Well, here's some more footage of my new bike. I couldn't think of a better way to convey its ability to accelerate uphill than to just do it with normal bikes in the background for comparison. Note the dearth of spandex. Is this fad about to go the way of the powdered wig?
The following are some answers to frequently asked questions:
Q: How fast can it go?
A: I don't know. In theory, my car can do 110 mph, but I will never drive it that fast. It is acceleration that matters, not top speed.
Q: Can you recharge the batteries by pedaling?
A: Ah, the idea is to use energy stored in a battery to impart a forward velocity to the bike, not to sacrifice your forward velocity to charge batteries. This question is really about regenerative braking (turning the electric motor into a generator when decelerating or going downhill). In reality, this feature returns so little energy that it is not worth the added cost and complexity. However, the concept is very appealing (like biofuels, mostly because it is so poorly understood). The idea of getting something for nothing feels good and this feature does add an additional bragging point. I'm tempted to put it on just so I can say yes when asked, although I really don't like the idea of more wires and levers.
Q: How far can it go?
A: As far as you can pedal it. The range of the battery however, depends on how hard you pedal, how fast you move, how many hills you hit, headwinds and on and on. In general I have found that four batteries give me between ten and twenty miles depending on how fast I ride. I tend to go easy on long rides and goose it on shorter ones. I have yet to run out of juice on a ride but if I ever do, pedaling home will be a non-issue (although I can always hang out in a restaurant for a half-hour or so to recharge).
Q: How much does it weigh?
A: Bicyclists have grown accustomed to measuring a bike's worth by how much it weighs. It is a meaningless parameter for comparing a regular bike to a hybrid-electric bike, just as it is for comparing a regular bike to a tandem. They do weigh more, so if you have to carry one up a flight of stairs be prepared to hump an extra twenty or so pounds (excluding batteries which are in a separate bag and don't weigh much if they are DeWalts).
Q: Isn't an electric bike cheating?
A: This the most common question I get and it is also hands down the dumbest. It often comes from people who ride an expensive bike to nowhere in particular only on occasional sunny weekends for a little outdoor exercise (the majority of bicyclists). If exercise is the only goal, why not dump the efficient bike and ride a fixie? Most people in the United States still view a bicycle as an outdoor exercise machine as opposed to an extremely efficient, carbon neutral means of single occupant urban transportation.
On a regular bike you have three main variables: Gearing, pedal cadence, and speed. You can go to work slowly in a low gear to avoid a sweat or you can vary your speed, gearing and cadence to arrive at work dripping wet. A hybrid electric bike adds one more variable to juggle: throttle position. You retain the option of arriving at work quickly smelling like an old sock but you now have the option not to, smelling fresh as a daisy, and faster than you could do so in a car. Leave the throttle alone on your commute home if you want to get some exercise. Hybrid electric bikes have the potential to knock down three barriers to bike commuting -- the need for an employer to provide expensive shower facilities, the need for bikers to have to take a shower at work, and the time lost commuting by bike to work.
I think that's enough of the Q and A. I've gained more insight into this machine over the past week. The immediate start feature is awesome. I can gently push the throttle to get the bike rolling up a hill and just hop on. Getting on a regular bike going uphill from a dead stop can be a real pain. While waiting in line with cars at intersections I find that I accelerate faster than the cars which keeps the car behind me happy and lets me get through the intersection quickly and safely.
I drove Pintos as a young person, and the only option to get out of a sticky situation was to decelerate. One day I got to drive a Mazda sports car with a rotary engine in it. I was appalled. I never felt safer in a car. It could not only decelerate to escape harm, but it could also accelerate. Essentially, it gave you more control with more options. This bike is like that sports car. I find myself using its acceleration ability for safety in ways not open to a regular bike. Acceleration isn't dangerous, high speeds are. Many people don't know the difference between the two concepts.
I also came to another realization just today. I was considering putting a bigger gear ring on the front sprocket because I often find that I can't contribute much leg power to the motor because I'm moving too fast. But I think I've changed my mind. The bike's top speed is limited by the exponential nature of wind drag. The gearing is obviously engineered to max the bike speed out at about 20 MPH, unless you are willing to pedal like a mouse in an exercise wheel. So, the gearing is fine as is because it will keep me from going too fast on a machine not designed to go that fast.
Climate Riders use pedal power to raise awareness
Would you trade your car for a bike?
