Solar Power E Trike:
Thunder Bay Television News
July 11, 2012
To watch the TBT news interview follow this link:
http://tbtv.media.origin.entriq.net/tbtv/video//20120711175800_09405_001503p1001711p2.wmv
Jazzed-Up Scooter ‘Awesome’
The Chronicle-Journal
July 11, 2012
Richard Small has converted a Dragon three-wheeled electric bike — purchased at Thunder Bay’s GoGreen EBikes in Victoriaville — into a vehicle powered solely by the sun.
 “I always wanted to do it,” Small said Tuesday. “I started playing with solar about 10 years ago, and I always wanted a vehicle.
Richard Small demonstrates his solar powered e-trike on Tuesday for Mac Gamble, owner of GoGreen EBikes. (Sandi Krasowski) A Thunder Bay man is hoping to set an example with his customized solar-powered scooter
“Ten years ago, though, the (solar) price of the panels was really, really high,” he said. “They’ve come down.”
The Dragon bikes are all electric, running on a battery that’s charged up via an outlet. But Small has cut the outlet out of the equation.
He hasn’t had to plug in his scooter since the conversion was finished about two weeks ago, he said; the bike is charged through the three solar panels he’s installed on it.
“It’s 500 watt,” he said. “It does 32 (km/h) peak speed. I get about 150 to 200 kilometres’ range out of it.”
The panels can tilt depending on where the sun is in the sky to aid with charging, Small said.
The entire cost about $3,600, including $650 for the three solar panels, he said.
Doing the work to modify the Dragon bike voids the warranty, so Small isn’t prepared to start working on bikes for other people, yet. He will, however, explain exactly how he did the conversion — Small said the project took about five days — to those interested in trying it themselves.
And GoGreen owner Mac Gamble is spreading the word, too.
“I think it’s an awesome project,” Gamble said.
“I’ve had a few people that have come by the store that have seen him out on the road that want to know what it costs for the solar panels and how he did it.
“I was in Hamilton talking to a dealer down there. He wants to talk to (Small) about it.
“It’s going to get better.”
Silent Running E- Bikes Cross Canada Trek
Edited by Manny Hussey
June 9, 2010
 THUNDER BAY, ON ---- June 9, 2010 ---- This summer Art Burns is making Art Burnsan epic journey. He is traveling from Dundas Ontario to Langley B.C. by e-bike. “No-one has made this kind of trip on a scooter style electric bike” says Art. It will put these e-bikes to the test. His ride is a Velotec Challenger RSV e-bike. His bike is equipped with a set of lithium ion batteries which is out of the ordinary for this model. The bike features a front disk brake which Art feels would be needed due to the extra weight he will be carrying on this trip and the hills in British Columbia.
Extra equipment for this trip includes a Honda 1000 watt generator for charging where no outlets are available. The bike has an oversized trunk and two saddle bags, a camera, a miniature stereo system. “It’s a long ride at 32 Kilometers a hour”.
The highlight of the trip was watching a bear being trapped by MNR personnel at the Husky truck stop at Nipigon. These e-bikes are meant for city communing with a run of up to 50 kilometers on lead batteries, so making a long haul trip poses special challenges.. One of them is the need to recharge. “Its not really a problem because after three hours it s time for a break” I use a wall outlet or my generator it takes 2 ½ hours to go from 1/3 rd charge to a full charge.
Another big concern is “go around “drivers will Mac Gamble  and Art Burnsoften wait for the last minute before they pull into the passing lane and go around the cyclist. Twice Art was forced off road by large trucks who did not slow down or pull over. “The driver was not concerned about me at all”. Construction zones are a problem for Art as well. A well worn gravel path is not too bad, but e-bikes don’t do well on loose gravel.
Art plans to reach his destination of Langley BC by June 18th that means he will need to travel 350 kilometers daily to meet his goal. Tomorrow he is off Kenora. He has a couple of days to spare on his schedule in case of bad weather. We wish him a good journey.
In Thunder Bay, Veloteq can be found at http://Golectrictbay.com
Bert Rowson for Lake Superior News.com
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ART'S CROSS CANADA TRIP on an E-BIKE from FauxPop TV on Vimeo.
Join Seaforth area resident Art Burns on his E-Bike adventure across Canada.
Veloteq Electric Bike Up to the Task
by James Murray
June 9, 2010
 THUNDER BAY - “For every up, there is a down”, that is how Art Burns from Art BurnsDundas, Ontario describes his journey across Canada on a Veloteq Ebike. Burns is sporting his own version of a “playoff beard” on his journey that will take him to Langley, Williams Lake, and 100 Mile House before flying back home to attend his brother’s wedding.
Burns left Dundas, Ontario on May 31st. Over the last nine days he has been traveling to Thunder Bay and expects to be in Langley, British Columbia by June 22nd.
Upon arriving in Thunder Bay, he has traveled trouble free for 1,889 km since leaving Dundas on the 31st of May. “I drive about two to three hours, until the battery gets low,” shares Burns. “Then I either charge it with the generator or if there is a plug-in, I can charge it there”.
The trip has had a couple of adventures already. One of his concerns at first was how truckers and other motorists would react coming up on him on the road. Burns stated that truck drivers have been especially helpful often pulling out to give him lots of room.
In Nipigon, last night, Burns got to see how a young yearling black bear was trapped by MNR at the Nipigon Husky. Thebear was engaging the garbage container until he walked into the bear trap.
Burns is riding a 2010 Challenger manufactured by Veloteq, which is specially equipped with a small generator to charge his lithium batteries. The bike is an unmodified bike equipped with Lithium batteries to extend the bike’s range. The standard Veloteq bikes are normally equipped with sealed lead acid batteries which give the bikes a range of up to 80 km between charges.
This isn’t the first experience Burns has had with Veloteq bikes, his first bike racked up 12,180km. Mac Gamble, of Go Green Electric in Thunder Bay states, “There have been absolutely zero problems with the Veloteq bikes, it just goes to show the quality and durability of the e-Bike”.
If you are interested in seeing a Veloteq Ebike, you can drop by the showroom in the Lake Superior Centre at 605 East Victoria Ave.
Visit www.golectrictbay.com
GoGreen EBikes
 A Southern Ontario man is travelling across Canada on an electric bike. Art Burns left Dundas, Ontario at the end of May, and hopes to be in Langley, B.C. by June 22nd. Burns who was in Thunder Bay today says he's travelling across the nation to promote green transportation. Burns is driving a bike which is equipped with a small generator to charge its lithium batteries. Art will be in Dryden late Thursday night and in Kenora on Friday.
Posted by The Giant 105.3 News at 2:49 PM
Labels: Photo by Sheri Leviski
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