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I took a photo of my Xtracycle with the Currie USPD assist installed on it so that you could see the bike with no clothes on just to give you an idea of how simple it really is.  The silver can on the rear by the wheel is the motor.  this weighs about 8 lbs and the battery box that mounts in the center of the frame is about 20 lbs.  this does not hinder your riding as much as you might imagine and I can still pedal along a flat at 15-18 mph with no difficulty.

The Xtracycle is an amazing piece of equipment that lengthens the wheelbase of the bicycle by 15 inches and adds a magnum force of utility to the bike. It becomes more stable, smoother and much easier to ride.  Not that this particular bike was difficult to begin with. It was, and remains a solid and dependable bicycle.  the Xtracycle bolts on solidly at the chain stay bridge and the rear dropouts and I have not had a single problem with the mounting bolts working loose! and yes, the frame IS a wee bit small for my 6 ft and 240 lb frame.  I would LIKE to get smaller, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards!  I keep riding my bicycle and I have yet to lose much, if any weight!  My legs look pretty buff though!  wooo hooo, ladies!

OK, the second photo shows the Xtracycle dressed with the V racks and Freeloaders  and the Wideloaders mounted in place.  The Wideloaders are a pretty good thing in my opinion but I remove them often enough and simply leave my bike set up with the Freeloaders because it looks a little simpler, though carrying capacity is a bit reduced.  Not so much the actual capacity, but the ability to carry stuff supported on the platform itself.

The Freeloaders are an interesting sort of shot at making useable panniers for the rest of us.   Bicycle panniers are, as a general rule, small and hard to deal with.  I have two sets and "like" them fine, but I will be the FIRST to say that they are not ideal.

If you take a look at the third photo you will see a comparison between the Freeloaders and a set of standard panniers.  The Freeloaders are more than twice the size of the conventional panniers, and they have a capacity that I have not passed yet!  I would hazard a guess that if you can physically fit the object INTO the Freeloaders, there is a pretty good chance that you can carry it on the bike fairly easily.

By the way, when the third photo was taken I had been experimenting with the Currie electric drive on the blue bicycle.  It worked, but was not ideal.  the electric assist was soon moved back to my red bike with the Xtracycle.

All right, what good IS an electric assist?  Well, I have been fiddling with the Currie for some 2 years now and while there are things that I do not care for about it, overall, I like it and think it is well worth the weight penalty.  while I am not terribly excited about the extra 28 lbs on my bike, I can carry it fairly easily and the weight is offset by the ability of the bike to climb very well.  FINALLY, I am able to mount hills like Lance Armstrong on his best day! Even while carrying a load!

THIS is the difference really.  On the flat and on the down hill rides, the assist makes little or no difference.  It is simply THERE.  when climbing, you simply push the thumb throttle and the bike eases forward.  On the flat, with motor alone, it will go perhaps 18 mph or so with a fresh battery if you don't help it.  But I can pedal faster than that anyway.  The Motor can help get you up to that speed and if you "blip" the throttle occasionally you can maintain the speed more easily.  This reduces your range of course, but sometimes that really does not matter.

My normal commute is about 6.25 - 7.5 miles each way, depending on my route.  The short route is the busiest during the day, but in early morning hours is generally deserted, or nearly so.  While the longer routes allow me to ride most of my trip in relatively quiet back roads for the most part.   Sometimes I find that the peace and quiet is much superior to the short distance.

I also have to climb over two ridges to my work and re-cross them on my way home.  The average altitude is nearly the same in both places.  But In riding the 6.25 miles  I have to climb about 800 ft or so. YES, I have the opportunity to coast down

down the other side of course, but that really gains nothing!  You still have to WORK to climb those hills.  the main difference in my speed is this.  Using a standard bicycle wheel with no power assist, my trip takes about 40-45 minutes.  with the Currie USPD installed, my trip takes about 25-30 minutes.  the major difference is in the climbing.  I can do it fine on my bike with no power.  I am simply SLOW. From my home to the top of the second hill is a distance of about 2.25 miles.  (this chart is not necessarily all that accurate or to any sort of scale!)  with no assist, that takes me about 12-15 minutes depending on various factors.  With the power assist, it takes about 7 or 8.   There are also a few smaller bumps that serve to further degrade my performance, and the assist motor helps keep me moving at a good clip so that my average speed is much better.  With the motor, I can average between 13 and 14 mph and without it, I generally manage 10 or 11....maybe....

So how hard is it to connect an Electric assist motor to your bike?  Not hard.  MOST e-assist systems are fairly simple.  In reality, an electric motor is the simplest of devices.  It requires only three components.  A motor, a power source and a switch are all that really is needed to make it work.  But things do get more complex as you need things like efficiency, light weight and speed controls!

There are basically THREE types of electric assist that are commonly used today.  First is the Hub motor where the motor is built into the wheel and put on the bicycle in place of one of the wheels that are already in place.  MOST drive the front wheel of a bicycle.

Second is a motor that drives the wheel from a secondary drive such as a chain or a friction wheel. The Currie uses a chain drive and an adapter plate to transmit energy to the Non drive side of the rear wheel of a bicycle.  This is somewhat like a hub motor, but the motor is separate from the wheel itself.

Third is a new type where the motor transmits the power to the standard drive chain through a sprocket in the chain line.  this can drive the cranks or the rear wheel, making the motor more efficient by driving the rear wheel at a speed where the motor uses less current.

