electric or gasoline

I'm with you wj. An electric hub motor in the front with regen and a small Li Ion battery that is trickle charged by the ICE when it is in use gives the bike/trike a new dimension. The ability to go stealth or even use it inside a building in the case of handicapped users and the two wheel drive option make it an attractive setup that will be seen more and more as time goes on. Then there is also the fact that the regen will act as a front brake and thereby taking some pressure off your normal brakes or lack thereof.
 
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This is what it looks like; Ed is 65 and has ridden for the last 8+ years.

check out WeRideBikes.org

Bill
 

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it is all in the controller
when power (throttle) is cut to the hub,
rotation of the hub sends juice back to the batteries (hence the regen)
an added plus on my electric trike is that the regen helps with braking
a negative is when you run out of juice, it is very hard to pedal against the regen
 
The advantage a hybrid has over the ebike is that if some parasitic power is robbed via the regen the motor overcomes it with its power. So technically you can be cruising with the ICE and have the regen set to on enough to recharge the battery, yet still have plenty of power to motivate. My favorite hub motor is OJ Birkestrands of www.rabbittool.com. While not readily available the principle of it makes the most sense to me, especially the oil coolant which would allow for the aforementioned practise.

The other way is to run a generator off the motor or drive that recharges the battery, which would not only run the motor but lighting also.
 
i have one of each.

My 24v goes 15mph for 15 miles. Then you have to charge for 5 hours. It's great for someone who only likes to ride short periods. My gas does 25 for 75 miles per tank. I definately like the power, speed, range of gas over electric. I did see though that Toshiba has worked with Schinn to create a battery that charges in 30 mins. Here is the link to the youtube vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQvQlsmb82o
 
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My 24v goes 15mph for 15 miles. Then you have to charge for 5 hours. It's great for someone who only likes to ride short periods. My gas does 25 for 75 miles per tank. I definately like the power, speed, range of gas over electric. I did see though that Toshiba has worked with Schinn to create a battery that charges in 30 mins. Here is the link to the youtube vid ...
That is smart - horses for courses.

Speak to the enviro guys and they are all electric but the reality is that cost and weight are high and versatility is low with e-bikes.

I operate my gas bike as a hybrid pedal/motor-assisted bike. I've got a 10 km downhill ride to work. I disengage the motor transmission downhill.
 
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