The point of my comment was....the electric bicycle was on the ground back in 1887, and the only reason it languished as a touring machine was for lack of power storage technology that was portable. If we want to say the book contained a rather lengthy section on the electrical bicycle, and the practical problems it presented as far as going a distance beyond the rider's ability to supplement their used power, then it still spells out the same issues the modern electrical assist bicycle has suffered...up until now.
The fact that the 1891 edition of "The Art of Pastime of Cycling" didn't deign to comment on the then current electric bicycle doesn't surprise me. Information imparted in *any* book is at the whim of the author(s), and some are very selective of what they want to give to their readers. Heck, I had to look through a shelf of turn of the century historical books on British artists from 1900-1950 to find mention of the one artist I was researching, and only 3 out of the 15 books I researched had her. Two were barely footnotes. Yet she had exhibited in New York and in California in 1922 at well known galleries, was mentioned in a prominent art magazine as to the scope and beauty of her work, and when she went back to England she was lauded by several societies as one of their strongest women artists in sporting and country art. To top it off she eventually (at age 45) married a Viscount. Her work is still being sold by art dealers today....yet she fails to appear in many of the art books that supposedly index British artists. Go figure.
So a not-quite-viable idea for an electric touring bicycle wanted by a long distance rider doesn't mean it didn't exist. It did. It just wasn't going to work - for all the reasons Bury and Hiller put forth - for touring, without a substantial means of support for the technology at that time. Doesn't surprise me that it was ignored by other authors. For them it was a non-starter.
Today is different. And what makes this whole thing a non-issue is we really don't have to worry about what they had to worry about. Technology has advanced enough to make it practical, and within the scope of just about everyone. Anyone planning on touring with an ebike can now focus on the important things related to today's touring: How best to enjoy it.
If you carry a cell phone, or a GPS, or a computer you have exactly the same concerns as the person who has an electrical device for their bike. You're all in the same boat, folks.
Last edited by momsonherbike; 07-22-16 at 04:14 PM.