Bikers seeking good ride get naked, and more
Comments
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plum Posted 12:28 pm
13 Jun 2007
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David Roberts Posted 2:15 pm
13 Jun 2007
Plum, for details on price, etc., see this post.
grist.org
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odograph Posted 2:44 pm
13 Jun 2007
Are we really so lazy, so different than the Danes, that we need electric motors to "[open] up the bike not as a kind of quixotic hobby or outdoor exercise machine?"
Anybody got a fresh obesity map?
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bbdpg Posted 2:57 pm
13 Jun 2007
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odograph Posted 3:17 pm
13 Jun 2007
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Biodiversivist Posted 5:00 pm
13 Jun 2007
Hey, we can initiate the first of them here!
I'll wager that I put more miles on and haul more useful stuff in my hybrid bike than you do in your regular bike. I'll also wager that I get from point A to point B faster than you do. I wouldn't be doing that on a regular bike here. It is unlikely that you would be either if you lived at the top of Capital or Queen Anne hill. The hills are just too unpleasant and difficult especially pulling a trailer.
What do we want? Carbon neutral transportation for the masses or to maintain the purity of cycling as a show of virility, replete with colorful tight fitting outfits? By the way, I saw no spandex in that video you offered. If it is purity you want, ride a fixie without brakes like a real man :) Better yet, go run ten miles and get some real exercise :p I have always been a bike rider and was a distance runner for many years as well and buddy, let me tell you, riding bikes is for pussies in comparison to running five to ten miles everyday.
When it comes to exercise, bikes are better than nothing but you will note in your video that nobody is pedaling all that hard. The exercise bit is overhyped. Walking a similar distance would be far healthier. Does this suggest that bikes for those to infirm or lazy to walk or run? /:|
Electric bikes are catching on everywhere. There are tens of millions of them sold in China every year.
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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caniscandida Posted 5:39 pm
13 Jun 2007
On the other hand, there was one valiant fellow, toward the end of the hill-climbing sequence, who was standing and grinding, upright, on the pedals, his tight round butt up off the seat, his arms straight above the handlebar, his head and shoulders forward, his hard slender body weaving gracefully from side to side: the very picture of adorably charming athleticism. Sure, you passed him minutes before, but it was he who won my heart.
As for coming through such a ride smelling like an "old sock," I am told there are people who find the aroma of the male jock's freshly used, besneakered sock rather alluring. It would not surprise me to see someday an after-shave lotion named Old Sock on the men's cosmetics shelves, next to Old Spice.
Indeed, not only socks, but also other garments worn close to the flesh, seem to be in demand, in certain circles, for much the same reason. What, for example, do our men in the military, the defenders of our freedom, so often ask their wives to send them, very privately, while they are setting themselves up in Fallujah, or staring down Tora Bora?
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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amazingdrx Posted 10:19 pm
13 Jun 2007
That riding style does seem to impress also. Then a dip in a pristine lake towards the end of the ride or run really brings the date all together.
After 45 minutes the pain killing endorphins engage, and after 75 minutes the mood lifting endorphins take hold. It's a whole new zen world if one follows up about 5 or 6 days a week with these work outs. Just regulate the breathing to the zen breath of fire style for the rest of the time and the work out lasts 24/7.
It's all about status and sex, biodee surely has that right.
I am thinking electric motorcycle now. Of the serial plugin design. A green hog? What could be better to attract potential paramours?
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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odograph Posted 10:28 pm
13 Jun 2007
It is as if, the bicycle, and not coal or something, is the enemy of the planet.
There are dozens of sub-cultures surrounding the bicycle, and I don't see any reason that electric bicycles shouldn't split into a few more ... but I don't give them uninformed advice about what THEY should be.
I don't say "go buy a fixie" for God's sake!
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odograph Posted 10:46 pm
13 Jun 2007
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willa Posted 12:04 am
14 Jun 2007
Just a thought.
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amazingdrx Posted 2:33 am
14 Jun 2007
Like craigslist for alternatives, but with the old Brand majic.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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Biodiversivist Posted 4:16 am
14 Jun 2007
DrX
Ah yes, a green hog. That would be way cool. You would need some kind of device to keep the women from draping themselves all over it. They sell such devices for pigeons already.
Odo,
I'm teasing you. If you were on a barstool next to me I'd be winking and nudging you with my elbow. Your biking "ethic" remains intact. Bicyclists are not bothered by the fact that cars and motorcycles go up hills faster and they shouldn't be threatened by two-wheeled Hybrid EVs that do so also. Note in my video that the cars pass me as I'm passing the bicyclists. It is a gradual continuum of vehicle types.
