February Return

I have been absent, apologies to any who read my posts!  Spring is coming soon...We had 70 degree weather today and that makes for Spring anticipation, and yearning to be back on the streets with the bikes.  

There is a new bike sitting in the shop awaiting conversion to electric, and this one will be using a somewhat smaller motor in order to keep the costs down for some of our  customers who need to watch the budget.  It will still be a "take off without pedaling" bike, but not quite the power or speed as what we have been building.

One of our customers has a '60's Mustang as well as a Range Rover, and claims his black electric cruiser gets more attention than either of his other vehicles!  You probably will never know the attention and interest that these bikes generate until you are riding one.  People are really interested in electric transportation, and readily see the advantages when they see you come zooming to a stop in total silence!

So we are going to offer some less expensive bikes, and may even be doing some bikes with small high quality gasoline engines (getting over 100 mpg!) for those who want extended range, but still with a very small carbon footprint.  

For those who want to build their own, we now offer kits shipped to you that include everything you need....motor laced in a wheel, controller, plug together wiring, throttle, batteries with mounts, and instructions for the installation.  Just email us for prices and options-    info@greenplanetbikes.com

GreenPlanetBikes.com

We are very excited about having changed our name from CurrentCycleBikes to GreenPlanetBikes.com.  The new name is easier to remember, and more clearly states who we are and what we believe in.  

We are now working on some new bike models (with some surprises coming!!)   It is clear that the times are difficult for many people and for the businesses that they support.  But we have very positive feelings around here about what we are doing at GreenPlanetBikes.... 

I believe that the "upside" of the downturn is that this is an opening, a doorway to new times.   GREEN is the color of the future.  You know this if you are reading this.  Our planet needs us to pay attention.  It is possible for us to live well without some of the excesses that have been our habit in the past.  One of these habits has been our ongoing acceptance that we had to burn fossil fuel if we were going to move ourselves around, especially over distances greater than what we want to pedal.

Now so any longer.  These electric bikes are so powerful that they open up a whole new world in bike commuting.  Of course you will probably keep a pedal bike around if you have the physical ability to pedal.  But having a strong workhorse of a bike like we build is a great option for daily travel.

Run your errands, visit your friends, go get a cup of coffee.... you will find yourself in conversation about your bike.  I like to note that riding one of these increases connection with other people.  It is AMAZING how curious people are about these machines!!!  

Anyway, thanks for checking in.  And keep coming back as new things will be happening.

-Del 

Evening Ride, thoughts on safety and low cost transportation

We've had beautiful weather lately, low 80's daytime, and low 60's at night.  I have been busy, and really missed more riding time.  Took the Schwinn (the stretched and lowered bike) out for a run to the store tonight.  Electric bikes are just so perfect for a run to the grocery store for a couple of things.  Nice night air, the bike smooth and quiet, powerful as always.  I have one long grade with some shorter steeper parts, never any problem even without pedaling at all.  Love it!!!

At night, I often ride back streets (with head and tail lights, of course...) or ride the sidewalks for safety.  I keep myself out of traffic when I can, and always advise customers to do the same.  You have to be really careful with cars.... (drivers on cell phones, etc.) but with extra awareness I feel pretty safe.  And I am now spending somewhere around 2-3 cents to recharge.  Sure beats putting 60 bucks into a gas tank!!!

Happy trails!

New steel battery hangers available

BATTERY HANGERS  $125/set

Here are photos of the new battery hangers, on and off the bike.  They will fit any bike with a rack, mounting securely to the rear axle and the rack.  Comes with all attachment hardware.

These make a huge difference in handling of the bike.  Doing away with that "top heavy" feel that you get with batteries up on the rack (as most kits have.)  And making mounting the bike easier.  There is no way to describe the dramatic difference!  Here is a quote from a customer in Spain:

"The ride now is supreme!!!  With the batteries lower down... the ride is so superior to the old 'high up' battery location!  Plus, I can swing my leg over the saddle with ease."  -Antony E.