Unlike infernal combustion engines, an electric motor uses LESS energy, not more, as it gets into it's main "sweet spot" where it develops most of it's power.  At low speed, my motor draws 18-20 amps or more( I have blown the 40 amp fuse on occasion!), while at 16 mph, it draws about 1 or 2a.  If I could keep my bike moving at 16 mph and keep the throttle on, I could go MUCH farther than I could going 10 mph or so!  I have ridden as far as 30 miles using the motor with care and had power to pull up my driveway at the end, but a LOT depends on your batteries too!

CHARGING AROUND!!

One of the most common questions that I get about my e-assist bike is, "Does it charge back up going downhill?"  that would be nice, but no.  MOST electric bicycles do not have such a feature.  Only one that I know of does, the BionX drive which is a nice enough unit, but to my mind it is far too complex, delicate and expensive.  Some people who own them love them. So they may be perfectly fine!  My opinion is MINE!  but my reasoning goes this way.  For the SAME outlay of money as a BionX with it's regeneration capacity and it's computer controlled system with sensors in the cranks and such, you can buy TWO systems that perform as well or better.  Another point that must be made is that in the case of any CURRENTLY AVAILABLE battery, the chare rate rarely exceeds 2 amps or about 100 watts or so.  If they are charged faster than that, the battery will overheat and possibly damage itself or even destruct.  So until there is a super capacitor that is able to accept all the power you can pour into it, a regeneration system is probably a moot point.  If remains, as of this point in time, more of a gimmick than an actual useful feature.

My Currie USPD brushless system is pretty simple.  A charger, a battery pack, a motor with a speed controller built in and a throttle control.   when I arrive  home, I pull into the garage with my bicycle and plug the bike in to my charger that sits there all the time.  When I am out on the road, I often plug the bike in using a smaller charger that is small and light enough to carry all the time.  When I arrive at work, I plug the battery in at a wall socket, or when I am off on the road in my job as a truck driver, I remove the battery from the bike, set it in the cab, plug the charger into my inverter that changes 12 VDC to 120VAC, then lift the bicycle into the back of the truck and secure it so that it won't move around and damage either the cargo or itself.  Since my bicycle weighs about 35 lbs when the battery pack is off, (Much less incidentally than my old Schwinn Varsity 10 speed from the old days!) lifting it up and down from the truck bed is not particularly difficult.   And this gives me transportation when I have to stop somewhere for the night and want to go get dinner someplace OTHER than a truck stop!

In addition, I have constructed a solar panel that acts as a charger. this has slightly less potential than the larger plug in charger (about a 1.5 amp charger)  the Solar panels charge at slightly under 1 a while the small charger works at a rate of about 2 a.  the Solar panels have proven to be slightly fragile and I am researching what to do to make a more durable system so that I can use my charging system on the road.

In the tests that I performed with the Solar array, I discovered that while I could not quite generate power as fast as I used it, I could often extend my range by quite a bit, and by  letting the panels charge up and turning the power off and letting the batteries charge, I could often build up enough power in an hour or so, to help with heavy lifting.

Even on extended bike tours, the majority of the daylight hours are spent NOT riding.  So the panel has ample time to charge up the battery pack.

On a Typical RAGBRAI ride for instance, the days often average 60-70 miles.  Riders leave at 6 or 7 AM and arrive at the destination town some  6 or 7 hours of riding time later.  In the summer, in Iowa, the Sun is UP by 6 AM and sets at 8 or 9 pm.  With judicious use of the assist system, and pedaling on hills that are not difficult, the rider could easily arrive in the destination town by early to mid afternoon, leaving 7-8 hours of non use time to charge the battery.  In fact, with a removable pack, the charger could be set up and the bike ridden to allow transportation in the town if so desired while the battery sits and charges.

SO where do I charge my bike?  that is a pretty easy answer.  I carry the small charger in an internal pocket in my Freeloaders where it is safe.  When I get somewhere, I often ask if I may use a power source to charge my battery.  I have never been turned down, but it could happen.   I often arrive at a grocery store and go in to shop. MOST of the groceries that I visit have power outlets on the outside wall and I plug into the outlet unobtrusively and if I am in the store for any length of time at all, I can easily recharge any loss that I may have incurred on my ride.

Other places to look and ask to use power are, parks (pavilions! or maybe the office?)  anyplace a coke machine is plugged in outside. often light poles have a 120 VAC socket.  Lock your bike to the pole, and stick your power plug into the socket!  Ask the store owner or manager if you can use power.  (the cost is about $0.10 for a COMPLETE charge from empty!)  charging the bike uses the equivalent of two 75 watt light bulbs being turned on for the time you are plugged in!   Not everyone will allow you to, but most will.

If you work in an office where the boss won't allow you to bring your bike into the office with you, or there is no place where you can plug in near the location you are allowed to stash the bicycle, use the same trick I use to charge my bike in my semi tractor.  Decouple the battery from the bike, secure the bike in an authorized space, then carry the battery and charger to your workspace.  Even the most tightfisted companies often have space electric outlets in workspaces and cubicles.  Set the battery where it won't be in the way, plug the charger into the power and the battery and work away, knowing that you are fueling up your ride home as you work!  After the charging system tells you that it is FULL, unplug it and let it sit in a drawer or under your desk.  Take it down to the bike and plug it in and take off!