By juxtapositioning it against regular bicyclists I was demonstrating this machines performance on a hill, not mocking people who ride bicycles. This bike can go up a hill of that grade at about the same speed it does on a flat (about 20 MPH) because that is where the gearing maxes out pedal cadence and the electric motor isn't powerful enough to take me up that hill without considerable power input from my legs.
That speed is easily attainable by a healthy biker on a decent bike on level ground (but not for long and not on hills). That is why the Federal government picked 20 MPH as a limit for electric bikes, which I fully support, just as you should support hybrid electric bikes, even though it might ruffle your feathers to have some clown pulling a bike trailer pass you on a hill ;).
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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Jo2 Posted 4:18 am
14 Jun 2007
"The Case for Electric Bicycles" is a friendly and comprehensive introduction to the world of human-electric hybrid cycles:
http://www.coopamerica.org/go/ebikes
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Biodiversivist Posted 4:46 am
14 Jun 2007
I could not agree more. That is a (as typical) wise and astute observation. However, I believe it was you who made the first glove slap:
Are we really so lazy, so different than the Danes, that we need electric motors to "[open] up the bike not as a kind of quixotic hobby or outdoor exercise machine?"
Anybody got a fresh obesity map?
To make these machines popular here, I am forced to slap (and maybe even scratch and pull the hair of) those who are trying to make hybrid electric bikes look inferior, something for the lazy, weak or infirm. I don't really have a choice.
Status seeking consumes most of our waking hours and I'm just trying to channel that largely subconscious drive into environmentally benign directions. My goal is to turn the hybrid electric bike into a status symbol, which requires defending them from other monkey troops trying to keep them lower in the bicycle hierarchy. Human nature, what can you do?
Just last night at the basketball court, a fellow biker (who also rode his bike there and who coincidentally was also one of the bikers I passed on that hill) told me that his bike was more carbon neutral than mine and that he didn't think hybrid electric bikes should be allowed in bike lanes. Why? Because they are cheating. WTF? Here we go.
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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Montanaebiker Posted 5:11 am
14 Jun 2007
One thing I haven't seen mentioned recently is helmets. EVERYONE SHOULD WEAR ONE! And I think that everyone I saw in BioD's video had one on. Don't worry about the spandex or the right socks or whatever, but you ABSOLUTELY should wear a helmet!! Even if you're the greatest bike rider in the world you still have to watch out for hte other guy, who's probably in a 3,000 lb hunk of steel travelling at a very high rate of speed!
Here's another one for aspiring e-bikers - review the rules of the road that apply to you - especially if you're not usually a road biker.
Finally, there's a really good comparison chart at the web site wildernessenergy.com that shows a large majority of the e-bikes and kits out there on the market now. It gives you a good idea of price variations and the difficulty of each installation.
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Nucbuddy Posted 5:36 am
14 Jun 2007
Acceleration is indeed a danger factor in terms of its putting a body or vehicle in a space-time-velocity that other operators are less likely to anticipate -- and is in this respect identical to speeding. If a car-driver wanting to enter a roadway via a left-hand turn looks left and sees no traffic, then looks right and sees no traffic, and then pulls out into the roadway only to be T-boned on the left by a vehicle, it matters not whether the principle factor weighting the failure-to-anticipate was the T-boning vehicle's acceleration or whether it was on-the-other-hand its speed -- the result remains the same.
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atreyger Posted 5:40 am
14 Jun 2007
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Nucbuddy Posted 6:14 am
14 Jun 2007
And an important fact universally acknowledged by motorcycle riders -- despite the fact that unassisted bicyclists often travel at the exact same speeds of 30, 40, and 50 MPH -- is that bicycle helmets are not effective. If you do not agree, simply ask yourself when you have ever seen a motorcyclist wearing a bicycle helmet -- even when and where it was legal to ride with no helmet and many motorcyclists were helmeted.
One advantage of electric bicycles (and in reality they are actually motorcycles) is that they give bicyclists more freedom to choose effective body-armor. A prudent assisted-bicyclist might choose to protect himself with a top motorcycle-body-armor kit (including suit, boots, gloves, and helmet) -- which would typically retail for around $3,000.
