Electric bicycles classifications, history & development 

The ICE vehicles are one of the main causes of polluting the environment, the exhaust emissions of internal combustion engines such as hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM), the need for alternate energy methods is greater than ever. For this many countries are planning to ban all fossil-fueled vehicles in the coming years and promote the use and adoption of electric vehicles more and more. Here in this article, we will be discussing Electric bicycles classifications, history and development. 

The number of health-conscious people using bicycles for short commuting trips, like daily shopping, going to school, and going to work, is continually increasing. An electric bicycle is one of the environmentally-friendly vehicles as well as a zero-emission. The benefit of using electric bicycles are double one it is good for health and the environment as well. It has some other benefits as well such as it does not require e insurance, road taxes, and a license to ride in most countries.

Classifications of electric bicycles

• Pure electric bicycles
• Power-assisted bicycles
• Combine pure and power-assisted mode

Pure electric bicycles

The pure electric bicycle without a pedal uses an electric motor installed on the bicycle frame or wheels, and the driving power is controlled through a handlebar throttle.

Power-assisted bicycles

The power-assisted bicycle is a human-electric hybrid bicycle that assists the rider. When pedalling and it has a motor along with a sensor to detect the pedalling speed and Pedaling force. The force sensor will detect the force generated by pedalling and then send a signal to an electronic control unit (ECU) to control an electric motor. The signal received from ECU electric motor creates additional power to assist the rider when pedalling.

Combine pure and power-assisted mode

The third type of EB is a combination of the pure and the power-assisted modes, in the pure mode, the driving power from an electric motor is only controlled through a handlebar throttle and for the power-assisted mode, the driving power is a combination of rider and motor power.

History of bicycles

There is a lot of history for the creation of bicycles, but let us just discuss from the time of pneumatic tire that was first applied to the bicycle by an Irish veterinarian whose name was Dunlop. The pneumatic tire style bicycle was said to be the safest, comfortable and it was also getting affordable that everyone wanted to ride a bicycle.

“The Safety Bicycle” was the most important change in the history of the bicycle and that became very popular beginning in the late 1880s.

Development of electric bicycle (EB)

Let us now look at the development of electric bicycles. The electric bicycle can be propelled by human power or motor or both. In 1895, Ogden Bolton invented an EB integrated with a six-pole direct current (DC) hub motor mounted in the rear wheel. The rheostat is placed on the handlebar and suitable construction is made for the battery.

1896, Charles Theryc invented the wheel with an electric motor hub that can be applied to vehicles and bicycles that helps to convert the self-moving bicycle into an ordinary bicycle. In 1998, Gordon John Scott invented a pedal that rotates a generator instead of a battery that used to drive a small motor.

There were many electric bicycles were invented in between but the first EB was invented by Thomas M. McDonald with an n electric hub motor mounted in the front wheel. Peter Watson Leighton invention is related to an electrically assisted pedal cycle. The motor is coupled to the ground engaging wheel in such a way that the motor can drive the ground engaging wheel, so as to assist the rider in propelling the cycle.

The invention of Henry M. Gannon relates to an electric propulsion system and a rotatable coupler conducts the solar Charging current from the solar cells to the plurality of batteries.

An improvement to electrical bicycles is provided by Wen-Cheng Chou invention. An output of the bevel gear wheel of a D.C. motor is engaged with the large bevel gear wheel to directly drive the hub in a forward direction. The hub may also be pedal driven so the function of the pedals is not changed.

Types of electrical energy sources

• Lead-acid battery
• Nickel-cadmium battery(NiCd)
• Nickel-metal hydride battery (NiMH or Ni–MH)
• Lithium-ion battery
• Lithium-ion polymer battery
• Electric motors
• Lithium-ion polymer battery

Also, read related article: Luna Cycle launched X2 full suspension electric bike

(source-Gradiva review-journal)

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