Antique electric bicycles

[spinningmagnets]

I've written an article on some old electric bicycle patents, and a few museum pictures. I hope it's amusing for everyone here, and if anyone has additional links that are not yet included, feel free to contact me and I shall add them.

Electric Bike patents from the 1800′s | ELECTRICBIKE.COM

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Ron,

That is a really excellent article, an enjoyable and informative read

 

[ghouluk]

great! thanks for sharing...while ebike technology is recognisable, i for one am glad that saddle design has moved on

 

[john h]

what a great read ron , i realy enjoyed that

 

[jackhandy]

Great stuff: I wonder how many prototypes were actually built & if any remain?

Did any make it into production, I wonder?

 

[flecc]

Great stuff: I wonder how many prototypes were actually built & if any remain?

Did any make it into production, I wonder?

None of those did. The first commercially sold electric motor for bicycles was a Heinzmann in 1920, and Heinzmann are still selling their hub motors to this day. In 1927 a French moped style electric scooter appeared, and then in 1932 Dutch electrical giant Philips marketed a crank drive electric bicycle. That same design was sold by others, but the most successful, Gazelle, sold just 117 of them.

It wasn't until the 1970s that the electric bike concept started to be taken more seriously due to the Arab oil crisis, though even then without commercial success. That finally came in the late 1990s.

 

[jackhandy]

It's incredible what some garden shed inventors were getting up to even a century ago.

Some of the kit for motorising bikes that did see production was pretty hairy

 

[jerrysimon]

Fascinating article thanks for writing/posting

PS nice web site I need to read some more of those articles at my leisure.

Jerry