Today's episode of Talk of the Nation Science Friday offers an excellent discussion of electric bicycles. A caller from Decorah even makes it on the show! Thanks to a Decorah Newspapers reader for the tip!

Data from the Cycle Analyst:

Carleton Reid of commutebybike.com gets Gary Fisher talking about bikes as transport and the future of cargo bikes. Find the podcast link here (Gary begins at the three minute mark).

I preferred Gary Fisher's podcast, but a related video (mentioned in the podcast) is John Burke, President of Trek Bicycles, giving a presentation to the Bike Industry:

My electric-assist xtracycle had already proven that it was good for commuting, grocery shopping and running errands around town, but I was a little hesitant to use it for long distance travel. The motor and battery add an extra 30 lbs (14kg) - a lot of dead weight when your battery runs out at the base of a hill. When I set out to ride the 70 miles from Davis to Vallejo, I knew I would have to pace myself and use the throttle wisely.

• Riding time: 5 hours, 15 minutes
• Average Speed: 13.2 mph (21.4 km/h)
• Electricity usage: 12.32 Ah or 456.94 Wh
• Distance: 70 mi (113 km)
• "Fuel Economy": 6.5 Wh/mi (4 Wh/km)
• Cost of electricity: $0.07 @ California's rate of $0.15/kWh

This story won't be complete without some audio and video, but you will find a few pics in the gallery of a bike that's a little louder, a little less stable, and from what I hear, won't be needing a bell anymore.

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

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.

Riders since May 9th, 2008: