Along the streets where I live, I regularly bump into, er I actually just see, guys on mountain bikes and gals on electric scooters. Being a biker myself, I wouldn’t mind trading my bike for an electric scooter especially on the way home in the hot summer sun, after a challenging trail ride.
Thanks to a wheel kit recently shown at Interbike 2014, my bike can go electric at the flick of a switch. And not just electric, mind you, solar electric.
Toronto-based Daymak Inc. is following up its wirelessly-controlled e-bike and the Beast off-road solar-powered scooter with the Daymak Drive System (DDS) solar e-bike conversion kit. It comes with a wheel that contains both a 250-watt motor and a battery in its hub. The hub is also covered with solar panels that are protected by a clear plastic cover. You control this beast of a rear wheel using a solar powered handlebar-mounted controller, with which it communicates wirelessly.
Whether it’s sunny, or even cloudy, the solar panels charge up the batteries. According to company representatives, an hour of daylight results in an extra kilometer of battery powered touring.
What’s more, it’s easy to install – just replace your rear wheel and snap on the controller on your handlebar and you’re good to go in as little as 5 minutes. The system will be available by next year in 26- and 28-inch wheel versions set up for either disc or V-brakes. The system will set you back by around US$699, around the same price as a carbon wheelset that you still have to pedal around in the heat of summer anyway.
So is this a hot idea or what?
