Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
[intro music]
>> Court: I’m here at Electric Bike Shop in Sacramento. I'm with the owner, Mike, and
I was just checking out this eBike. This is actually kind of becoming a collector’s
item. This is one of the early electric bikes. It's got a Heinzmann motor. It was fairly
powerful at that time and it ran with lead-acid batteries but it's got a really interesting
history. So can you tell me a little bit about that, Mike?
>> Mike: Well, from what I was told and hopefully you'll correct me if I'm wrong that in 1970,
the EPA had requirements to the auto industry to come out with a more or a less polluting
vehicle whereas GM and Ford [originally] and actually produced a car. Apparently, what
I heard was Lee Iacoccoa’s attorney [spend] a loophole and they were able to import these
electric bikes from China and they sold them at Chrysler Dealerships.
>> Court: Interesting.
>> Mike: They always have a little flow. They didn't do very well on hills. But they used
a brass Heinzmann motor, lead-acid, a 24 volt or 26 volt batteries but they have the [inaudible]
approved tires and they become collector’s items now.
>> Court: Well then it's a lot like a car and we've got like a brake light back here,
a big headlight.
>> Mike: Yeah.
>> Court: And I think it's got, what, like a cruise control and a horn.
>> Mike: It's got cruise control, a horn.
>> Court: There's the thumb throttle right here.
>> Mike: Thumb throttle on the right, exactly. And I could still get part of these from outside
of, somewhere outside of Miami Beach, Florida [inaudible] and I'm sure people in a bike
obviously may have that was here in the past but he still does provide parts of these bikes.
>> Court: You know, and I've seen bikes like this before where people have, like, strapped
their own battery on the back because it's got a fairly unique sort of internal system
here where you can kind of open this up and there was a lot, but it's sort of a different
shape. And, gosh, look at this heat sink. There's the horn.
>> Mike: Yeah, that's the controller. It's very large controller.
>> Court: Okay.
>> Mike: And it uses, the battery pack has its own charging system in as well, so it
is not an additional charge. It's basically a computer power cord that plugs into it.
>> Court: Interesting. So, it's, yeah, you know, I've seen a lot of video game consoles
where it's got this huge brick outside. They actually put the brick inside the bikes…
>> Mike: Right.
>> Court: So it was just a little cleaner. Again, I think it was highly praised at that
time is being fairly all encompassing. It's got seat shocks and something, a lot like
a car, so.
>> Mike: Sure.
>> Court: Very cool. Thanks for the history on that, Mike.
>> Mike: No problem, thank you.