Motorized Bicycles in the News

Dave31 · Mar 22, 2011

Here you go Dan...

Not quite mile-a-minute thrills
By Staff Report
Bastrop Daily Enterprise

BASTROP, LA —If gasoline prices top $4 a gallon this summer as expected, it won’t have nearly the impact on Henry Earl Davis as it will on most in Morehouse Parish.

Davis estimates his vehicle gets “somewhere around 100-125 miles per gallon, but some of the newer ones get even better than that.”

His vehicle of choice these days is a 28-inch Murray bicycle - “just like something you’d find at Walmart” - equipped with a 49-cc, three horsepower motor. It has a top speed of 35 miles per hour.

Read More...Not quite mile-a-minute thrills - Bastrop, LA - Bastrop Daily Enterprise

Dave31 · Mar 22, 2011

E-bike Tours of Europe Introduced
by Felicity Long

Travelers who like the concept of bike tours but lack the muscle can take advantage of a new electric bicycle or e-bike option now available on European cycle tours.

These e-bikes are nothing like the mopeds that tourists can rent in, say, Bermuda, which are more closely related to motorcycles than bicycles, according to Dan Austin, director and founder of Montana-based Austin-Lehman Adventures. His company has introduced e-bikes on all its Europe tours.

"The electric bicycle is different from a 'motorized bicycle' such as a moped because the motor only kicks-in to assist the rider in pedaling and does not independently power the vehicle," Austin told AOL Travel News.

Read More...E-bike Tours of Europe Introduced - AOL Travel News

Dave31 · Mar 22, 2011

Owner on the trail of stolen gas-powered bikes

March 04, 2011

The two motorized Schwinn bicycles that were stolen from a Medford woman's home on Feb. 19 each have been seen in Medford in the last few days, according to word spreading on social networks.

Tammy Sona put out word of the theft of her unusual, gas-powered custom bikes on Facebook after she discovered them missing Feb. 20 from her carport on the corner of Oakdale Drive and Oakdale Avenue. Now tips are coming in.

About one week ago a blue gas-powered bicycle that matched the description of the one taken from Sona's home was seen on Popular Drive near the north Fred Meyer. A friend of Sona's spotted the bicycle with two boys who looked to be about 15 or 16 years old. Sona called in the sighting to Medford police and also called in her tip to the Crimestoppers hotline.

"I'm determined to get them back," said Sona.

Read More...Owner on the trail of stolen gas-powered bikes | MailTribune.com

Dave31 · Mar 22, 2011

New bike lanes called a cycle track are planned for Chicago
By Jon Hilkevitch, Tribune reporter

A new type of bike lane is being designed for Chicago to boost the confidence of cyclists that it's safe to ride on streets without fear of being struck by vehicles.

The special lane is called a cycle track, and it's unlike the regular marked bicycle lanes that run next to vehicle traffic lanes and are separated only by paint on pavement.

The key to a cycle track is a physical barricade, such as a construction Jersey barrier or a raised concrete planter box located to the left of the bikes-only lane. The curb or a sidewalk would exist to the right of the cycle track, and all motorized vehicles — whether moving or parked — would be on the left of the cycle track barricade.

The cycle track will be wider than a traditional 5-foot bike lane to provide space for whatever type of concrete barrier is chosen, officials said.

The Stony Island cycle track would be the first in Chicago. Cycle tracks are becoming increasingly common in other bicycle-friendly cities as a tool to encourage more travel by bike and less car use, especially on shorter trips.

Read more...New bike lanes called a cycle track are planned for Chicago - Chicago Tribune

matthurd · Mar 22, 2011

are the cycle tracks intended for MBs too or just regular bicycles? if it was just regular bicycles i can't blame them, we do move a lot faster after all, if its Motorized Bicycles too great.

Dave31 · Mar 23, 2011

Cargo trikes gear up for Vancouver bike lanes
CBC News

A group of Simon Fraser University students has found a new use for Vancouver's controversial bike lanes: a delivery service using electric-assisted cargo trikes.

Graham Anderson, a student of sustainable development at SFU and one of the founders of SHIFT Delivery Co-op says the service will use a heavy-duty tricycle with an electric-assist motor designed in England and modified for use in Vancouver's separated bike lanes.

