the alternative personal transportation thread

[Toshi]

Originally Posted by Mike B.

Didn't read the whole thread to see if this wasn't mentioned but a new electric bike was shown at the Taipei show

Linky

that GoCycle looks neat. too bad no details were given on speed, range, battery capacity or technology, etc.

they did say who their target audience was, however :

[img]“The customer going into a traditional European store looking for an e-bike is not our customer,” Thorpe said. “Our customer is 25 to 45 years old, a young city professional, with a family.”[/img]

[Mike B.]

Originally Posted by Toshi

they did say who their target audience was, however :

[img]“The customer going into a traditional European store looking for an e-bike is not our customer,” Thorpe said. “Our customer is 25 to 45 years old, a young city professional, with a family.”[/img]

Remind you of anyone you know? Have to get cracking on that family

[BMXman]

Originally Posted by jimmydean

OK, we drove a bunch of cars today.

Scion XD
Scion XB
Nissan Versa Wagon
Mazda 3 5 door
Mazda 6 hatchback
Pontiac Vibe

None of them had the inside room or the cargo space of the Honda Fit. Not only does the Fit get the best mileage, but is also the cheapest. So now that we know, I have a few bills to pay first, then we are getting a Black Fit.

Thanks, D. I would never thought I would like that car just looking at it from the outside.

Glad I could help...I'm the same way about the looks...not to into them but the vehicle just fits our every other need....D

[jimmydean]

Originally Posted by BMXman

Glad I could help...I'm the same way about the looks...not to into them but the vehicle just fits our every other need....D

The one we drove was black with aftermarket tint and some nice Honda 6 spoke 17" (I think they were 17's) wheels. The addition of the tint and wheels with the rear spoiler made it look a little sporty. It reminded me so much of my CRX, I didn't want to get out of it.

The Scion xD was a close 2nd. But the cargo area isn't nearly as well engineered as the Fit.

[syadasti]

Looks like the nissan cube is going EV - take a look under the hood - Lion...

http://www.supernissans.net/forums/n...exclusive.html

[Stray_cat]

Originally Posted by spectaculardark

i live in Richmond, Va and this is my transportation:


its an old schwinn i converted to fixed gear

There's no way the fixie-theory would work, it's just inconceivable...why how on earth could you get anywhere with just your legs? The theory-of-suburbia debunked that in the 60s...oh wait...never mind. Nice ride

While all these wee-cars are great, and electricity is fun. The mileage isn't the bottom line. You gotta make, it's gonna break down, it's going to end up in a fill, or at best have to have more energy pumped into it in order to recycle it.

[jimmydean]

Originally Posted by Stray_cat

While all these wee-cars are great, and electricity is fun. The mileage isn't the bottom line. You gotta make, it's gonna break down, it's going to end up in a fill, or at best have to have more energy pumped into it in order to recycle it.

The fact is, there is no single solution to support society.

You have to reduce consumption while allowing viable options. Right now the main choices for transportation are (non-pedal only):

Ethanol
Biodiesel
Electricity

All of these take more energy to produce than they output. The ultimate goal is to find a source that is as close to 1:1 production:output as possible for a given situation.

[Toshi]

Giant Twist Freedom DX. http://www.popularmechanics.com/tech...e/4253976.html



$2k. 250-watts (~1/2 hp). Li-ion batteries at 26 V, but the important bit, capacity, is unspecified.

Originally Posted by thearticle

Because the Giant Twist Freedom DX ($2000) runs on a cyborglike mix of muscle and machine power, it can travel twice as far as most powered cycles—up to 75 miles per charge.

When you pedal, an integrated torque sensor summons the perfect amount of power from the bike’s front-hub motor to keep you at a steady pace; pedal harder and the motor settles down, take a rest and it kicks into overdrive.

i'm not sure how one would choose a cruising speed, but i'm sure the article just left out those details . i also wonder what rider effort is implied in its "75 mile range". how far would that same rider ride without assist? how far would the bike go on level ground with no rider input?

fit it with clipless pedals, a real seat, longer stem, maybe some mustache bars and i'd rock it.

