Are we in the electric Vehicle Revolution?

paul said:
i think we will see hydrogen fuel cells for electric bicycles and cars in the near future, they are currently made mostly for heavy machinery like fork lifts and however fedex just put a lot of money into the development of them for their delivery vehicles. they are saying that a small fuel cell will increase the mileage per charge by up to 70%. truly exciting times ahead for the electric transportation industry
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They exist:
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/hydrogen-fuel-cell-bikes/

http://www.horizonfuelcell.com/#!copy-of-transport-solutions/c19ec

http://www.bike-eu.com/Home/General/2013/5/Launch-of-Worlds-1st-Hydrogen-Fuel-Cell-E-Bike-1269941W/
 
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I would say we are at the forefront of the electric revolution? for sure!!!

if you want to call it new -given the history of electric vehicles being manufactured in the days of yore.

With the small bodied Smart now available electric and the Fiat 6oo now available electric I am sure others will quickly follow and in just a very few years we will be discussing our various wheeled electric transportation vehicles available in all price ranges -for all uses work, play and show

my Norwegian friend tells me the expensive teslas are the number one seller there -because given the luxury tax on mercedes, bmw, audi etc the ELECTRIC tesla is tax free so equal in price!!!
of course that tax free biz is due to change once the market is firmly established
and that will apply world-wide given tax incentives play an important role in accelerating and encouraging the electric revolution!!!!
 
Yea we are in the electric vehicle revolution all right. It has been gaining ground for more than 100 years now. Total world dominance is coming soon... Not!!!!
First let me say that that I agree with the current advantages of e bikes and I have nothing against them. A silent ride is most enjoyable. I'd like to own one someday when e bikes offer a competitive price, 100 mile range, quick and convenient recharge, adequate battery life, reasonable replacement cost. That being said I obviously and respectfully disagree.

Where do you recharge? Can't just plug in anywhere, someone has to pay the electric bill. It isn't free clean energy. We have to burn fuel, pollute the earth, and/or upset the environment to generate it. How much time does it take for a 100% recharge? How long/fare can you go on a single charge? How often are batteries replaced? How much does it cost to replace batteries? Will todays batteries still be available tomorrow for todays bikes? Will todays bikes utilize tomorrows battery technology? Do you know how environmentally unfriendly batteries are? Not just what to do with old batteries, but the manufacturing process for new and re-built batteries isn't green you know.

Can you say, alternative fuel? As long as there is fuel to burn and people to drive there will be ic engines... and e motors too.
 
massdrive said:
Yea we are in the electric vehicle revolution all right. It has been gaining ground for more than 100 years now. Total world dominance is coming soon... Not!!!!
First let me say that that I agree with the current advantages of e bikes and I have nothing against them. A silent ride is most enjoyable. I'd like to own one someday when e bikes offer a competitive price, 100 mile range, quick and convenient recharge, adequate battery life, reasonable replacement cost. That being said I obviously and respectfully disagree.

Where do you recharge? Can't just plug in anywhere, someone has to pay the electric bill. It isn't free clean energy. We have to burn fuel, pollute the earth, and/or upset the environment to generate it. How much time does it take for a 100% recharge? How long/fare can you go on a single charge? How often are batteries replaced? How much does it cost to replace batteries? Will todays batteries still be available tomorrow for todays bikes? Will todays bikes utilize tomorrows battery technology? Do you know how environmentally unfriendly batteries are? Not just what to do with old batteries, but the manufacturing process for new and re-built batteries isn't green you know.

Can you say, alternative fuel? As long as there is fuel to burn and people to drive there will be ic engines... and e motors too.
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You sound exactly like me from only a couple short years ago. I was making the same arguments against electric, even on this forum. I now think we're falling behind the times with that line of thinking, even though it's mostly valid at this moment for autos. It never was about the environment. That was always just an excuse to try to justify electric when there wasn't much advantage to point to.

New technology always is expensive, and over priced in the beginning. Who would buy a gasoline powered lap top, or cell phone now lol?

Electric bicycles are leading this revolution. More electric bicycles are being sold world wide, by a very large margin, than any other type of electric vehicle.

A this moment the only thing stopping electric bicycles from taking over the entire motor bicycle market is price. Every other assumed drawback has already been overcome.

I would buy a Tesla in a heart beat if I could afford one.

