Eco-friendly commuting
In a blink of an eye the summer has gone and autumn is with us. Where is the time, the fourth-dimension changes due to the speed of your movement? Taking this on board I thought about how to get to and from work, in a reasonable time but keeping my trip as environmentally friendly as possible, so naturally an E-bike would be the perfect fit.
Why an E-bike?
As a teacher and small-holder I feel that I have the duty to show an example how to treat mother Earth in every respect. We installed a ground source heat pump, installed a rain water collecting system and farm strictly according to organic principles. This also includes commuting to work and/or checking our sheep on a field distant from our house. To tackle the 33-mile return journey, including a significant number of hills, I needed to find the most carbon foot print friendly transport. The e bike is the best solution, good for your mind, your body and the environment. I borrowed one a year ago for a month and enjoyed it very much. However, the price for a mid or crank drive model starts from about £2000. Looking at all available options, converting an existing bike seems to be the most economic but also a far more sustainable solution. Fortunately, a very helpful friend of a good friend knew all about it because he already converted ten bikes. I ordered a kit which includes the mid drive motor with cranks, the control unit and two brake levers.
Here’s the battery monitor up on the handlebars
Putting it all together
I chose a battery large enough to get me with full support to and from work. When I started to take all the bits off the E-bike the fun started. In twenty odd years the metal parts of the bike corroded, i.e. got baked firmly together. I thought I still had all the essential tools from the past when I took bikes apart on a regular basis, but ended up borrowing and buying some more. Watching You tube videos are bliss to refresh your mind how to apply certain tools. However, in the end brutal force using a decent hammer and heating up a crank to expand was the final solution. The second part of refitting all the new parts was actually very enjoyable. 297 miles later, I declare this E-bike to be my personal dream machine. Here are some pictures of the finished product!
And here’s the motor fixed to the bike
Please contact me for any more detail or help with converting a bike to an E-bike.
Congratulations to our member, with a jar of our own honey, who cracked the last quiz questions, i.e. lack of sufficient UV radiation leads to Vitamin D deficiency of our Alpacas. This edition’s question: Who invented the first e bike? Please email me at railsfarm@phonecoop.coop
Cheerio, Christoph