[jimmydean]

^^ Put a non-old lady seat on it and I would rock it!

[bohorec]

Found this on the mtbr, nice report about hydrogen fuel cell bike shown on Taipei Cycle Show:

http://blog.taiwaneditorial.com/2008...cell-bike.html

The collection of hydrogen fuel cell bicycles here:

http://www.alternative-energy-news.i...el-cell-bikes/

[bohorec]

Steam powered bikes:



http://blog.makezine.com/archive/200..._bicycles.html


Some details are shown in this short video;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqBKRo8q3rQ

[Toshi]

ok, so the reality of my life the next five years (as a medical resident in an EXPENSIVE area, long island, after spending another year in a expensive-but-not-exorbitantly-so area, here in seattle) is going to be that i'll be counting my pennies. sadly that rules many of the options in this thread out.

a) i don't want to pay for (car) parking if i don't have to:

quarterly (and annual) cost to park a car at the UW: $254.76 ($1019.04/year)
same for a motorcycle: $84.96 ($339.84/year)

b) i'll be working ridiculously long hours at two different hospitals across town (so can't live right next to both), it rains a lot in seattle, and gets kind of cold in the winter, making 5 AM bike commuting unattractive

c) FlexCar/ZipCar has a decent presence in seattle

d) i'm planning on selling my RX-8 in may of this year. we'll keep the girl's 2001 toyota corolla as it's sufficiently reliable and frugal, and will make a good "new york car" in our estimation (we won't need two/don't want to take two cross country).

e) while i can work on bikes just fine i have never worked on a motorcycle before and wouldn't feel comfortable (trying to) fix a beater motorcycle

f) i've already been through the MSF ridercourse a few years back and have the endorsement on the license.

g) i'd like the machine to be able to get up to 60 mph safely so that i can ride it up on the freeway to see the girl (she lives north of town as she commutes to one of the puget sound islands via ferry every day).

h) the bus is not an option on most days, sadly, as i'll have to be at the hospital around the time the very first routes are rolling out of the shed.



sooo..... what of the two wheeled variety should i get? a new scooter? honda? scooters are appealing at the moment for their built in storage space.

[jimmydean]

If you can live with a scooter, get a cheap knock-off. Something like a Roketa 150 or something (less than $1000 usually)

[Toshi]

you sure about that? i'm a long way off from trusting a chinese (or korean for that matter, altho the hyundai genesis may well change my mind) car, let alone something that's directly under my legs. hell, i don't trust things made by the UAW either . give me overpriced stuff made by local artisans in oregon . part of my apprehension is irrational/xenophobic, but part of it is from seeing the HORRIBLE crash test results of chinese cars. i have no doubt that their scooters cut similar corners.

given the choice i'd pick something actually made in japan.

what displacement motor will i need to have something that can get up to freeway speeds? 4 stroke, please. i don't need a speed demon.

[ALEXIS_DH]

are you set on a motorcycle?? whats the expectancy in miles before bodily injuries in one on where you are going to be living?

are you set on a bike?
i thought about a bike when i lived in the states, but living in suburbia and the commute distances being far too much, discarded the idea.
the difference in mpg and practicality from a bike with a big (but not speed demonish either) enough 4 stroke big enough over the 30+mpg you can get from a yaris, accent or rio might not be worth the hassle.
the difference would be around 15 extra mpg i´d guesstimate.
say you ride an astonishing 10k miles a year on a motorcycle... am not sure benefits outweight the not so marginal risk hike and liabilities.
i say, just bore the hole in the ozone layer a bit more and get a yaris, accent, rio :biggrin:


heard of the nissan march? ive seen a few, and they do pretty good mpg. doubt they are available in the states though. they´d be ideal, along the peugeot or citroen diesels.