Illustrated safety-gear essay:
calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/RidingSuits.html
One of the top manufacturers:
alpinestars.com
One of the top suits:
alpinestars.com/Replica_Racing_Leather_Suit/pd/np/131/p/315604.html
MSRP: $1,900.
.
For keeping cool under their motorcycle-safety gear, bicyclists can choose to wear freezer-chargeable cool-vests:
google.com/search?q=motorcycle+cool+vests+freezer
55,600 hits.
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odograph Posted 6:48 am
14 Jun 2007
At least not until I belabor this a bit more.
First, is anyone worried that Americans are getting too much exercise? Are we gilding the lily here? Those animated maps say no (from that same article, Why Moving More is Crucial).
Second, I think we are in an interesting transition now as science lends more support to exercise than it has done in the past. If you've been following the science, it isn't just good for you ... it's really good for you (and that's not even counting the brain cells).
Third, it is an interesting opportunity when we all need more exercise to be healthy and happy ... and we still need to get places ... what a happy coincidence!
... and between us guys in the bar, proper bike shorts aren't for fashion. They are to keep the nuts protected and in good order. Maybe you should ask your SO if your non-spandex vanity is worth the risk.
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odograph Posted 6:54 am
14 Jun 2007
Oops! And I said I wouldn't give advice ...
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PBrazelton Posted 7:18 am
14 Jun 2007
Oh, and I should inform the woman I know whose brother died in a bike/car accident. Even his buddies at the scene thought he would have survived with a helmet on.
A blanket statement that helmets are ineffective is irresponsible.
FYI, very few bicyclists can reach 30 MPH unassisted. Maybe you can, but the majority of people stay in the teens.
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geocamino Posted 7:31 am
14 Jun 2007
Certainly there are more ways of pushing electrons than burning stuff, but the bulk of electricity is from burning stuff.
Also, I find it unacceptable to use assist technology in a bike lane- which this seems to have.
My other comment is about the engineering- why purchase a full suspension frame and they load the rear suspension with the mass of the batteries? I think you may addressed that, but I recall that touring bikes tend to avoid suspension when they are loaded down, because it reduces the effectiveness.
One other comment- Wilon's Bicycle Science has a number of methods to reduce air drag; drop handlebars will increase your top speed more than bigger gears.
The engineering certainly becomes more challenging (as one might be inclined to upgrade braking, lights.
Definitely good for provoking discussion.
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geocamino Posted 7:51 am
14 Jun 2007
motorcyclists want to slide on the pavement further (to dissipate the energy), a fuller helmet facilitates that
they need more bug protection (thinking of the full visor helmets)
motorcyclists do not worry about overheating as much
That's not to say that bicycle helmet could not continue to improve;
I crashed three times in my first year of bike commuting. Each helmet was replaced, each reduced the possibility of injury.
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geocamino Posted 8:18 am
14 Jun 2007
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Nickz Posted 8:28 am
14 Jun 2007
If it's 1 KWH, that's only 50 watt hours per mile. At about 600 mg CO2 per KWH (assuming 50% coal, and 21% oil & gas for your electrical generation), that's about 30 mg/mile, or about 10% of the average passenger vehicle in the US.
Seattle power has a lot of hydro, so the value there is probably about 10mg/mile, or 3% of an average US car.
That's certainly less carbon intensive than any alternative, including manual cycling, given the 10x production & distribution energy overhead for food calories.
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Nucbuddy Posted 8:52 am
14 Jun 2007
Your reasoning is backwards. Suspension is more effective the higher the ratio of suspended-to-unsuspended mass.
google.com/search?q=%22unsuspended+mass%22+ride
Killinger & Freund Motorcycles
You want a light wheel and heavy body for a cushy ride.
Adding weight to the suspended part of a vehicle always improves the ride. If you want your bicycle to ride as smooth as a 1976 Cadillac DeVille, use full suspension and add mass to the fully-suspended frame.
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odograph Posted 9:23 am
14 Jun 2007
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amazingdrx Posted 4:36 pm
14 Jun 2007
But one that's real safe (I want a roll cage)with a nice back seat. That'll get 'em begging for rides, hehey.
Guess what!!!!??? Gonna see HELEN CALDICOTT tomorow!!!
http://www.the-mrea.org/fair_workshops.php
Now getting her to ride on your green hog, that would be truly awesome. I bet she'd do it too.
Will report on the midwest energy fair and her keynote address on my blog and here of course. excellent!!!