These racks are all steel, and powder coated for protection.  (If you want the batteries covered up you can improvise.  Some customers have make their own panniers of leather or nylon.)  I personally like the look of the batteries showing.

There are a few left, then I'll make another production run.

New battery mounting system

Since the last post we have been busy with getting our new battery mount system into production.  Most of the kits to install the powerful Phoenix (Crystalyte) motor system onto your own bike carry the batteries up on top of the rack over the rear wheel.  This creates a number of problems... very high center of gravity which creates awkward handling, makes it hard to mount the bike (swinging your leg up over the battery pack), and uses up your carrying space on the rear rack.

We have designed and are now producing a new mounting system that mounts the batteries just above and aft of the rear axle.  This greatly improves handling, opens up your rack space for carrying whatever you want, and makes it much easier to mount the bike.

These all steel racks come with instructions, all mounting hardware, and have a durable satin black powder coat finish.  They are available from either our shop, or from electricrider.com. 

ALL OF OUR BIKES from here on will be built with this system unless requested otherwise.  We are very excited about this improvement and are getting very good reports on how these perform.  You can email info@currentcyclebikes.com for prices and photos.

Note:  We are now producing mountain bike models as well....same reliable, powerful 48 volt Phoenix motors, but on a strong MB frame with front suspension.  (photos will be up soon).

Spring Riding

            

 

Above I have added a couple of photos, cleaner shots I of the new 72 volt bike.  (see last post)

Gray and windy today, but warm... and I love the feel of the wind buffeting me around a bit as I ride.  It really is spring, flowers popping out all over town, green starting to show here and there.  So it was a breezy and gray day, then late this afternoon a black line of storms came in from the SW... blew through quickly and left crystal clear skies with bright stars and a moon shaped just like everyone draws it in grade school.  Beautiful night, took a bike out for a short ride, just to enjoy it all. 

If you don't have an electric bike and you are reading this, listen... You gotta get one!  So damn much fun ALL the time.  Beautiful to ride in the quiet...almost meditative.  And no gas cost.  My friends are planning to do all the grocery shopping with their bikes...fold out baskets to hold what they need.   It just works! 

Note:  I want to mention that my friend, Punkrod Todd, is organizing a car show in Kansas City on the 26th, but with an Alternative Power section... a section with No Gas vehicles!  More exposure for these type of machines, and in a different setting that a green tech show.  Good to get other groups of people interested!  Thanks, Todd  (If you want to enter you can email to lospunkrods@yahoo.com)

Custom built 72 volt bike

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

I want to post a couple of photos of the new machine.  For some time I've had the intention to build a machine of this particular style.... long and low... not unlike some of the custom motorcycles out there, but with electric power.  With no engine there were design challenges, the goal was to answer the question of how to pack the batteries, use the hub motor, and still have a "look" to the machine that was a statement of both style and function.  

The frame was designed and built here at Current Cycle Bikes.   The seat, handle bars and rear fender all hand-made in the shop.  The result is, I believe, clean looking and functional.  The battery/contoller/wiring pack lifts out as a unit for service, the seat flips up for access to charger plugs, etc.

There are no motorcycle parts on the bike, everything is sourced from custom bicycle parts dealers.  The wide tires and extra wide bottom bracket (crank and pedals) allow the batteries to sit beside the chain, centered in the frame, the center of gravity very low. 

A fun ride, still silent, still passes every gas station... but definitely draws attention!

Custom Stretch 72 Volt Cruiser...other thoughts

Just in from the shop....lots of hours this week, building a custom bike based on drawings I've done over the last few months.  Long, low, and quick.  That's the plan.  Just finished welding the frame up....  have the wheels sitting here (24x3" front, 24x4" rear), the front with a 203mm mechanical Avid disc brake set up.  The rear is laced up with a Phoenix Brute (Crystalite) torque motor.  Estimated speed only about 30-32 mph, but it should be very quck.  Powered by 6-12 volt SLA batteries, for 72 volts total.  I will have photos up soon.

