DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRIC BICYCLE PERFORMANCE TESTING TECHNIQUES AND ADAPTABLE ELECTRIC BICYCLE POWER SYSTEM

摘要

Battery powered electric bicycles and scooters, replacing the heavily polluting scooters with two-cycle internal combustion engines, provide zero-emission transportation for many parts of the world. Annual global sales of electric bicycles have risen from 36,000 in 1993 to over 500,000 in 1999 and to multi-millions today. To facilitate the development of new electric bicycles, a computerized electric bicycle testing facility has been created. Standardized testing cycles for quantitatively measuring the performance of electric bicycles have been developed. Testing results of three representative electric bicycles using the newly introduced electric bicycle testing methods and testing facility are presented. The development of a low-cost, fully Adaptable Electric Bicycle Power System (AEBPS) designed to be quickly adapted to a regular bicycle is also presented. The AEBPS can be attached to a regular bicycle in less than ten minutes, and removed in under five minutes. Performance of a converted bicycle using the AEBPS is evaluated and compared with representative commercial electric bicycles. The work forms the foundation for systematically evaluating different electric bicycle designs and for carrying out design optimization of electric bicycle power systems suitable to different markets and needs.