Cycling with Electric Assist

Despite the ravages of aging (I'm nearly 80), I've continued to cycle.

Look at my progression of bicycles! The first bike I owned was a 1956 Raleigh 3-Speed. It was purchased at Macy's (my Uncle Harry worked there and got us a discount). We took it home on the subway. In 1987 I got a Mountain Bike. That was replaced in 1990 by a Long-Wheelbase Recumbent, then a 1996 Folding Bike Friday. By 2014 it became difficult to lift my leg high, so I switched to a Shwinn Girl's Bike.

In 2014, after several falls due to balance issues from Parkinson's disease, I had to go to 3-wheels, a Catrike Recumbent Tricycle. Now, to help me keep up with my bicycling buddies, I've gone to an Electric Assist Motor on my Catrike!

Our local Villages Cycles did a fine job installing an Electric Bike Outfitters (EBO) Burly kit. As shown above, the Controls and Display Units are on my right handlebar, the Rechargeable Battery hangs from the left rear strut, and the Electric Motor is in the rear wheel hub.

Shown above is a close-up of the Battery and Motor. The Battery may be recharged either on the trike, or, with a key, released from the vehicle for charging. The Battery has a capacity of 11 Ampere-Hours which is about 500 watt-hours; The Motor is rated at 350 watts (around 1/2 HP) for continual use, and 800 watts (over 1 HP) peak.

I normally utilize only a small fraction of rated or peak power. Riding 10 to 15 MPH in the relatively flat Florida area where we live requires only about 120 watts (1/6 HP). My efforts on the pedals provide about half the energy required, and the other half is provided by the Electric Assist.

Using Pedal Assist System (PAS) Level 1, I can keep up with my bike buddies. Thus, I can ride for 70 to 80 miles and still have 20% charge to spare!

Shown below is a close-up of the Electric Assist Display and Controls.

The LED Display shows Pedal Assist System Level (from 0 to 5), Battery charge level (in 20% increments), Ambient Temperature, battery voltage, and, (while Electric Assist is operating) Speed. Distance is displayed, but increments only while Electric Assist is operating. Therefore, on my left handlebar, I have a regular speedometer that shows actual speed and distance.

The three Control buttons (UP, CENTER, DOWN) are used, singly and in various combinations, to Turn Electric Assist ON or OFF, Increment or Decrement PAS Level, Turn Backlight On or Off, Change display options, etc.

The PAS is turned on when I pedal above a certain cadence. The wattage is supposed to be based on how fast you turn the pedals, but I've found that, at normal Pedal Cadence, it maxes out at a wattage based on PAS Level. PAS Level 1 supplies about 50-60 watts, Level 2 about 100-110 watts, Level 3 about 200 watts, Level 4 about 300 watts, and Level 5 a terrifying 600 watts!

If either Brake Lever is pressed, the Electric Motor is cut off, a necessary safety feature. When the Brake Levers are released, the Electric Assist resumes instantly.

A Throttle is mounted just below my Gear Shift. When the Electric Assist is ON, I can easily push the Throttle with my wrist and "juice" the Motor to get up to 600 watts, providing a quick start after stopping at an intersection or for handling an uphill such as the ramp into our parking garage.

I use Level 0 (zero assistance) when on long level or downhill stretches. I can keep up with my slower (10 MPH) friends with zero electric assistance, with occasional use of the throttle on short uphills. When riding with my speedier (15 MPH) friends, I tend to use Level 1. Thus, I still get lots of exercise, basically supplying all the pedal energy at lower speeds and about half at higher speeds.

SPECIAL THANKS to my friend Regina Losinger for allowing me to use her tricycle a couple years ago, and for letting me use her electric assist tricycle earlier this year. Those events gave me the motivation and courage to switch to a trike in the first place, and add electric assist in the second. Regina is from the Binghamton, NY area and I know her from the Southern Tier Bike Club I belonged to from 1987 until my wife and I moved to The Villages, FL, in 2003. Regina, I, and some other members of the NY bike club have met yearly at Cape Cod, MA for decades. Our mutual friend John Ruth hosts us at an historic old home in the Chatham area of Cape Cod.  

Ira Glickstein

Are THREE Wheels Better that TWO? My Recumbent Trike!

After many years, and thousands of miles of BI-cycling, I have switched to TRI-cycling! As the image below indicates, I've changed my T-shirt message from "Got Bike?" to "Got Trike!"

MY "CATRIKE" 27-SPEED "VILLAGER" RECUMBENT TRICYCLE
I purchased a used 27-speed recumbent trike from a nice couple in The Villages, had the local Village Cycle shop install a luggage rack, and mounted my laundry basket (for my water aerobics stuff) to the trike with bungee cords. The brand name is Catrike, and, quite fittingly, the model name is Villager.

MY BALANCE PROBLEM DUE TO PARKINSONS DISEASE
I made the decision to quit Bicycling due to a tumble in January (from which my right knee is still a bit stiff) and a second fall in February. Actually, my Bicycle falls started back in 2011, when I fell four times, twice during an otherwise wonderful bike-barge trip in Belgium from Brussels to Bruges.

