Finally decided to give one of these a try a couple months back
https://www.amazon.com/Speedrid-Electric-Powerful-Removable-Professional/dp/B08DY2RJ6D
Been playing with it around home, my wife liked it so we bought a second. Of course, I always had an intention of trying to use them on a flying trip instead of renting a car/uber/etc. Finally did that last week.
I will start off by saying I got dimensions somewhere, not sure if it was the amazon listing or a review or what on the folded size of the bike. When I pulled out my own tape measure I immediately knew they were being overly optimistic... perhaps not taking the width with the pedals into account or measuring length at the farthest point of the round tire. At any rate it wasn't going to be as easy of a fit as I thought. Fortunately I have a Lance....
I had a to remove the rear seats... they're quick release on this aircraft so not a big deal. They weigh a little over 60# each... so heavy but again I have a Lance so such weight isn't that concerning. One mistake I did make was adding the saddle bags... had to flop them over as you see so the bikes would fold far enough to get the door closed. Don't remember the measurements offhand but something tells me a Cessna 150 owner should not attempt this.
We took a trip to FL, going to Marko Island then later to Marathon in the keys. In both places we were able to use these bikes as our only transportation. The maiden voyage was a > 6mi trip from the airport to our hotel with baggage.
Actually, it was quite easy... even with my flight bag bungee corded to my back and a heavy loaded backpack on me it was no problem to make a 6 mile ride. You just don't have to work hard with the motor and it can do as much as 20mph although using a more efficient assist mode you get more like 13-17mph. Marco Island had decent bike lanes and paths to use. We checked in and wheeled the bikes inside to charge while we hit the beach. That said, we both had at least 75% charge left according to the indicator... clearly on nearly flat paved terrain they have a fair amount of range.
Aside from a restaurant across from the hotel we liked, we used the bikes to get everywhere. Without a backpack on and in mid-high 80s weather in FL I sweated more standing still than riding. It didn't really hit me how much faster we zip around on these things vs a conventional bike until we started coming up on other bicyclists and zooming by them with our electric assist set on 2(it goes 1-5). Marco Island is a fairly small-ish area that is fairly bike friendly.
After a few days in Marco we flew to Marathon in the keys and again used the bikes for our only transport. Marathon is a fairly small place, we could easily go from one end to another on one charge.
So overall...
Pros:
Not having to pay to rent a car
having our ground transport with us all the time without having to arrange in advance
It adds a fun activity to a trip if you like riding a bike
No waiting for Uber/lyft or having to park a car
Cons:
To fit two of these in one of the biggest piston singles out there I still had to reconfigure seats
lifting/maneuvering an ungainly heavy objected in/out of the aircraft.
anxiety of having a pair of $900 bikes in an unfamiliar area and hoping you can find somewhere to park/attach the bike lock and nobody has bolt cutters.
Advertised range is 20mi, farther if you use more pedaling/less assist. Limits how far you can go
After running the battery down they pretty much take overnight to charge back up
Only works in bike friendly places.
Overall I'm glad we tried it, we'll find some more places to go with them and probably take them to fly-ins.
https://www.amazon.com/Speedrid-Electric-Powerful-Removable-Professional/dp/B08DY2RJ6D
Been playing with it around home, my wife liked it so we bought a second. Of course, I always had an intention of trying to use them on a flying trip instead of renting a car/uber/etc. Finally did that last week.
I will start off by saying I got dimensions somewhere, not sure if it was the amazon listing or a review or what on the folded size of the bike. When I pulled out my own tape measure I immediately knew they were being overly optimistic... perhaps not taking the width with the pedals into account or measuring length at the farthest point of the round tire. At any rate it wasn't going to be as easy of a fit as I thought. Fortunately I have a Lance....
I had a to remove the rear seats... they're quick release on this aircraft so not a big deal. They weigh a little over 60# each... so heavy but again I have a Lance so such weight isn't that concerning. One mistake I did make was adding the saddle bags... had to flop them over as you see so the bikes would fold far enough to get the door closed. Don't remember the measurements offhand but something tells me a Cessna 150 owner should not attempt this.
We took a trip to FL, going to Marko Island then later to Marathon in the keys. In both places we were able to use these bikes as our only transportation. The maiden voyage was a > 6mi trip from the airport to our hotel with baggage.
Actually, it was quite easy... even with my flight bag bungee corded to my back and a heavy loaded backpack on me it was no problem to make a 6 mile ride. You just don't have to work hard with the motor and it can do as much as 20mph although using a more efficient assist mode you get more like 13-17mph. Marco Island had decent bike lanes and paths to use. We checked in and wheeled the bikes inside to charge while we hit the beach. That said, we both had at least 75% charge left according to the indicator... clearly on nearly flat paved terrain they have a fair amount of range.
Aside from a restaurant across from the hotel we liked, we used the bikes to get everywhere. Without a backpack on and in mid-high 80s weather in FL I sweated more standing still than riding. It didn't really hit me how much faster we zip around on these things vs a conventional bike until we started coming up on other bicyclists and zooming by them with our electric assist set on 2(it goes 1-5). Marco Island is a fairly small-ish area that is fairly bike friendly.
After a few days in Marco we flew to Marathon in the keys and again used the bikes for our only transport. Marathon is a fairly small place, we could easily go from one end to another on one charge.
So overall...
Pros:
Not having to pay to rent a car
having our ground transport with us all the time without having to arrange in advance
It adds a fun activity to a trip if you like riding a bike
No waiting for Uber/lyft or having to park a car
Cons:
To fit two of these in one of the biggest piston singles out there I still had to reconfigure seats
lifting/maneuvering an ungainly heavy objected in/out of the aircraft.
anxiety of having a pair of $900 bikes in an unfamiliar area and hoping you can find somewhere to park/attach the bike lock and nobody has bolt cutters.
Advertised range is 20mi, farther if you use more pedaling/less assist. Limits how far you can go
After running the battery down they pretty much take overnight to charge back up
Only works in bike friendly places.
Overall I'm glad we tried it, we'll find some more places to go with them and probably take them to fly-ins.
