Electric bicycles

From: bill@wkidston.freeserve.co.uk
Date: Wed Aug 27 2003 - 08:35:18 MDT

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    On Wed Aug 27, 2003 03:14 am Jeff Davis wrote:
    > What's the speed and range on that thing? I've always
    > like the idea of the bicycle as an electric vehicle.
    > It's the minimalist/leanest solution to the motorized
    > transport formula because of the way that chassis
    > weight, cabin weight, battery weight, engine weight,
    > and passenger weight all feed back into one another
    > making rapid rate of weight increase a problem with
    > individual motorized passenger transport. The range
    > dependence on heavy batteries is a killer.
    >

    Electric bikes seem to be getting rather popular.
    "In 1998, worldwide sales of electric bicycles exceeded $200 million,
    making it the most viable of all consumer EV markets, as well as one of
    the fastest growing transportation markets today. Market analysis
    suggests that the demand has grown to more than 100,000 units annually."

    Google on 'electric bicycle' and you get lots of places you can buy them.

    The Alternative Fuels Data Center has a page on them:
    http://www.afdc.doe.gov/afv/bikes.html

    The US Department of Energy has a comparative table with all the data
    you want. See:
    http://www.ccities.doe.gov/vbg/progs/search_type.cgi?7

    I would expect them, like electric cars, to be more popular in a warm
    climate like California or Florida.

    (I can't see a Texan riding one - where would the bull-horns go?)

    BillK



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