"We're looking to carry about 600 pounds of goods in these heavy-duty trikes — things like beverages, coffee, office supplies," says Anderson. "Six hundred — that's about the weight of an adult grizzly bear."

Read More... Cargo trikes gear up for Vancouver bike lanes - British Columbia - CBC News

motorbiker · Mar 23, 2011

Love the trikes !

Dave31 · Mar 27, 2011

Unplugged But Electric: Bikes Power Concerts
By Andrea Shea

BOSTON — A local band is making music “off-the-grid” — totally unplugged — with the help of something called Sustainable Sound. It’s a “clean” audio and lighting system powered by humans peddling away on bikes. I recently had the chance to speak with musicians and the young inventor who dreamed the thing up.

A demo concert, organized for a video shoot, took place at a thematically appropriate venue: Landry’s Bicycles in Boston. The whirring and clicking of bike cranks blended with the sounds of electric guitars and a keyboard warming up.

Inventor Sean Stevens leaned over to set up and tweak his people-powered system. He wore a lab coat covered in colorful flowers and gladly told me how his modular contraption works. This configuration is made up of three pieces. It helps to picture a recumbent bicycle.

“There’s one bench that has three bikes mounted to it,” he explained, “and three people sit on it and pedal. Then there’s two individual benches that each have one pedaling station on it, and that will be wired into a central box that manages and stores the power and things like that.”

The pedal-power is harnessed by small generators attached to each bolted-down bike frame.

Read More...Unplugged But Electric: Bikes Power Concerts | WBUR

matthurd · Mar 28, 2011

thats the best boston can come up with?

we're like the biggest technology region in the country aside from silicon valley and thats all the geniuses a mit figured out how to do with this technology?

i r disappoint sadface.jpg

Dave31 · Apr 11, 2011

Electric bicycle at issue in case
A Springfield man and authorities disagree on a state statute concerning the vehicles
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD — If there’s one thing Paul McClain and the Springfield Police Department agree on, it’s this: A court will have to decide if McClain needs to get his driver’s license back before he may legally power up his electric bicycle and ride it along Springfield’s streets.

Since March 24, police have stopped and cited McClain five times for driving with a suspended license. In each instance, police told McClain that he can’t use the electric bicycle he recently purchased for $1,000 unless he first gets his driving privileges reinstated.

McClain — who said his license was suspended several years ago for driving a car without insurance — begs to differ.

He contends that under state law, there’s no difference between riding a regular bicycle and one that’s powered by a motor that allows it to travel up to 20 mph.

“I did meticulous research before I bought it, and I know it’s legal,” said McClain, a 41-year-old Springfield resident who frequently tangles with Springfield police over assorted issues.

Read more... Electric bicycle at issue in case | A Springfield man and authorities disagree on a state statute concerning the vehicles

"the prussian" Shop Dogs · Apr 11, 2011

This says it all " a 41-year-old Springfield resident who frequently tangles with Springfield police over assorted issues." did you read main article gets better

Dave31 · Apr 29, 2011

Gas spike no problem with motor-powered bike
by QUENTIN ROUX • [email protected]

Every couple of days or so, John Lynch has to fill up his vehicle with gas like everybody else.

And, like everybody else, he grits his teeth when he parts with hard-earned money he considers wasted on obscenely overpriced gasoline.

But, Lynch's pain at the pump isn't as acute as most people's. He gets about 150 miles to the gallon, and the average top-off for him is around 49 cents.

"It takes about three Mountain Dew cans of gas to fill up the tank," says Lynch, who rides a motorized 26-inch bicycle from his Naples home near Government Center to Marco Island most weekdays.

The single-cylinder, two-stroke motor has about 50cc of capacity, and can whisk Lynch along bike paths and urban roads at speeds of around 25 mph.

Initially, he attracted more than just curiosity from assorted city cops and county deputies.

"Yeah, they showed interest,” Lynch says. “They wanted to check it out, but they also wanted to make sure it was legal. Now they know me, and don’t stop me any more.
“It is legal because it’s pedal-assisted.”

thatsdax · Apr 29, 2011

that is very cool..... Enjoy the ride...

