Got an email the other day from Jeff Radtke. Jeff has a company up in Madison, Wisconsin called Neodymics and he’s been busy designing and building a bike to moped conversion unit (a BMU), that quickly converts a standard bicycle into a moped. When I say quickly, I mean in seconds. All you do is flip your quick release lever and drop out the front wheel, put the BMU in its place and presto, you have a moped. Reversing the procedure is just as quick. That’s neat.
The BMU has an electric motor plus a battery unit mounted low, keeping the center of gravity low to enhance stability. Batteries can be swapped out easily when one runs down so you could carry an extra or have one stored at work or in some regular destination. Swap in the fully charged unit, put the other on charge and you’re good for the return trip. You also still have your regular pedal drive system in place so you’re not stranded anyway.
The unit can be used on different bicycles so if you have one and someone else in your family has a bike of their own that fits them better, they can put the BMU on their bike. This also gives a power assist to riders of different capabilities so a slower rider can keep up with a more powerful rider.
The quick change capability means no bicycle is dedicated to powered use and if you get another bike you can use the unit on the new one. It also means you can quickly remove the power unit for security when you need to lock your bike outside.
Overall, this seems like a really nice drive system. The unit is not yet available for sale and Jeff is looking for more feedback. Jeff has a lot of information on his site explaining all aspects of the BMU in considerable detail. Stop over, take a look and let him know what you think. As for me, I like it.
UPDATE: I made a mistake on the name, it’s actually NeoDymics, there’s no “na” in there so I’ve corrected the above links. I guess the eye sees what it wants to see.
see also: Revopower Wheel
Matt says
I don’t know the progress of this thing lately, but the guys at http://www.revopower.com/main.html (featured here at Kneeslider before) are already in work with a similar thing that doesn’t look nearly as bulky as this one. Last time I inquired they didn’t have an official email list for updates, but they did reply and said they would let me know when/if they would be going to market with their product.