News
Kilcummin man has electric idea

E
EXCLUSIVE
By Sean Moriarty
A Kilcummin man is behind an electric bike project in Dublin that he hopes will change commuting habits in the capital.
Damian Fleming is based in Dublin where is works as an industrial plumber.
He lives in Santry, in the north of the city, but works on large long-term construction projects in the centre.
He had grown increasingly frustrated at the length of time it takes him to get to and from work each day as a bus trip could take anything up to 50 minutes and taking his car is not an option due to the lack of on-site parking.
During the first lockdown, last spring, he found himself with plenty of free time and started to investigate ways to make his daily commute a little easier.
Using his mechanical engineering skills he figured out a way to attach an electric motor to any push bike and started using that for his daily commute.
“I can do the journey now in about quarter of the time, the bus could stop several times on the way in but there is a cycle lane all the way in, so no stopping,” he told the Killarney Advertiser.
Buoyed by his own success he investigated ways of turning his new hobby into a small part-time business and has launched Extreme E-Bikes Dublin.
He imports electric motors which can be fitted to any bike and through another contact has access to rechargeable batteries. He is now offering a fit-out service to anyone who wants to convert any bike to electric power.
His products are suitable for the commuter market but more powerful motors are also available for off-road mountain biking.
“I can convert anything from road-legal 250-watt pedal assist bikes to off-road 5000-watt twist-throttle bikes,” he added.