From: Emlyn O'regan (oregan.emlyn@healthsolve.com.au)
Date: Wed Aug 27 2003 - 18:10:06 MDT
I have an engine which I add to a normal bike. See it here...
http://www.zapworld.com/dx.htm
I bought it a few years back. It's required no maintenance, and I've moved
it across about 5 different bikes now I think.
It's range is not too bad under ideal conditions; one lead-acid battery
(From website... BATTERY: Sealed, maintenance-free, lead acid dry-cell
twelve volt, 20 amp-hr battery is approximately 7" x 7" x 3" and weighs
about 12.5 pounds) will keep me going for about half an hour of riding. If
there are some hills, it'll be juiced more quickly. In a very hilly,
bike-unfriendly region, it's hopeless (so I couldn't use it when I lived in
the adelaide hills).
In the wet, it's range can just about halve, because of poor traction
between the spindle and the tyre (you have to clamp it down tighter, which
increases friction I think). I've been experiencing that a lot lately, but I
think with some adjustment of the placement of the engine I can fix it
somewhat.
As to speed, check the URL above. All I know is, it'll accelerate me very
quickly (with a bit of pedalling added in), and get me to a speed I'd get to
by pedalling pretty hard at fairly high gearing; quite fast. Also note it is
addive, so your pedalling adds to it, which is excellent. You can work at a
fairly lasy rate, putting in a little effort, and pass the spandex clad
cycle nazis, which is funny. It's almost silent and pretty unobtrusive, so
people don't notice it until you show it to them.
A couple of years ago, I used to ride an hour to work, and took a second
battery with me (using both up on the trip). Those things are heavy! Now my
trip is twenty minutes to half an hour, so it's just perfect.
The best thing about it is that it's not technically a motor vehicle, so
I've got no registration costs, insurance, or much in the way of regulations
besides having to wear a helmet. I can use bike paths (which are through
very pretty parkland) instead of congested roads.
I have a "third wheel" (a long bar which joins to the seat pole and has
another seat, set of pedals, and back wheel, turns you into an articulated
tandem) which I use to take my three year old to child care, all of which is
heavy (third wheel + boy who doesn't pedal), but the engine sorts that out.
I think some of the purpose built electric bikes might be more efficient
than the engine kits like mine; I test drove one a few years back that
looked like a vesper with pedals. My only problem with those is that I think
they are perceived more as a motor vehicle than a bicycle (and then you may
as well get a motorbike).
But I just noticed what I *really* want for my bike; a VTOL kit from
Moller...
http://www.zapworld.com/news/mollerzap.htm
Emlyn
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bill@wkidston.freeserve.co.uk
> [mailto:bill@wkidston.freeserve.co.uk]
> Sent: Thursday, 28 August 2003 12:05 AM
> To: extropians@extropy.org
> Subject: Electric bicycles
>
>
> 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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