Cold and snowy here in Kansas, but spring is not far away, and with the early flowers, the birds singing in the mornings, comes the start of good riding weather.  Lookin' forward to it.  I ride my electric Schwinn some these days, but when it's warmer it is so fine just being out on the street.  Still a joy for me to ride with the silent power... and I still love passing up the gas stations.

Lately I have set up several bikes for "grocery-getters"....folding wire baskets on both sides to hold two good bags of groceries.  I am thinking about setting up with a small trailer so I can carry a lot more, sorta like those child trailers you see on the streets.  I think this is one of the places where the electric bikes are going to become a real presence.  There is something that is just wrong (!) about firing up a car or SUV to run a simple errand.

Simply feels good to be using the electric bike.

Latest bikes and future project!

Just shipped a 36 volt/Racer motored bike to Connecticutt.  This one had several accessories added....lights, baskets, custom seat, and even a windshield (which I wouldn't normally recommend.)  The other bike just finished is an older mountain bike which was converted for use as a handy commuter and grocery-getter....with lights and folding baskets.

The BIG NEWS is that we are building a custom bike for the World of Wheels auto/bike show in Kansas City, MO coming up in February.  IF I can get it finished in time.  This is going to be the first 72 volt system we've done, a long and low cruiser type with 3 & 4 inch wheels on a frame built up in our shop.  This will be a blast and should really be a wild look.  The design is done, the custom parts are on UPS somewhere, due anytime.  Exciting.  I will post photos when it nears completion.

Winter is a good time for new projects, and for adding accessories to make spring riding more fun and/or more comfortable.  We do sell accessories....fenders, bags, lights, seats, etc.  Eventually these will be offered on our site.  Check back later for updates.  Thanks again for all your interst.

This is one of the best ways to mount the batteries, the battery and controller in a nylon bag that slide locks onto the rack. On this bike we used a front motor.

Winter Solstice

Just in from a 9pm snow ride of a few blocks, mostly in some fairly deep stuff....and yeah, I was pedaling! Left the electric in the shop for tonights outing. See, we had some pretty deep snow and the torque of the electric and the smooth street tires would just spin in this stuff, so I pulled out my Boss 26" cruiser/bmx-framed bike I built up years ago (Cook Bros. forks, Phil Woods hubs, etc.). Good knobbies on it and I was able to go a few blocks and make it back...just to see if I could.

Winter Solstice....the darkest and shortest day of the year. Hard to believe that starting tomorrow we are headed back to warmth and light (though it does take a while for the warmth to build!). This should be a time of hibernation and quiet for those of us in the Norther Hemisphere (and sometimes I think I'd like that). With our electric lights everywhere, our heating systems, our easy communication with each other, sometimes we barely notice. I wonder if we will figure out a way to keep all this? Or will we be sitting in small super insulated spaces emailing each other on our solar powered laptops?

Several new bikes in the works, some may be off to Europe shortly...and several will be for older folks who either don't want to, or cannot pedal as much as they used to. These things are useful for a lot of people. One thing I hear is that customers like being able to use their bikes, save gas, and still not arrive at work feeling like they just came from the gym!

Within a few weeks I will have some more bikes up on the site. By Spring there will be some wild builds showing up. Check back. Thanks again for your interest!

Early October happenings

Just spent a whole day at the Little Green Festival in the Big Cottonwood Forest here in Lawrence, KS. Took the Current Cycle Bikes "shop bike"...the '60's Schwinn (now 7 1/2 feet long!) and let people ride it all day long. Running a 48 volt system with the big Crystalite Phoenix Racer motor....and the thing ran most of the time from 11am to 5pm without charging up. I was proud of it for doing what it's built to do. So a fun day with music all day long, lots of information on alternative energies and products, and most of all, lots of really good people.