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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caniscandida Posted 6:21 pm
14 Jun 2007
Have fun at the fair, Amazing. Actually, though, I would have thought that the woman who will speaking on Sunday is more your type than Helen Caldicott. I love that experiment she did, going a year without shopping.
If I were there, of course, I would barely be ready for the babiest of beginners' workshops. So take good notes, and let us know what transpired, including hopefully the obligatory part about how "a good time was had by all."
The green hog is a great idea -- except perhaps the actual colors should be canary-yellow and chrome. But I think what you and BioD both need to realize is that for green hogs and battery-bikes to be considered sexy and prestigious, for a good cause, they have to look distinctive somehow. They should not be too easily mistaken for ordinary motorcycles and bikes.
An ignorant person such as myself, for example, totally unsophisticated about these things, unlike all those people out on the West Coast, would not think there is anything distinctive or exceptional about BioD's battery-bike, just from looking at it. Such a person might only begin to be curious, after seeing BioD miraculously float up hills with a minimum of effort.
These things can be subtle. Take the Prius. In a general sort of way, it looks like just another car. But it does indeed have its own distinctive styling, and once one knows to identify that styling with the kind of car that the Prius is, then the task is accomplished. Just last week, there was a Prius parked across the street from my building. I think that was the first Prius I have ever seen with my own eyes. But I cannot be sure: for all I know, I may have seen many Priuses on other occasions, but last week was only the first time that I recognized one as such.
As for the eternal question, What Do Women Want?: How would you complete this sentence?
When women notice a man on account of the vehicle he is driving (or riding), it is because:
a. it costs a lot of money, which means he is rich, and women will consider having only a rich man as a partner.
b. it is a very clever, sophisticated, cutting-edge device, difficult to learn how to handle, which means he is smart, and women will consider having only a smart man as a partner.
c. it is a fast, powerful vehicle, which means he is forceful and strong and assertive, and women will consider having only a forceful, strong and assertive man as a partner.
d. it is green, which means he is sensitive and conscientious about social and environmental issues, and women will consider having only a socially and environmentally sensitive and conscientious man as a partner.
In what I wrote earlier about the "old sock," of course I was being facetious. But really, I worry that BioD's battery-bike will have a hard time coming to seem sexy and prestigious, inasmuch as it seems to take the athleticism out of riding a bike. We already get a sense of that in the comment by BioD's miffed acquaintance at the basketball court, who declared that battery-bikers are "cheating." To say nothing of Odograph's agenda.
So, do something athletic, BioD, have a race, a marathon. You and MontanaEBiker can organize it. Victory will depend on who best manages the resources of the bike and his body.
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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amazingdrx Posted 6:57 pm
14 Jun 2007
I agree on the appearance, it's important to be distinctive in the design. Form follows function, organically. Organic machines?
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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odograph Posted 10:53 pm
14 Jun 2007
When I go for a coffee on the mountain bike it's fun to pass a racing bike, but I try to stay humble. I don't really know how many miles that guy has gone, or will go, that day.
But again, I really don't see why you all are pushing the competition (other than that speed and competition are hardwired in the male, as Canis suggests).
If it is "fun" to "go fast" on speed (and sprint) oriented electric bikes, just do that and enjoy that.
For that kind of fun, I just point my mountain bike downhill (after the invigorating climb)... but I've said, biking has a lot of different sub-cultures.
(In this context, "invigorating" ... what a wonderful word ;-)
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odograph Posted 10:56 pm
14 Jun 2007
I'm thinking, pretty much of the eGo market.
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odograph Posted 11:04 pm
14 Jun 2007
It will be interesting if/when optibike performance migrates down to the mainstream (I get that is what BioD and others are tinkering with).
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caniscandida Posted 2:07 am
15 Jun 2007
And meanwhile, that EGo scooter sure is cute. But the rider cannot add to its power, can he/she.
As for competitiveness being "hard-wired" in the human male, I would love to take credit for the idea, but am afraid I cannot. Plus, it seems to be something of special interest to BioD.
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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odograph Posted 2:33 am
15 Jun 2007
I laughed and laughed ... that was never going to happen again in a million years.
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caniscandida Posted 4:07 am
15 Jun 2007
Which just goes to show: Never say Never!
