Description
The Hitch Hiker is robust 3,000 watt, electric pedal assist that operates independently of the decades tested and proven drivetrain and braking system of the Surrey cycle. Easily attachable to most all four wheel Surrey bikes, the Hitch Hiker is a trailing motorized fifth wheel that can be engaged with the ground when in use and disengaged when not in use. The efficient design utilizes a light-weight lithium-ion battery to propel the Surrey cycle by simply turning a hand throttle on the driver side of the Surrey. The Hitch Hiker turns your Surrey quadricycle into a real transportation alternative!
The Hitch Hiker’s fifth wheel design is the only way to safely and reliably provide electric assist to a surrey cycle. Other approaches such as the Chinese hub motor are neither safe nor reliable.
Safety & Reliability – Hub motors sacrifice the time-tested rear drum brakes and replace them with a band brake that is not designed for the mass and weight of a surrey. When using an electric assist on a surrey bike, the brake power should be unaltered or increased, not diminished by an inadequate, cheap brake design.
The hub motor axle is not designed and, therefore, is not large enough diameter to carry the weight of a surrey cycle and its passengers. Hub motors are designed by their manufacturer for single rider bicycles and mopeds.
When lacing a hub motor into a surrey bike rim, the spokes are necessarily too small and too weak to carry the vertical and horizontal stresses imposed on the rear wheel of a surrey cycle. This condition makes the hub motor wheel dangerous and unreliable because of spoke failure.
Not only do hub motors fall short in the categories of braking power, axle strength and spoke strength, because they are not designed for a surrey’s weight and mass, they simply do not last. Hub motor’s interior copper coil will simply not stand up to consistently moving the weight of a fully loaded surrey bike.
The Hitch Hiker comes standard with all equipment necessary to operate safely and reliably. An optional LCD digital speedometer is available that provides helpful information such as speed, remaining battery life and distance traveled.
