Last Sunday, David Strain, a self-described carpenter who puts in "Gucci kitchens," brought his electric-assisted Jaibike to the shop. ("Jai," he explained, means "victory to," as in "Victory to you.") He made this bike for the North American Hand-Made Bicycle Show last year. He welded a steel bike frame and rack, assembled the steering, and used old bike parts that work "just fine" for the drive train and braking mechanisms. Then he added a BionX electric assist hub motor and battery kit. He had talked about the Jaibike during a visit to the shop. I asked him to bring it by so I could ride it. You have to ride a bike to get a sense of it, not just read or talk about it.
The BionX kit David added allows you to pedal the Jaibike like a regular cargo-carrying bike, but when the going gets tough, you can select how much assistance you want from a handlebar-mounted panel connected to the electric motor. So, coming back from Target with a toaster oven in the cargo hold and more items on the rear rack presents no worries if you hit an incline. The quiet electric motor kicks in while you pedal, and you can climb with much less effort. The BionX electric-assist kit weighs approximately 17 pounds. BionX has an FAQ on their site you can check out for more kit information.
The clear plastic ferring he placed over the upper portion of the bike and the front wheel allows for speedy descents if you tuck in behind it. David's background in carpentry is apparent by the stylized lockable wooden cargo box on the front of the bike. (More info. about riding the Jaibike, lots of photos, specs, and David's email after the jump.)
There are four settings on the BionX handle bar control panel. Setting 1 assists at 35 percent and Setting 4 assists at 300 percent. But I mostly used Settings 2 and 3 (75 percent and 150 percent boost, respectively).
I rode the bike around the neighborhood and up some short steep hills. It was a total blast, and I was easily breaking 20 mph going up hill with no cargo in the hold. The motor is quiet. It kicks in gently with no jerky motion. The steering learning curve is a bit like learning to drive a big van. It takes a while to get a sense of where the front wheel is located, since you can't see it when you look down. But after a short while I was steering confidently.
It was a quiet ride, and, if you are like me, someone who enjoys pedaling, you don't have to give up your happy pedaling chemicals. The bike makes practical sense for anyone who doesn't want to drive and park a car while running errands, do shopping, or moving equipment to and from their work site. Bionx makes a kits with 250 W to 350 W motors
Specs for the bike, according to David and the Bionx site, are as follows:
- Electric Motor Power: 350 W nominal and 700 W peak.
- Nominal torque: 10 Nm
- Maximum torque: 32 Nm
- The 350W has 4 power-assist levels: The strain gauge allows the BionX motor to measure the rider's effort and boost the thrusting power by 35%, 75%, 150% or 300%, according to the selected assist level.
- Weight: 4 kg (8.8 lb )
- Battery is 36V
- Frame and rear rack material is 4130 steel
- Lugs are from Henry James
- Jaibike weight is 80 lbs.
- There is a disconnect on the right break that takes the motor offline when you apply the brakes.
- Front wheel is 20 inches (BMX size)
- Rear wheel is 26 inches (mountain bike size)
- Front disc brake rotor is 200mm on a 20-inch wheel, "So you don't endo if you slam on the brakes," according to David.
If you want to contact David about the Jaibike via email, replace the "at" with an "@", and email him: djstrain "at" sbcglobal.net
Photos taken by Wheelgirl