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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Biodiversivist Posted 5:31 am
15 Jun 2007
http://www.coopamerica.org/go/ebikes
To you guys with technical questions,
Unless you are a tinkerer, I would advise you to buy one or have one built. They are fragile machines requiring constant maintenance and if you break some wires you are stuck, like this guy. For those wanting to build one, pop in to visforvoltage.net and start asking questions. This industry is in its infancy here. Support and quality of the components you buy will be marginal. My motor for example was obviously a return. It had rust on the shaft and the previous owner had pinched the wiring with a clamp. So be aware.
To you guys swapping bike injury stories
Thanks for highlighting the danger of biking in America. Do not ride a bike unless you are aware of and willing to accept the very real risks. Pressure your politicians with every opportunity to make biking safer (Lance Armstrong would make a great spokesperson for such lobbying efforts).
Canis,
Many interesting points. Cockle warming is what it's all about. Status is a slippery and ever changing thing. You know you have it when someone envies you and wants to emulate you. Lance Armstrong has it. Look at all of the yellow shirts out there. I'd guess that Lance's appeal to women is mostly because of his status, not so much his athleticism, although it was his athleticism that led to his high status. The guys trying to be like Lance are following in his status slipstream. The dedication and extreme hard work he put himself through was largely the result of his male status seeking urges, mostly at a subconscious level--the same urges that prod people to summit Everest.
How you obtain high status matters less than the fact that you have high status. How would a guy pulling a child trailer on a hybrid electric bike compare to a buff dude tearing up the road with pure athleticism? Don't know the answer for sure but if the buff dude is a fry cook and the nerd with the trailer is George Clooney, no contest. Who might make a better father is also an important parameter for many women, at the subconscious and conscious level. Oh, and if you haven't already, take everything I just said with a huge grain of salt. I'm just hypothesizing out loud. Although I have been studying female behavior at close quarters for many years now (my wife and two daughters) they largely remain a mystery to me. I can only see things through a male lens filtered through a male brain.
Odo,
Great video links. Looks like the Optibike 400 has 400 watts continuous power. That rider was no slouch either. He was putting plenty of power to that drive train. I'll bet they have a more powerful model as well, probably called the Optibike 750 (750 being max federal watts limit), which of course would get better acceleration and torque at the expense of range.
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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amazingdrx Posted 2:24 am
16 Jun 2007
The other guy had a DeWalt powered bike with 4 batteries two connected in series then the sets in parallel for 72 volts. He had a wheel hub motor also. His inovation was that the whole electric part detached from the front end with 4 levers and the regular wheel reattached.
He had awesome power, as one would expect from 4 batteries. He figured the wheel hub motor was around 1 hp.
Helen Caldicott was awesome!!! But did not take to my flattery at the book signing, hehey. Oh well.
She dispelled the popular nuclear advocate myth that waste can simply be dispersed widely in the ocean and cause no harm. Why? Biological concentration. all life, including us and the organisms we lunch on, tend to act like a giant filtration system, reconcentrating the rad elements. As she pointed out, the various waste elements tend to collect in the thyroid and reproductive organs.
Then she explained how mutation is proceding to increase exponentially now generation to generation. 1600 genetic diseases due to mutation are known now. The recessive genes reproduce through the population and the whole life destroying process grows with life itself.
She told us that a reactor in Sweden recently came a few minutes from meltdown as grid power failed, then two backup diesel generators. The third backup was started 2 minutes before meltdown. She also said the Hershey's products were still not safe (due to three mile island)and says they still haven't sued her over this repeated claim.
Helen said that one more incident like Chernobyl or three mile island would kill nuclear power. Forever.
Then she scared us all by describing how easily terrorists could sabotage a nuclear fuel rod storage pool(BTW, she said that nuclear engineers do call them "swimming pools', it's a joke son, swim there and die in a minute). And described other simple ways to cause meltdown, yikes. Even lightning destroying the electrical system at a nuclear plant could do it. Once those cooling pumps stop, it is inevitable.
She says halliburton built a rail line in australia recently to transport nuclear waste from other countries to a dump on aboriginal land. Two tribal chiefs were bribed 12 million dollars to ok the dump.
And Austrailia has no nuclear power plants!!! Amazingly corrupt. It would be brought in by ship then rail line to the dump.
Lots of other great displays at the fair. Wisconsin Electric is paying people 22 cents per kwh for their pV kwh!!!!!! And they raised the net metering limit on wind power systems from 20 kw to 100kw voluntarily!!! That means one can now get payed 10 cents per kwh x 100kwh, or up to 10 bucks per hour for ones wind power sold into the grid from home, farm, or small business with a wind system.
