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Bidwell Bike Pusher - electric pusher for bikes
From the assembly manual's Introduction:
Overview
After you see your first Bidwell Bike Pusher and wonder what is it and how it works, you'll be sold when you actually attach the Bidwell Bike Pusher to your bicycle, mount the bike, push the hand throttle, and accelerate briskly away with no pedaling or effort! It's as if your bike has now magically become a motorcycle but requires no special licensing or insurance. Cruise a few blocks and negotiate some high-speed corners; it'll feel so smooth you won't even notice that the Bidwell Bike Pusher is powering you. Then discontinue using the motor and start pedaling; you'll feel that the drag from the Bidwell Bike Pusher is almost non-existent. Then try pedaling and applying power at the same time; notice how easy and natural this feels! It's almost effortless to maintain an 18-20 MPH pace!
You can mount a cargo box on your Bidwell Bike Pusher in seconds and head for the grocery store, or pack up your gear and go on an outing. The Bidwell Bike Pusher Cargo Box will easily carry a 12-pack and a couple of grocery bags. The Cargo Box is also weatherproof and lockable. Pack a picnic lunch, load it into your Bidwell Bike Pusher Cargo Box, and head for the park, lake, or beach. When you arrive, unhitch the Bidwell Bike Pusher and go for a few laps around your favorite track or play area under your own pedal power. It's a snap to connect and disconnect the Bidwell Bike Pusher&ldots;no tools required!
Have a ball, enjoy your lunch, then reconnect the Bidwell Bike Pusher to your bike and return home under all electric power, or pedal the bike without electric power&ldots;or maybe a little of both! You choose when and how much help you want from the Bidwell Bike Pusher.
The Bidwell Bike Pusher fits into the trunk of your small car for easy transporting to and from your biking area. If necessary, you can remove the attachment arm for an even smaller package of 17"x27"x13".
The standard batteries (located under the diamond plate deck) will push your bicycle at 16 to 18 MPH for approximately 8 miles. The range can be increased to up to 30 miles by adding more batteries. Pedaling also increases the range and you can also easily pedal home with a tired battery because the motor "Free-wheels".
You can recharge the Bidwell Bike Pusher batteries with electricity from a standard 110 AC outlet by plugging a charger into the battery box under the diamond plate deck. Charging time is 1 to 5 hours for the standard batteries.
You can build the Bidwell Bike Pusher over a weekend in your garage, using standard hand tools. The Bidwell Bike Pusher uses parts from a standard Currie electric scooter: electric motor, drive wheel system (including wheels), wiring, connectors, battery, charger, and handlebar thumb speed controller. Currie scooters are available at some local stores and over the web. The Bidwell Bike Pusher design accommodates a variety of charger and battery options that are available at local stores. All the frame components are available at local hardware stores.
The Bidwell Bike Pusher is based on a patent pending design that has evolved and been improved as a result of extensive Bidwell Bike Pusher racing and hundreds of commuter miles. The three-axis swivel-hitch side attachment to the bicycle, plus the single-wheel drive action provide very stable and natural powering of your bicycle on the straight and in corners. The two-wheeled, side-by-side configuration allows the Bidwell Bike Pusher to carry a hefty load (up to 90 lbs.). And because of the Bidwell Bike Pusher's unique design and independent action, the rider does not significantly feel any interference generated by the load behind the bicycle.
Racing electric Bidwell Bike Pushers on tight closed-circuit courses has shown that low weight and low rolling resistance dramatically enhance range and acceleration. This is accomplished in the base design by a very low weight (38 lbs. with standard batteries) and the free-wheeling of the Currie drive either when coasting or when pedaling only.
Builder's Guide
The Plans and Builder's Guide is an 8.5 X 11 inch format comb bound construction manual with over 40 photos and illustrations. This 48-page book describes in detail how to build this unique, patent pending design from an off-the-shelf, low-cost electric scooter, and how to attach it to any bicycle. A step-by-step picture guide shows you how to build the frame from about $50 worth of standard hardware store parts, and the plans includes a full set of 3D perspective and 2D dimensioned layout drawings (11 drawings). The technical information will show you why the Bidwell Bidwell Bike Pusher was designed the way it was, and how to customize it for different uses. It also includes an introduction to Bidwell Bike Pusher dynamics and electric vehicle technology. A detailed list of parts and alternative parts and where to purchase them is also included.
Building the Bidwell Bike Pusher is mostly a frame building and assembly project. It is an excellent project for a high school shop assignment.