Tesla vs Corvette

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOqWlOrlkIg
 
I charge my motorized bicycle at work lol. I do agree with biknut however, this is only just beginning, ibm is working on a new battery called a lipo air, 1/10th the size of lifepo4. 1/10 the weight and 10 times the power. many company's in a race for the best battery's, the lipo air they have working however only good for a few charges, I personally look forward to the future, this is ground floor. as far as battery disposal that is a problem right now however I think that will change in the future just like it has for cell phone battery's and computer battery's, they have drop boxes for them all over the place to be recycled
 
I choose to built ebikes over IC bike simply because it's silent and just as fast if not faster than most setups. I ride mtb trails and nobody bugs me about motorized bikes not being allowed.

How much do you pay per KW on your electric bill? 11 cent per Kilowatt hour? So it's dirt cheap to charge a bike.
How fast can you charge up? Depends what you have available as a charging station. My hobby grade packs can be fully recharged in 6 minutes per pack. But since I have bunch of them, it takes about 35-40 minutes. Less if I only charge up to 90%.

Biggest drawback is the initial cost of the battery pack. You have several choices to go about this.
High performance => Takes more work on your part to manage. Not as my life cycles. Cost the most.
Mid performance => Plug and play. Can last a while if managed properly. Higher cost.
Standard performance => Plug and play. Last a long time. Cost not so high.
Cheap packs => Just that. Cheap.
 
While some concentrate their concerns on the classic counter "range & recharge", electric vehicles are so much more then the batteries that power them - they are the ultimate in multi-fuel motors as just about any source of energy can be used directly or indirectly.

I don't like being dependent on one specific fuel, I really don't like being dependent on those that sell it ;)

Unlike your typical internal combustion powered vehicle, which while it could be refitted to take an alternate fuel - an electric vehicle will take electricity generated from anything, the batteries (if any) simply storing the energy from systems too large to be mobile... and that is where the "revolution" is these days with hydrogen, biofuels, and others, many others - some proven, many still experimental.

Here's a newer one that holds interesting potential;

http://inhabitat.com/cheap-biodegradable-sugar-batteries-could-power-gadgets-within-three-years/

...but even if that doesn't pan out, even if gasoline breaks $10 a gallon - I know I'll be ridin' on regardless, electric generation is simply too easy to DIY to be stopped :D
 
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I saw my second Tesla driving down the street today. I read that Tesla is upping production by 35% to meet higher demand.
 
I live about 15 miles away from the Tesla plant that was once the NUMI plant. This use to be one of my accounts and back in its hay days and they use to spit out cars pretty darn fast. The last time I was there, they only had one of their ten production lines going before shutting down 100%. So I know they have the capacity to increase their volume.
On a daily basis I see at least ten Model S on the road. I'd like to have one someday but having a monthly payment for an $80k car is more of a want then a need.
 
QUOTE=paul;541776]I charge my motorized bicycle at work lol. I do agree with biknut however, this is only just beginning, ibm is working on a new battery called a lipo air, 1/10th the size of lifepo4. 1/10 the weight and 10 times the power. many company's in a race for the best battery's, the lipo air they have working however only good for a few charges, I personally look forward to the future, this is ground floor. as far as battery disposal that is a problem right now however I think that will change in the future just like it has for cell phone battery's and computer battery's, they have drop boxes for them all over the place to be recycled[/QUOTE]

I was part of a 5 man team at Duracell that developed and pattented the process for making the cathode of advance lithium air battery that this IBM battery is using. It was developed to improve the production quality of hearing aid batteries. We exceeded our project goal as it didn't just cut down on production loss, it increased capacity and allows for more odd shaped batteries that still make the most capacity use of the space/mass. We knew at the time that this technology would be used to advance other batteries in the future for many years. My name is on the patents but I get no money because Duracell owns it. I think it's odd that IBM was developing an lith/air battery for cars though since it's not really a practical choice. Funny, I just happen to work for IBM now, wish they pulled me into the project.
One thing that I take pride in from my time with Duracell is that I made the cathodes that were in the lithium ION batteries that were in the first mars rover. Those batteries worked for far longer than expected. I didn't design the battery, just made the cathodes.
 
Some IC motors do sound nice though.
But until the price of batteries come down, most of us want to pay per use not pay in advance.
Most of us have a mortgage/ car payments/ owe money/ All of the above.
And a bike is suppose to be cheap transport.
 
very cool coolcruiser! i imagine it is an exciting field. i cannot wait till the next amazing breakthrough in battery's for our motorized bicycles
 
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