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Take a look at this for a novel approach to making an "electric bike" : Engineers teach a robot how to ride a bike. [VIDEO]

I've recently ordered one of the new varieties of Tongxin motor (not the similar Keyde motor). I've bought it from Justin at www.ebikes.ca Homepage of the revolution, because he bought a few samples from the manufacturer for testing (see www.ebikes.ca/simulator )and offered me one. I've been...

I don't wish to start more hares running on the legal/illegal debate, as that seems to have been done to death. This is aimed fairly and squarely at those who wish to own and ride an electric bicycle, as approved under UK law. Those (like me) who are content to ride an unapproved ebike may...

I haven't posted here for a while, as my ebikes don't really fall into line with the bikes discussed here very much, but there's an advert on ebay that has been flagged on the Endless Sphere forum as being potentially dodgy and so worth bringing to people's attention. The advert is for an...

Some of you may know, or know of, Justin Lemire-Elmore, the young chap that runs Renaissance Cycles in Vancouver (perhaps better known as www.ebikes.ca Homepage of the revolution. A week or so ago he set off to ride right across Canada to Halifax, Nova Scotia, on a home-made ebike. His goal is...

Not really a mainstream topic, but I know that a few on here have had a go at making up their own battery packs in the past. Faced with needing to weld up 64, 10 ah, LiFePO4 cells, I took the plunge and built a capacitive discharge spot welder. I've just finished the initial testing and it...

I've been asked to have a go at building a super light folding ebike by one of my (ageing) aviating friends. He wants to be able to chuck it in the back of his microlight and use it for getting around when touring. The chap's seen (and had a go) on my electric 'bent and was very taken with...

For Sale - Hub Motor, Crystalyte 405, controller etc I have a Crystalyte 405 hub motor, built in to a new 20 inch front wheel with a new 20 x 1.5 Schwalbe Marathon tyre and tube; a 36V to 48V, 35 A controller (with Cycle Analyst port); a twist grip throttle and a plug in Cycle Analyst that are...

Despite the obviously poor direct efficiency of a series hybrid electric bike, I keep being drawn back to the general idea. I've mentioned this idea before, I think. What I've been thinking of is building a tadpole trike, but without any direct mechanical transmission. This means no gears or...

Near-disaster struck in the early hours today,when my 36V NiMH battery caught fire whilst on charge. Foolishly I was charging it in the house, but was awoken by the bang of the first cell exploding and was able to get the (very hot and smoking) pack outside. Despite having played with this...

Why do many ebikes look so dire? (or is it just me that thinks this way?) There seem to be very few ebikes that look anything like a conventional, well-proven, British bicycle, as far as I can see. There are lots of dubious looking step-through designs, many with the seat post several inches...

My new wheel and motor wasn't ready yesterday after all, so I've whiled away an hour doing some comparisons between various hub motors that are available. The results were quite interesting. There seems to be a popular belief that the various 400 series Crystalite motors trade torque for...

As some will know, I fitted a Crystalyte 405 to the 20" front wheel of my recumbent a few weeks ago. This works OK, but delivers way more power than is either needed or legal (unless restricted, which is what I've tried to do). I spotted that Rennaisance Bikes in Vancouver had some TongXin...

My experiments with the Crystalyte 405 motor on my recumbent have been interesting, but have convinced me that an "automatic" system would be a lot simpler to ride. I've been giving this some thought and have come up with the following simple scheme. Right under the front edge of the seat...

The law that applies to electric assist bikes in the UK seems to be a bit of a minefield, as far as I can see. I can understand the intent behind the maximum speed and power limits to some extent, but the way the regulations are framed seems to be open to wide variations in interpretation...

Hi, I'm new and still trying to wade through all the stuff I need to meet my requirements. I have a recumbent (a SWB TW Bent USS) that I would really like to use for my short (2 miles each way) commute to work. Unfortunately I pulled a thigh muscle badly (whilst paramotoring.......) and now...