The following year, 2012, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which is due to insufficient production of Dopamine in the brain. My symptoms include poor balance, tremors, and loss of the sense of smell. I've been taking a medication (Carbidopa/Levodopa) that helps with the tremors, but my balance has declined a bit year by year. Indeed, from 2012 through 2016, I've fallen from my bike once or twice a year, usually when making slow right turns. This despite taking extraordinary care, such as walking intersections and not cycling with large groups. Nevertheless, until this year, I have continued to Bicycle 30-40 miles per week, accompanied by close friends who put up with my antics.

In my younger years, I just hopped aboard and off I went. However, after my second fall this year, I found it increasingly hard to get the bike going. I'd adjust myself on the bike seat, keeping the bike upright with my left foot. Then, I'd put my foot on the right pedal, push it hard to get the bike moving forward, balancing as I tried to raise my left to it's proper place on the left pedal. However, my left foot seemingly "did not want" to leave the ground, and that foot had a heck of a time "finding it's position on the left pedal". It usually took me two or more tries to get going. Very frustrating!

Much easier with the trike!

And, perhaps best of all, my Catrike is MADE IN THE USA (actually right here in Florida!)

SOME BICYCLES I HAVE OWNED AND RIDDEN IN YEARS PAST

My Girl's Bike

Us "Old Dogs" can't raise our legs as high as we used to, so, a few years ago, I switched to a GIRL'S BIKE (images above and below), which is much easier to mount! I purchased it new from WalMart for around $150. Read about it here. Notice the laundry basket for my water aerobics stuff on both my Girl's bike and its predecessor, my fold-up Bike Friday.

I had the great pleasure of riding on my Girl's bike with our granddaughters Samantha and Michaela when they visited in 2015 (image below).

And my bicycling is memorialized for my 70th birthday, in 2009.     

Bike Friday Fold-Up

Here is me doing a bit of "surfing" on my Bike Friday on the hard-packed sand at Daytona Beach, back in 2008. Read more about it here.

By the way, Bike Friday is also MADE IN THE USA (Oregon).

 

Rental Bicycling Adventure in Egypt

Back in 1997, Vi and I visited Egypt, which was quite an adventure. Read about it here.

In Luxor, after our morning escorted tour that included the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut where several dozen tourists were to be mowed down two weeks later, I rented a bike for $5. For an hour I rode around Luxor, all by myself (image below). At one point, to get off the heavily traveled main street, I strayed into a lower-class residential area with dirt streets. I was wearing a hat that had "NY" on it and children called out to me, in English, and said "hello" and "welcome". 

One boy grabbed hold of the rear of the bike and I shouted "La-a" which is "no" in Arabic, but he held on until I shouted "don't touch!" in English. The dirt streets were winding in and out like a rabbit warren with many dead ends. I had trouble finding my way out and back to the main street, but, eventually I did, with no harm done. I felt quite comfortable during that ride.

Two-Wheel LONG Wheelbase Recumbent

Carpal tunnel effects caused my fingers to become numb, so, in 1990, I purchased a LONG-wheelbase Recumbent bicycle. The steering is under the seat, with a multi-link connection to the front wheel, which makes for a a bit of a lag between moving the bar and the wheel actually turning.

(I had Carpal Tunnel surgery on both wrists which is how I was able to go back to an upright bicycle, my Bike Friday, see above.)

Here I am in Ireland riding my Recumbent. 

The story of my trip to Ireland was featured in our local Binghamton newspaper in 1991.

My Mountain Bike

In 1987 I purchased this mountain bike. I joined the wonderful Southern Tier Bicycle Club (THANK YOU AUGIE MUELLER!) and rode with them most Saturdays. I also rode it to and from work a few days a week.

The First Bike I Owned

As a child, my Dad taught me to ride on a bike we rented. He, my Mom, and I would occasionally go out riding on rental bikes. We lived in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, NY and sometimes rode along the Boardwalk between Brighton Beach and Coney Island (allowed early on Sunday mornings when there were few people). Other times, we rode to Sheepshead Bay and along a bike trail to Canarsie.   

In 1956, when I was in high school, my Uncle Harry, who worked at Macy's, arranged the purchase of an Raleigh "English Racer". We took it home on the subway because my Dad did not have a car. 

I rode that bicycle all around our Brighton Beach neighborhood and along the Boardwalk and the Sheepshead bay trail during my high school and college days. (I lived with my parents and younger brother in Brighton Beach and commuted to Brooklyn Technical High School and the City College of New York by subway.) 

I took it with me when I moved out of the house in 1961 to take my first professional job in Norwalk, CT. In 1963 I took my second professional job in North Plainfield, NJ, Although I had a car, I sometimes used that bicycle to go to and from work.  

While working in Connecticut and New Jersey, I pursued my social life in Brooklyn, spending most weekends at my parent's house. I met Violet Stark, my wife-to-be, and taught her to ride a bicycle and drive a car (and we still got married in 1964 :^) 

In 1965, when I got my job at IBM Federal Systems in upstate Owego, NY, we bought a farm in Newark Valley, about 12 miles from work. I gave up bicycling and my ancient Raleigh was left to molder in a corner of a barn. 

In 1978, we moved to Apalachin, which was only 6 miles from work, but I still did not take up cycling. It was not until 1987 when I resurrected my ancient Raleigh (image below) and thought about using it to commute to work. However, it had only three speeds and our house was up a steep hill, so that old bike was not right for the task. Which is why I purchased the mountain bike described above. 

Ira Glickstein