(Paper presented to Ontario Science Expo Youth Group, Nov 2013) For the past four years I have been working on what I consider to be the ultimate vehicle…the lightest electric bicycle on the market. But rather than dwell on technical details, I would like to (1) give you an overview of what I see as […]

(Paper presented jointly by Ron & Claudio Wensel at University of Ottawa Heart Institute, 26 September 2013) First & foremost, I want to thank you, the team members of this fantastic facility. I, like many others, owe my life to you. But…today (thankfully) I am not here as a patient. Rather, my son and I […]

What goes into a Pedal Easy design? In developing and refining our e-bikes we make use of bench-type testing to supplement field-testing. We have been doing this on an ongoing basis for over 10 years now. Such testing is used for research & development in many other industries as well. Its value or even its […]

Most people, in North America at least, are familiar with derailleur type gearing on bicycles. Most mountain bikes and road bikes have derailleur gearing, which is characterized by multiple sprockets on the rear wheel and often on the crank, with moveable chain-guides (the derailleurs) which “derail” the chain by moving it sideways to engage with […]

With their relatively high handlebar height and upright riding position our bikes are clearly designed for comfort. Distribution of the bike’s weight “fore-and-aft” is also important and we have paid design attention to that. We have chosen saddles specifically designed for e-bikes, because the rider’s full weight is more often fully on the saddle and […]

Our bikes have blended characteristics of a road bike (light weight, large diameter wheels for low rolling resistance) and characteristics of a city bike (somewhat wider tires, non-drop handlebars, more upright riding position). They are what has come to be known as hybrids. Riders sit in an upright position that gives them good visibility, good […]

In 2016, international airline restrictions (IATA) were imposed prohibiting air travel with lithium-ion batteries of greater than 100 W.h capacity. Since virtually all e-bikes use lithium-ion batteries well above this capacity limit, this ruling essentially meant that people could not air travel with their e-bikes (unless they sent their battery ahead by other means).  As […]

Efficiency is a key consideration in engineering an ultra-lightweight vehicle of any type. Following is a more detailed discussion. Motor Our motors have an efficiency (ratio of output power at the road to battery power consumed) of 80% at cruising speed. Moreover, we have “tuned” the gearing and stator winding to provide highest torque assist when […]

Virtually all electric bikes now use radial flux brushless DC motors (BLDC). These motors vary considerably in audible noise level. Many have a quite noticeable hum, particularly under load, accelerating or when climbing a hill. The hum is from gear clash that stems from the high frequency electrical pulsing that all hub motors generate in […]

These are photos showing the exterior and interior of a well-used Pedal Easy hub motor. Detailed internal inspection showed no sign of significant wear, dirt, or corrosion, and it was still well-lubricated with the original grease – a testimonial to the sealing and durability of these motors! This was after 4 1/2 years of hard use (weekly cycle touring in […]