DuctTapedGoat · Apr 29, 2011

I really hate when I hear stories like these - the first guy is just one of those people who push local police and try to find loopholes, and the second doesn't know anything more about his bike than what the kit manual told him.

happyvalley · Apr 30, 2011

The young guy in Florida:

Familiarity with combustion engines posed no problems for Lynch, who connected the throttle, clutch and drive chain assemblies with hardly a glitch.
"I just had to modify and pound the bicycle's V-bar a bit so I could tighten some bolts," he says.

happyvalley · May 1, 2011

Though the news is not always good news

Motorized bicycles sometimes cross moped line, police say

"the prussian" Shop Dogs · May 1, 2011

Seems really simple to me, wasen't manufactured as a moped ,no vin ,no fed saftey sticker, not a moped! There simply is no line to cross!
I'm sure the local cops get angry when someone they have stoped in the past and that the know does not have a license rides by on an mb. That dosen't make it ilegal.
The claims of the motor companys are total bs ( they can't even decide to market there motors as 66 or 80 or whatever cc's they want to claim this week) we all know this ,then all of a sudden when the law is brought into question the motor spec are rock solid and not in question???
The TYPE of bicycle device was made legal in IL. Period , if you want to inspect each one and have the state run a dyno test to determine horsepower (yea right ) then fine. Get that law passed! Don't make blankett statements about them all being ilegal, it's not the case.
One more time for the folks in the rear seats... The police work for us ,they don't make the law and it is not there job to interpret the law , only inforce laws on the books.
This is still a just a visability issue ,we can be seen riding and some people are against us having this right ,well to bad , go ahead and call the police . Where the problem lies is the the "highly trained obsrevers" we imploy don't know the law! And are more worried about the people calling to complain then they are concerned about our rights.
We as a groupe propagate this misdirection by keep or heads down and mouths shut.
Only when we present ourselfs as a legit assocation will this end .

Dave31 · Jun 4, 2011

NBA Player J.R. Smith Busted For Illegally Operating A Scooter

Denver Nuggets player J.R. Smith was living on the wild side this week when he was pulled over by police for illegally operating a scooter. Yes you heard me right, a scooter!

Smith was riding the glorified motorized bicycle without a license and was quickly cited by city police in Miami.

Police did not arrest J.R. although he was made to sign a notice to appear in court at a later date.

It’s still unclear what happened to the scooter, perhaps it shed it’s motor and returned to it’s natural state as a Huffy.

Dave31 · Aug 9, 2011

Vancouver’s tricycle delivery system not child’s play
By Vivian Luk The Globe and Mail

Graham Anderson, a Simon Fraser University graduate, recently started a new job delivering office supplies around downtown Vancouver. But instead of loading the boxes of paper, ink cartridges and pens into a truck, he places everything inside a box attached to the back of a tricycle equipped with an electric-assisted motor.

Then he pedals down the bike lanes on Dunsmuir Viaduct and rides into the West End, making 40 to 50 drop-offs at offices along the way and back before he hands the trike to someone on the afternoon shift.

The cargo tricycle delivery service was started by Mr. Anderson and several other SFU graduates, who came up with the idea when they took a sustainable community development class in school. Called Shift Urban Cargo Delivery, the co-operative aims to replace delivery trucks downtown with their carbon-neutral tricycles. Each trike weighs about 45 to 90 kilograms and can carry up to 270 kilograms of goods, ranging from office supplies to furniture.

Read More...Vancouver’s tricycle delivery system not child’s play - The Globe and Mail

Dave31 · Aug 9, 2011

Timmins Police respond to complaints of loud mufflers and illegal trail riders
By Timmins Police Service news release / The Timmins Times

During the last couple of months police have been receiving numerous complaints about loud mufflers.

The Highway Traffic Act of Ontario clearly states "No person shall use a muffler cut-out, straight exhaust, gutted muffler, Hollywood muffler, by-pass or similar device upon a motor vehicle or motor assisted bicycle." If you use any means to make your muffler louder, it carries a fine of $110.

Read More...Timmins Police respond to complaints of loud mufflers and illegal trail riders - Timmins Times - Ontario, CA

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