I'm not much of a bicycle fan, probably because the issue has been so politicized by groups like Critical Mass -- a group I've repeatedly criticized in the past because I consider it mostly composed of anti-gasoline, anti-car "moonbats."

But nearly everyone is talking about "hybrids" these days ("nearly everyone" certainly includes Glenn Reynolds -- who's been called a "political hybrid"), and something I recently found made me wonder why bicycles can't also be included among the hybrids.

Lots of people have been riding their bikes to work recently, but one of the limitations is the physical ability of the rider, especially on long trips, or riding uphill. For not a whole lot of money, I found an incredibly cool way to hybridize your bicycle with an add-on motor, which is profiled here:

The performance of this little 2-stroke is amazing. It's rated at 1.2 hp, but unlike more powerful, less efficient designs, it delivers more power to the wheel.

We clocked 33 mph out of the box--the engine started instantly with a yank of the pull cord. It uses a centrifugal clutch and thumb-lever throttle. You pedal away from a standstill to ease the initial load on the Kevlar belt, which is said to last up to 5000 miles.

Our test area was in the Adirondack Mountains, so we had plenty of hills. The engine never faltered and took on the grades with verve. It was a delightful, fun ride. Our fuel mileage figured out to be more than 250 mpg. The exhaust is clean (EPA approved through 2010) and quiet--about 70 dBA at idle, 84 dBA flat out. If there was one bang that we couldn't ignore, it was the bang for the buck.

There are plenty of pictures at Popular Mechanics, and here's a closeup:

I've ridden motorcycles, bicycles, scooters and mopeds, but the latter just aren't any good for pedaling as they're too heavy. At five pounds, this motor weighs the same as a laptop.

The only thing I didn't like was the caption under that last picture:

The engine cover slips right on and is held in place by a wingnut.

I mean, would they say that an engine cover was held in place by a "moonbat"? I doubt it.

Although in fairness to Popular Mechanics (recently the subject of ridiculous moonbat attacks), this might be because according to Google, moonbats are tougher nuts than the wingnuts themselves.

But someone has to hold the covers in place, dammit!

(And I doubt the moonbats at Critical Mass would want anything to do with it....)