E-bikes come to Old Town Bikeworks
Electronic wheel attached to frame provides extra thrust while pedalling
Robin Grant
Northern News Services
Thursday, August 10, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
One Yellowknife resident is hoping others will take the same joy he is in an electric-powered bike.
Yellowknife resident Raymond Grant rides his tricycle retrofitted with a pedal-assist wheel that helps him get up hills with a sprained ankle. Having the electric wheel on his tricycle makes riding around town easier as he gets older, he said. The pedal-assist wheel launched at Ramble and Ride last weekend is currently being sold at Old Town Bikeworks. - Robin Grant/NNSL photo
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Raymond Grant is partnering with Old Town Bikeworks founder Matthew Grogono to sell an electronic wheel product that can be hitched to bicycles and tricycles via a throttle fitted in the bike frame.
It helps individuals commute around Yellowknife on a bike with less effort than pedalling alone.
The pedal-assist system is especially useful for senior citizens who want to remain mobile but find it difficult to bike long distances around the city, said Grant.
The system, called a Hill Topper Electric Bike Kit, is being sold and rented by Bikeworks. It was unveiled at the Old Town Ramble & Ride bike rally last Friday. The shop held test rides throughout the weekend as well.
As he gets into mid-sixties, Grant said he finds it difficult to get around the city, especially up the hills on a regular bike. He didn't want to rely on a vehicle so he researched ways to make biking easier.
That's when Grant discovered the pedal-assist wheel.
"It assists you if you are tired, or if there is wind, or on a hill," he said. "It's not a scooter. It's not intended to replace physical activity totally. It is designed to give you that hump that you need to keep biking."
He said the pedal-assist wheel magnifies the strength of the bike about five times. There's no exhaust pipe or revving engine sound. It simply adds a short but powerful thrust.
"If you use it, you can really zoom," said Grant.
Grogono described the e-bike to Yellowknifer.
"It's a replacement wheel for an ordinary bicycle," he said. "You take the front wheel out, hook up the power system and go. It takes half an hour to install."
If the demand is there, the duo said next year, they plan to experiment with solar powered e-bikes.
"If I can charge my bike using solar panels and drive it for a week, it brings my transportation costs for hydrocarbons down to zero - it's that simple," said Grogono.
Old Town Bikeworks is offering the system for between $799 and $1,174, depending on the battery type.
Sales manager at Overlander Sports Gary Tait said the sporting store has sold pedal assist wheels at about $1,000 a pop for the past 10 years - and sales have remained stagnant.
"That segment of the market in Yellowknife is a bit challenging," he said. "It's really a niche bike."
However, Tait said he thinks there could be a market for the pedal-assist system among elderly people, like Grant, who want to continue to ride but have difficulty getting up hills or tire easily.
