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Re: (ET) Electric Bikes Now Legal in Ontario



Congratulations Darryl.  That's good news for your province.  And anything 
that gets more people out of their cars and on bikes is a good thing for 
all 
of us.

Based on a review in A to B magazine (http://www.atob.org.uk/home.html) I 
bought a Bionx (http://bionx.ca/) motor-wheel kit (with wheel, battery, 
charger, wiring harness and controller console) last year which I finally 
installed in my Xtracycle-equipped (http://xtracycle.com/) commuting bike 
about a month ago.

It took me over a year to get around to installing it for several reasons. 
First I had some miscommunication with the factory about getting the extra 
length wiring harness for use with the Xtracycle, which is essentially a 
sub-frame which bolts into the bike in place of the rear wheel and holds 
the 
rear wheel about 15 inches further back with racks and slings for a much 
greater cargo-carrying capacity.  Then when I got the right length 
harness, 
it was fall and I was enjoying riding the bike with my four-year-old in a 
seat on the back on the local bike path, and I didn't feel right about 
using 
a motorized bike on the bike path.  But then over this past summer my son 
started preferring pedalling on the back of my tandem bike instead of 
sitting in the baby seat, and in September I had a conversation with a guy 
who is riding a Bionx system 15 to 25 miles a day, and I installed the 
system on my commuting bike the following weekend.

It's nice having the electric assist.  I have fewer valid excuses to drive 
the car now.  Although since the assist tapers off to nothing at 20 mph 
(32 
kmph) so I don't have unlimited top speed, it still takes longer to get 
places than in the car.  I was a little worried that I wouldn't get my 
exercise.  But basically I use the assist to accelerate from stop lights 
and 
to get up hills, and if I'm in a hurry I use it to keep my speed up - 
before 
adding the Bionx system my average speed was about 14 mph, and with the 
assist I can average about 25% higher.  And the wheel-motor has a torque 
sensor to keep me honest; it won't assist if I'm not pedalling.

The "smart" charger is a little weird.  The first time I discharged the 
24V 
Ni-MH pack to near empty, I plugged the thing in, the red LED lit up and I 
left.  I came back the next day, the red LED had changed to green, (I 
think 
meaning it was on maintenance?), however when I turned on the console the 
battery indicator showed less than half a charge.  I unplugged the charger 
from the battery and plugged it back in, and the red LED appeared again.  
A 
few hours later everything was fully charged.  This same scenario has been 
repeated several times since.  I wonder if the heavily-discharged battery 
tricks the charger into thinking it is full up before it really is, or if 
the charger is flakey?  I wonder if not cycling the battery pack during 
the 
16 months between when I received the kit and when I installed it is 
causing 
this behavior?  I did plug the pack in to charge it up about 4 times 
during 
that interval, with the longest time between charges about 5 months.  So 
this weirdness is manageable; I just check the charger about 3 hours after 
I 
plug it in, and if the LED is green I unplug it, wait a few seconds, and 
plug it back in.  The LED comes on red, and in the morning the pack is 
fully 
charged.  I'm hopeful it will cure itself (ha!).

Anyway the only other thing that bothers me is that there is no provision 
for using that honking battery pack to run my lights.  Since I've been 
cycle-commuting for decades, I'm pretty well set for lights and I use SLA 
for the incandescents and the arc-discharge helmet-light, and Ni-MH AAs 
for 
the backup LED taillight.  But I can imagine a more refined system with 
lights powered by the Bionx pack, but there is no way to tie into the 
battery short of hacking up the case, and hot-wiring a connector.  Maybe 
the 
reason there are no factory lighting accessories is not wanting to 
unbalance 
the 24V series pack, since currently commercially available bike lights 
are 
not available for 24V; or maybe they think you don't want to reduce your 
range with the added load of lights.

So I have to say I like the human-electric hybrid approach.  The Bionx 
system is nice because it can regen when you're going down hill or 
braking; 
and it is a brushless-AC motor so there is no friction when it is off or 
disabled.  This means you can still get home when the battery is depleted, 
although there are a few extra pounds to haul up those hills.

Joel

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Darryl McMahon" <darryl econogics com>
To: "Elec-Trak Email Discussion List" <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 9:03 PM
Subject: (ET) Electric Bikes Now Legal in Ontario


Not exactly electric tractor information, but about another type of
smaller EV.  This has taken a lot of my time for the past three years,
so I thought I would share.
****************************************

After a multi-year campaign spearheaded by the Electric Vehicle Council
of Ottawa (EVCO), the province of Ontario has agreed to establish a
pilot project under the auspices of the Ontario Ministry of
Transportation (MTO).

The pilot project permits any Ontario resident age sixteen years or
older to use an electric-assisted bike that meets the standards set out
by Transport Canada for Power Assist Bicycles.  Operators are required
to wear a bicycle helmet.  The pilot is expected to run for three years,
during which time MTO will monitor usage with a view to how well this
vehicle class blends into the existing vehicle mix in the province.

[snip]

"Relatively inexpensive electric vehicles are now within reach of the
average consumer," says Etienne Gibeault. "This is a viable alternative
for Ontarians who want something more than the traditional means of
transportation."

****************************************

EVCO is a voluntary, non-profit organization that promotes the use of
electric vehicles in applications where they are appropriate. Electric
vehicles are viable transportation alternatives that are ecological,
economical, practical and available. EVCO has been campaigning for the
legalization of electric bicycles in Ontario for over 3 years.

Spokesperson: Juergen Weichert (613) 746-7685
e-mail: info evco ca

The Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa
P.O.Box 4044, Station "E"
Ottawa, ON, Canada
K1S 5B1
www.evco.ca
=========================================================================

(Darryl McMahon is the President of Econogics, an e-bike owner, and a
member of EVCO, the EAA, and Electric Mobility Canada as well as a
long-time proponent and owner of zero-emissions electric-drive vehicles.)

-- 
Darryl McMahon                  http://www.econogics.com
It's your planet.  If you won't look after it, who will?


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