Electric vehicles are nothing new, yet have are still unfamiliar to the American, yet are one of the most popular modes of transport in many other countries. An estimated 120 million e-bikes navigate the roads of China every day. That’s half as many as cars on American roadways.

I would like to tell my story of constructing both an electric skateboard and an electric bicycle with no official training in electric vehicles, special tools, or even electronics. I’d also like to inform everyone how they can create one as good or better than commercial offerings, licensing them, and getting support from the EV community.

Electric bicycles have not caught on in the US, however that doesn’t mean they are unavailable. With a few simple tools, some basic information, and either money or thriftiness one is able to construct electric vehicles with relatively little difficulty or surprises.

Several open source designs such as the OpenReVolt motor controller have emerged for both whole vehicles and individual components. These can give the amateur builder some great ideas and tools to use when undertaking a project like this.