Interesting Engineering – “Electric bikes are the new hot thing, and the COVID-19 pandemic that is here to stay for some time has surely strengthened its market. From retailers offering them to NHS workers for free in London to New York City re-legalizing their use to help support food deliveries, we can say they are having a moment in history since people are looking at other ways of commuting to ensure physical distancing.  However, the most common electric bikes in the market today range from $400 to $2000, so getting hold of one can be a bit tricky. One Redditor, who had a 20-year-old bicycle and a washing machine laying around, had a pretty innovative solution for that.  Redditor, Jimminecraftguy, who is out to get his electricians degree in 2 years, built quite the DIY project indeed: After taking his washing machine’s brushless DC motor out, which runs on 1,100 volts but is made to run on 48 since he doesn’t want “to die anytime soon,” he placed it in the center of his old bike’s frame and connected its drive gear to one of the front chainrings. This way, he was able to send power to the rear wheel, making everything run smoothly…”