The Web presence of the power-assist discussion group.
Last but not least, here's a link to my favorite bicycle accessories page.

Updated 12/23/04