We have started installing kits on people's existing bikes as well as building new bikes. Not feasible if the bike has to be shipped usually, but works for locals. We like "re-cycling"....there are a million garages with several mountain bikes hanging there that were never really used. They'd be perfect material for powering them up as a fun ride.

Again, the best part of letting so many people one of our bikes, is all the seeing all the smiles as they return. Love it!

Feeding the Soul

You know, there are some things that just nourish the soul...I get that sense of rightness out riding my bike. I always feel refreshed, grounded, and centered after a ride of even a few blocks. Why is that? I'm not sure...I certainly don't get that from driving in traffic...even on a good day. Well, maybe if I'm in my old '50 Ford PU hot rod that I built years ago...but it's never quite the same as on the bike. I used to love riding motorcycles for that reason...but even then the noise, the heat, the exhaust... would wear me out after a while. Anybody else have that feeling....in your car? On a motorcycle? Something about these electric bikes just feels so right. Passing the gas stations (!) and the quiet of the ride, it is full of a simplicity similar to taking a walk. Something that is more....what ? private feeling, almost contemplative. I feel like I've taken time to myself, even going to the grocery store. I guess it is that aspect that seems to renew, to refresh.

New Web Site

Finally, I get around to updating the web site for Current Cycle Bikes (with the help of my friend, Scott!) Even with the heat wave we're having in Kansas I seem to get into the shop to build bikes more easily than getting to the online stuff at www.currentcyclebikes.com.

I'm riding the Schwinn Stretch Electric...Soon I will have some photos of my shop bike up....awaiting new Maxxis Hookworm tires in 26" x 2.50"....good sticky street tires from all reports. Anytime you ride at speeds over 15 mph I suggest you upgrade to some good tires for extra traction.

Here's hoping that all of you out there riding electric are enjoying yourselves. We may be a somewhat small club now, but that is quickly changing. Spread the word. There is nothing like the experience of zooming down the boulevard with only the slight whine of the motor. Me, I love to head out in the wee hours of the morning when I mostly have the streets all to myself.

Anyway, be safe. Turn on the blinking LED taillights, find a light, comfortable helmet, keep your eyes open. Oh, yeah...and thanks for your support.
Del @ currentcyclebikes

Scooter acceleration

This oughta be quick enough

At 2:30 am it is a quiet world, thoughts undisturbed, jazz radio playing somewhere in the house (and shop when I'm working out there...) I am thinking about new ways to use electric power on bicycles, how the machines can be reshaped for transportation with electrical power, still with pedal backup if your batteries ever run low. What makes for a cool ride? I want a functional looking machine, clean design, not a bicycle with wires hanging all over it.

The era of the gasoline powered vehicle is over. And lets be reasonable....a new Prius isn't going to make a difference. In fact you are probably more ecologically responsible if you drive a '68 Ford Station Wagon and feed it all the gas it wants. You will never burn as much gas as is used by all the thousands of people sho drive to work all over the world in order to make one new "Hybrid"!!! It takes a lot of power to make a new car...it creates a lot of pollution. Those parts are manufactured somewhere, and then shipped all over before they ever become the car that then gets shipped somewhere else.

Driving anything old is REUSE and RECYCLE. But better yet, don't drive....ride your bike. Either pedal the thing where you need to go, or power it up with electric and let it take you where you need to go. You can get to work, to school...you can go get groceries. Pull a trailer if you need to. We have the motors powerful enough to do that...and without pedaling at all if you don't feel like it.

Ah....it truly is a new world. We have a ton of sins to make up for...but the only way is to start now. Walk, ride clean...don't drive. Live simply. Use as few products as you can. Live in small houses, make them efficient. Keep your life simple. We will all find out that we are happier that way! Life is good. The earth is beautiful....even in it's damaged state...let's start by healing ourselves. Be still. Breathe. Turn off the HD TV. Sit and observe. The answers will come as we need them.