I am very pleased to offer you the second article in Dr. Morgan Giddings' excellent two-part series on using bicycles as an alternative means of transportation. Morgan's commitment to using bicycles for transportation in her own life and her dedication to helping others find that path (if you'll excuse the pun) is inspiring.
The entire article, available free to all readers, can be found here:
A Quiet Revolution in Bicycles: Recapturing a Role as Utilitarian People-Movers (Part II)
Below is a snippet to get you started.
So you’re inspired to try more biking...now what?
After learning about Peak Oil a few years back, I decided to get a cargo bicycle setup with an electric assist as an alternative to using a car for around-town trips...I quickly found out that it wasn’t a simple undertaking, despite my fairly broad experience. The local bike shops were not enthused by this project. They wouldn’t touch electric assist, and ordering an Xtracycle kit to convert my bike to a cargo hauler was something they were decidedly lukewarm about. Given that attitude, I decided to just order the parts through the Internet and do it myself.
I encountered a huge variety of choices on the Internet, especially in the realm of electric motor kit add-ons. There were myriad motors, motor controllers, and batteries - and a wide range of prices. It took a few months of reading and research before I was confident with my choice. And then the fancy, expensive lithium ion battery I ordered didn’t ever show up (after months of waiting, I cancelled that order). That’s when I decided to get into the business, because if other people had to go through what I was going through, not many would ever adopt this option for an oil-limited future.
Comments related to this article and ongoing discussion on this topic should be posted in the forum thread entitled The Definitive Bicycle Thread (Part II).
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://peakprosperity.com/a-quiet-revolution-in-bicycles-recapturing-a-role-as-utilitarian-people-movers-part-ii-6/