Solar Bike (Australia)

SOLAR BIKE has been operating as a commercial business since 2009 but we’ve been making powered bicycles for years before that time. Whilst initially doing research into hydrogen powered vehicles using algae as a biofactory, the business has developed and the conversion kits have proven popular and we enjoy working on them. SOLAR BIKE is now a wholesale and retail supplier of electric conversion kits for bicycles as well as having our own range of ebikes and supporting other ebike lines. We offer a range of motor powers suitable to all riders and specialise in using the latest lithium ion battery designs available. Our other areas of expertise are designing and building custom electric bicycles, using the sun’s energy to power these bicycles and algal biofuel research. Our speciality is bringing to the market an excellent range of high performance electric bicycle conversion kits, custom electric bicycles and lithium ion battery solutions.

Electric bicycles are fantastic vehicles for many people’s daily commutes of between 0-40km. They are fast, healthy, fun, quiet and require very little energy. They will certainly be a vehicle of the future for many people. Converting your own bicycle to make it electric is a simple and enjoyable process and we hope to help you do this by providing you with all the support you could possibly need and also the best components available to do this. The conversion kits can be put on nearly any bicycle to make it electric. It’s fun and easy to reduce your carbon footprint by replacing your car with an electric bike. If you want to be really green then we can provide you with both the knowledge and the means to make it solar powered!

Solar Bike aims to be a small business that helps everyone start riding electric bicycles around rather than using their cars. The business was founded by Matthew Timmins when a research scientist at the University of Western Australia with key interests and research into algal biofuel technology.

Our electric bicycles can be recharged using a solar module or normal household power. The solar module is not mounted on the bicycle. The module is designed to stay at home in a sunny area collecting energy all day, when you return home in the evening you connect the two systems and the energy is transferred from the solar module to the bicycle. If you are not ideally positioned to use a solar module then you can recharge the bicycle from any home power outlet. We have in development a few different systems of solar charging that use a direct connection from the solar panel straight to the bicycle battery, we look forward to providing these to the public soon.

Electric bicycles are a joy to ride, without even using the pedals it is possible to travel over 30 km on one charge and further if you pedal. The bicycles are healthy, quiet and relaxing and are ideal for people traveling up to 40 km each day. There are so many good reasons to ride an electric bike. Firstly, they are very healthy. Because the bicycle is so much more enjoyable to ride than a regular bike you use it far more often. You will use it for most journeys and when you do you will have no concerns for hills, traffic, parking, getting sweaty, wind or distance. Because you can pedal as much as you feel like you will gradually begin to increase your fitness and will tend to cycle more – all in a super relaxing healthy way! Because you ride faster using less energy the wind chill keeps you cooler and it seems that sweat it totally eliminated. Electric bikes are also very safe, in some ways more so than a regular bike. With the increased speed you do not suffer from being dangerously overtaken nearly as often. Also, you will not feel the need to rush downhills at dangerous speeds. Costs and convenience of using an electric bike are incredibly superior to using a car. There are no insurance or registration costs and maintenance is very minimal – the same as a regular bike. The motors are brushless, which means the only moving part is the wheel and they will last a long time with no maintenance. The only additional cost you should have is for a new battery every 3 – 5 years. This works out to be about 1 cent/km! Finally and most importantly, electric bikes are a great way to aid the environment by reducing your carbon footprint. The continual burning of fossil fuels is not sustainable and probably the best way you can help is by consuming less petrol! We cannot avoid using commercial energy unless we revert back to the stone age but you can reduce your usage dramatically. Using renewable energy will also push along the technology in a sustainable direction.