I mentioned recently that I had put an electric-assist kit on my recumbent from Swytchbike. I’ll go into a little more detail how it works here. The front wheel gets replaced by a wheel with a hub motor. The control unit, into which the battery clips, mounts on the handlebars. After installing these two, the only remaining necessity is to mount a cadence sensor so the control unit can tell how fast the pedals are turning, which makes the assist kit in. This involves a ring of magnets near the cranks. Swytch came up with a clever split ring for this that can be snapped on without removing the crank, then a retaining ring holds it firmly in place. Very easy installation. I also ordered a throttle for mine which allows you to get the motor to kick in without pedalling.
This is very handy starting out on a recumbent. A disadvantage of recumbents is starting out from scratch. You have to put one foot on a pedal while balancing on the other. You push off with say the right foot, then with the bike coasting in a wobbly fashion have to quickly get the left foot to the other pedal and continue on. You get used to this, but it is still awkward, and disconcerting when traffic is around. With the throttle, you instead get going fast enough with the motor so you’re not wobbly (just lifting both feet a bit so they don’t drag), then put both feet on the pedals and continue on. Throttles are not strictly legal because by law these are supposed to be electric-assist bikes, not scooters. But for this purpose for recumbents they add to safety.
The other cool thing about this kit is that it is a cinch to remove the assist whenever I want. If I want to go into high-performance unassisted mode for doing Strava record attempts, I just unplug the front motor and swap out the front wheel, and unclip the battery. Putting the motor in the front wheel is the key to it being that simple, and also to making installation so easy.
I’ve been using the kit for about a week and a half now and really like it. It has plenty of power to get me up all the hills around here. This helps me keep up on group rides- I do fine on the flats but recumbents are not high-performance climbers. On flatter terrain, even in the lowest assist level it always feels like I have a tailwind. In fact, I’ve taken to riding downwind with a tailwind and no assist, the turning the assist on when going against the headwind on the way back, which is enjoyable both ways. The charge on a battery takes me a bit over 20 miles, so I ordered a spare battery for longer rides. Swapping batteries takes a matter of seconds. This is also by far the quietest electric motor I’ve ever had on a bike.
Last Saturday I did my upper body strength workout, then did an easy ride locally on my upright. Sunday I did a hard ride, a fast cruise down through San Martin to Gilroy and back on the east side, with some intervals on the way back. This one was downwind on the way out and I used assist on the way back, which was fun. Yesterday was similar to Saturday. Saturday’s ride is posted on Strava here, Sunday’s ride here, Yesterday’s ride here
