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.