240 bucks per day? Pretty good supplemental family income!
I bugged the Prius display guy about GM getting ahead with the Volt. And how Toyota needed to dump the parallel hybrid and go serial. It was funny he got pretty purturbed but then got into the happy warrior spirit (we exhibit here on the blog). We have a bet for lunch for upcoming energy fairs. I told him Toyota would go serial or falter, hehey.
Didn't get a chance to harangue the Honda guy though.
There is a huge grassroots groundswell out there to save the planet. Hope it gets harnessed in time. i kept telling people to vol;unteeer gfor their local democratic party, that even though democrats take corporate money too, at least as a volunteer they will actually listen to us.
I described how our new congressman has turned against ethanol with our pressure. A small win. now if he'll vote for plugin hybrid vehicle fleets for government? Who knows?
There was a Hymotion converted prius there. 12.5k for the extra lithium(a123) battery pack and software. They need no new chips now! The first plugins of the prius cost 40k because of computer replacement.
The couple that drive the Hymotion Prius (only available to government or corporations, not individuals) said it get around 45 miles on battery alone. But only goes 25 on battery, over that speed the infernal combustion planetkiller kicks in, hehey.
The Toyota guy claims american drivers are "too aggressive" for plugins. they won't drive under 25. That is why I told him the Volt design is coming, no power limitation like the Hymotion Prius has in battery mode. He wouldn't relent.
The couple that drives the plugin Prius claimed the Hymotion option will be available to the public for 9.5 k soon. I wonder if it voids the Toyota warranty? I bet it does.
Oh one more thing. The Toyota guy said if the Prius runs out of gas it burns itself up trying to start the engine with the electric motor. I asked, doesn't that call for a safety device opf some kind to shut that down? he said yes, it's called the gas guage! Don't run out of gas!! Hehehey. kinda wacky, the guy and the engineering behind that.
Grist if you want a full article on the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair email me. I can go back tomorow too. Editing is fine by me also.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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caniscandida Posted 3:06 am
16 Jun 2007
So how many people were there? Did you gather there was unanimity or varied opinions about big issues such as nuclear, biofuels and coal-to-liquid?
I hope you get to talk to the Honda representative.
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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Nucbuddy Posted 4:20 am
16 Jun 2007
It is interesting that someone apparently thinks that a reactor would melt down if merely its backup generators were all to fail to start upon loss of grid power. Do you think this, also?
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Amazingdrx wrote: Helen said that one more incident like Chernobyl or three mile island would kill nuclear power.
That is like saying that if a UPS man were to drop a parcel, it would kill the parcel-delivery industry.
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Amazingdrx wrote: she said that nuclear engineers do call them "swimming pools', it's a joke son, swim there and die in a minute
What would it be that a spent-fuel-pool-swimmer would be rapidly dying of?
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Amazingdrx wrote: other simple ways to cause meltdown [...] Even lightning destroying the electrical system at a nuclear plant could do it. Once those cooling pumps stop, it is inevitable.
What makes you think that lightning destroying the electrical system, or the cooling pumps stopping, at a nuclear plant would cause a meltdown?
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Amazingdrx wrote: yikes
Why would the prospect of a reactor-core meltdown scare you?
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amazingdrx Posted 12:15 am
17 Jun 2007
Solar heating, PV, wind, super insulated concrete building systems, geothermal heat pump heating, dominated the displays. Small business distributors backed by larger companies. Wind mill blades were mainly plastic. There's a step forward.
Overall a very progressive, friendly, positive crowd. It's a hopefull sign. i kind of wondered why we democrats did not have a display booth? I'm going to get on that next year. There were no orgs explicitly dedicated to pro-renewable legal reform either.
This movement really needs two things. Better organization in terms of lobbying for legislation and mass production to lower costs.
With the WE payment of 22 cents per kwh for PV electricity a 4 to 5 year payback on solar PV is here already. And with their acceptance of 100kw of wind power at the going rate, around 10 cents per kwh, a 200k investment in a 100kw wind system would have a similar payback in a very good wind location, like along one of the great lakes we are blessed with here.
That 22 cents ought to apply to 1 to 5 kw home wind installations as well. But for the larger farm or business wind machines the raised 100kw limit for 10 cents is a great step (the net metering rule limited that price to under 20kw, over that you get about 5 cents, very hard to pay off a system at that low price). If the price payed to investors was 22 cents per kwh for up to 100kw wind too? It would be a wind power gold rush here!!
