Watch our intern, Chris, feeling "very empowered" by riding an electric bicycle for the first time. His immediate reaction is: "Electric bicycles can be one's only mode of transport in the city. No need to get a car!"

Chris, who holds a degree in renewable energy, also calculates whether one standard solar panel (1 x 2 meters) with a yield of 250 Watts is sufficient to charge the electric battery of the Omnium cargobike. In order to cover all my daily transport needs:

- 2 x 9 km commute (including vertical elevation of 130 meters)
- 2 x 2.2 km lunch ride (including vertical elevation of 100 meters)

The solar panel only needs to charge the battery for about 40 minutes every day!

The conclusion is clear: One solar panel is more than enough to cover my daily transport needs.

In fact, one solar panel delivers almost nine times more energy (0.84 kWh/day) than my daily electric 22.4 km transport need (0.094 kWh/day). The monthly transport electricity consumption only costs USD0.28 per month (RM1.13 per month), if charged from the electric grid. The cost from solar power would be similar, as solar power has obtained grid parity in Malaysia.

The calculations are done based on the climatic data for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in the month of December. Being placed just 3 degrees North of the Equator, there is only little variance in the monthly solar yield across the year.

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Highlights from the video include:

0:05 Meet our intern, Chris, who did his degree in renewable energy
0:45 Chris' reactions after riding the electric bicycle
1:01 Electric bicycle battery charging
1:10 Energy measurements and calculations of whether one solar panel is sufficient to meet the daily power needs of the electric bicycle
1:22 Results: 9-fold more energy from one solar panel to need my daily transport needs (22.5 km on electric bicycle)
1:33 Lunch bicycle ride starts (full recording of trip)
2:26 Nice view of both the Brompton and the electric Omnium cargobike riding down the hill
8:44 Arriving at Soo Kee food court restaurant in Lucky Garden, Bangsar
11:46 Ride back to office starts with packed lunches in tupperwares for our colleagues
12:28 Chris is much faster uphill on the electric bicycle than me on my 100% human powered Brompton
14:40 I'm out of breath, and Chris checks if I'm alright - LOL
14:53 Chris races away from me. The power of an electric bike :-)
19:53 Full conversation with Chris after the ride, which he found to be "empowering"
23:23 Folding my Brompton
23:43 Nice view of the small folding Brompton and the big long Omnium cargobike
24:12 Route map of lunch ride in Bangsar

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Route map of this trip: https://www.komoot.com/tour/292235202...
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Time and venue: Monday mid-day lunch hour (7 December 2020) in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Filmed with GoPro Hero 8 mounted on chest strap while riding Brompton bicycle.
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My Omnium cargobike is from Denmark, but available on their webshop. I got mine delivered within 1 week of ordering it! Several viewers asked about the bike, so here are the details.
Website: https://omniumcargo.dk/

Price: RM10,000 (USD2500) for the cargobike without electric motor
Price: RM15,000 (USD3750) for the cargobike with electric motor, which is the one I have. The electric motor is a Shimano STEPS 8000 power unit. Motor power is 250 W (the max limit allowed in the EU), the battery stores 0.5 kWh of electricity, giving a range of 80-100 km, and only costing RM0.20 (USD0.05) to charge. Cheap operating expenses :-)