Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Electric Assist Bikes Test Drive/Ride


Here's my pal, Vesteinn, looking both ways as he Test Drives/Rides an electric assist bike at the Bike Works Annual Bike Swap Saturday after our tour of the South Loop of Lake Washington.


Part of the mechanism on the Madsen I tested.




What threw me was that the basket is fixed to the frame, not the fork. Every time I turned that bars I expected the basket (which is large in your field of view) to turn too. When it didn't, I felt like something was wrong; I even felt unbalanced. This from cycling with my front hadlebar bag attached by rack and decaleur.


Now this seemed like the way to go! The woman behind the bars is the owner of both this Madsen and a Surly Big Dummie (cargo bike without the assist). She loves them both.

I found myself not wanting to pedal at all. They brought out the lazy in me!


Keep it unassisted,

CurioRando

2 comments:

  1. Caution, the electric addiction can be tough to break. The LiPoly battery pack I had for the past 2 years lasted 2500 miles and gave out a last month. After committing to ride in the STP, the battery free electric bike has been perfect for training due to the extra weight. I'll delight when the STP is done and the new battery gets installed.

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  2. Wowser. Assuming you have a non-assisted ride for STP? But if extra weight is good for training, why not keep that old battery on board? ;)

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