I guess a whole display is needed explaining all this pictorially that is repeated on a website that legislators and media can access in response to prompting from public activism behind the cause of utility rate reform to enable renewables. it would make a nice display right nexct to the democratic party display, hehey. Maybe next year I'll get that in gear?
22 cents per kwh for wind, solar, and biogas of any size? There, that's a re-evolution.
How about tax credits for conservation from solar heating and geothermal heating/cooling equivalent to that 22 cents? For every kwh your system saves you get 22 cents in tax credit, up to a 1000 dollar per year limit? something on that order of radical change would be good. And get rid of enough gHG to save the planet in 10 years.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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Nucbuddy Posted 1:36 am
17 Jun 2007
If that is the case, why is Germany paying 77 cents per kWh for PV electricity?
solarbuzz.com/FastFactsGermany.htm
x-rates.com/calculator.html
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Chris Schults Posted 4:08 am
18 Jun 2007
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Biodiversivist Posted 5:16 am
18 Jun 2007
A few months ago I was on the LA River bikeway on my road bike and saw a fat-tire rider ahead going at a good clip. Being the insecure snob that most roadies are, I couldn't countenance some knobby-treaded upstart dropping me so I gave chase -- sonovabich was riding one of these hybrids and hauling ass.
This happens to me a lot. I usually don't let them get any closer than about ten feet. Eventually, they realize they are chasing a cybernetic organism, or just give up from exhaustion. Word is getting out and I have noticed that a lot of bikers are checking for an electic motor before racing.
He's got $700 worth of the new Dewalt lithium-ion batteries in that thing. That's the difference between his bike and the ones sold by Powabike
The battery is the key to all Evs.
Has anyone been able to develop a mowing machine based on bicycle technology? I know there was an effort underway. I have sheep to mow my place, but they can be hell on ornamentals and fruit trees. Wherever they decide to rest during the the heat of the day quickly becomes a desertified mound of shit. It makes good compost, but right now the area immediately around my house looks like the Sinai.
Somewhat off topic, but funny.
I've lived within walking distance of work for a last five years, and it rocks. I doubt I'll ever do that commute thing again. It just a nice way to start the day, with a walk and some coffee and a cigarette.
...and a cigarette?
The electric bike is cool - a nice idea. My gripe is that the dude is trying to sell his product by knocking the poor people-powered variety.
I hear this a lot. I can see how people who dress up in spandex to get some exercise on weekends who think hybrid bikes are cheating could feel knocked.
My most humiliating experience riding up the Dexter hill (shown in the video) was the one legged man that passed me near the top (artificial leg in sticking out of his panniers).
That guy deserves his propers, great story.
Remember that stand-up wheelchair that got the Kiss of Death on both cheeks when Steve Jobs said they'd redesign cities around it?
Had to laugh at this one.
Shame the guy in the video is so smug and annoying or I'd have bought 3.
Ouch.
Why not ride a fixie? Well, maybe you value your life and/or prefer not to look like another asshole fashion-victim hipster?
Hoo...
asshole fashion-victim hipster, eh?...yeah, well I guess maybe you're right.
Hoo again.
I have an electric bike. The only problem with actually pedalling the thing is that it is heavy as shit. I have very strong legs because I bicycle (road bike) a lot, so it's not because I'm a wimp that I can't stand actually having to pedal it around. And forget actually going up a hill with it. I can do it... barely. The average person sure could not.
I think he needs a better hybrid electric bike.
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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odograph Posted 5:47 am
18 Jun 2007
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GreyFlcn Posted 1:19 pm
24 Jun 2007
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/06/24/schwinn-releases- ...
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Biodiversivist Posted 12:20 am
25 Jun 2007
No exposed wires, no chain. Interesting design. Grist gave a Schwinn electric bike away last year. They also take 4 hours to charge (mine take about 30-45 minutes). It sounds like they are using old school laptop batteries which can explode and burn.
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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talldog4 Posted 11:28 am
16 Oct 2007
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Delay And Deny Posted 12:00 pm
16 Oct 2007
Do they make bike sized fuel cells? That can run on natural gas? Hydrogen?
I would think you could then get much more range...
John Bailo
Sutext:
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Biodiversivist Posted 2:40 pm
16 Oct 2007
http://www.hybridpowerbike.com
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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