Another electric bicycle showed up to the Iowa Renewable Energy Expo this past weekend, and it turns out the owner is from Decorah: Dale Kittleson. I am unsure of specifics and would like to talk with Dale more, but from our brief encounter, my guess is that he is running the BD36 Ebike Kit from Wilderness Energy on a Specialized Expedition (circa 2003). He mentioned battery power comes from a series of three 12V 12ah sealed Lead Acid batteries and the controller is immediate start (rather than pedal first. Read more for an additional photo.

Specialized Expedition E-Bike

The University of Northern Iowa has assembled a pedal power demonstration station which allows riders to directly compare the energy required to light 60-100 Watt incandescent bulbs with the energy to light 15-30W CFL bulbs. Using a bicycle, a 300 Watt DC permanent magnet motor, a deep cycle battery, and a metered switch box containing several types of light bulbs, the station allows students to quickly discover the increased efficiency of CFLs. Bicycle powered light bulbs

The electric-assist Xtracycle is working great. After four months, the kinks have been worked out, and the bike is now a very practical method of transportation. Modification from the original include: a rear fender (to keep the bottom of the snap deck clean, the top part of a hurdle zip-tied to the freeradical (to keep the battery from bouncing and the fender eyelets from putting holes in the battery),

The Xtracycle now has a bicycle rack mounted on it to carry a second bicycle. A Rocky Mounts Lariat, it mounted onto the wideloader with no modification to the rack or bicycle - just a few shims (old tubes). Bracing is necessary to stabilize the passenger bicycle, but can easily be constructed. Check out the pictures, including a couple of close ups, in the Xtracycle section of the photo gallery.
Two Fewer Cars

I now have a bike which breaks in half, travels in suitcase, takes a beating from airport personnel, and gets me where I want to go in far away places. It's called the Surly Traveler's Check. 

Update: A current collection of photos is available under the Traveler's Check category of the Photo Gallery.
Surly Traveler's Check

An electric Xtracycle is a unique form of utility bicycle, which surprisingly, is often mistaken for what it is not -- a typical bike.

Here you will find a quick overview of the bike, and elsewhere on the site you will find a photo gallery, technical ride data, a list of riders, and project updates.

To create my version of the electric Xtracycle, I began with my existing mountain bike. I replaced the rear wheel and hub with an electric one and extended the bicycle frame's length using the ingenious invention called the Xtracycle. Those two simple modifications resulted is a cargo bike that it is able to stealthily carry 200lbs of groceries, camping gear, bikes, bike parts, electricity generation equipment, and passengers up hills and into headwinds.