From the Army Times:
“Aiming to save fuel and advance alternative-energy plans, the Army, Navy and Air Force intend to buy thousands of battery-powered, 35-mile-an-hour electric cars and light trucks to provide on-base transport”
Also relevant to us is the Town of Whitby’s By-law: Motorcycles on Town Property
Which defines a motorcycle as:
“motorcycle” means a self-propelled vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the driver and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, and includes a bicycle with a motor attached and a motor scooter
This by-law prohibits use on any town property except areas designed for vehicular use (parking lots, etc.) or where there is a sign posted that permits the use of a motorcycle.
I read the Whitby Parks by-law today. It does indeed include our bikes when there is a sign saying no motorized vehicles allowed.
The wording of the by-law is:
“motor vehicle” includes an automobile, motorcycle, motor assisted bycycle, and any other vehicle propelled or driven otherwise than by muscular power.
Toshiba recently announced a new battery tech that will allow laptops to recharge in as little as 10 minutes and e-bikes to get a 30 minute refill at home or a 5 minute refill at a commercial charging station.
Don’t worry, no one was hurt. I had my first accident with the e-bike on Thursday Sept. 18 2008. It didn’t even qualify as a fender bender as there were no dents, only scratches, on either vehicle.
It was totally my fault. My brakes were not as tight as I thought they were and I learned that you do have to use both brakes. Unlike my mountain bike, which I generally have tight enough that just rear brakes will do just fine, both brakes seem to be necessary on the e-bike.
I rubbed against the bumper of another vehicle and while it was not enough of a scratch that I would care if it was my own vehicle, the dealership he took it to said it’d be over $700 to fix. What a rip off scam these guys run. (dealers and repair shops in general).
I paid it and it’s over, and it’s still cheaper than insurance. It got me thinking though, had I had insurance on the bike with the typical $500 deductible that auto insurance has, I still would have opted to pay cash and keep it off my record.
When I started taking the bike I was spending 40-45 minutes commuting to work. This week I’ve shaved 10 minutes off that, simply by planning my route better.
Now instead of driving up to Rossland Rd. (either directly up Simcoe, or via the Mary-Adelaide-Thornton route) and across to Town Hall, I take Gibb/Burns St to Thickson, up to Manning, then follow Manning into the neighbourhood to the south of Town Hall and cut across the park into the parking lot.
This cuts a fair bit of time off partly because Manning cuts diagonally across Whitby, partly, I think, because there are fewer up-hills.
It also avoids the treacherous section of Rossland Rd in front of Town Hall. (I’ve seen 2 accidents there in the last week or so)
Larry @ Dewdad sent this article from greencarcongress.com to me today:
PowerGenix to Supply NiZn Batteries for E-Bikes for US
5 September 2008
PowerGenix, manufacturer of rechargeable nickel-zinc (NiZn) batteries (earlier post), has entered into a supply agreement with PowerEagle, the leading manufacturer of electric bicycles in China. Under the agreement, PowerGenix will supply its NiZn cells for pack fabrication into the entire product line offered by Veloteq, PowerEagle’s North American sales and distribution partner, beginning in 2009.
PowerGenix’s power systems will be featured in both Veloteq’s power-on-demand models, powered exclusively by the electric motor, as well as power-assist models that require manual pedaling assisted by the electric motor. PowerGenix batteries will also be incorporated in future product developments including an electric motorcycle that complies with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) standards.
The power density and reduced pack weight of the PowerGenix packs allows Veloteq to increase the power output and range of their bikes while still achieving battery pack weight savings of 60%.
By providing more power and runtime in a smaller and lighter form factor, PowerGenix’s NiZn batteries allow e-bike users to travel 40 miles on a single charge costing as little as 3 cents—five to six times less expensive compared with lead-acid batteries. In addition, charge time is cut down 75% to about 1 to 2 hours, providing enhanced mobility and longer travel ranges for e-bike commuters.
The NiZn batteries also offer greater durability, extending the power system’s useful lifespan by more than double that of lead acid batteries. Further, PowerGenix’s NiZn batteries provide a cleaner environmental alternative.
PowerGenix-powered e-bikes and the new Veloteq Vader electric motorcycle will be on display at the Veloteq booth at the 2008 International Bicycle Expo (Interbike) in Las Vegas, Nevada 24-26 September.
ScootAlert scooter alarm remote.
The manual doesn’t say anything about how to use the ScootAlert alarm system.
I did manage to find a page online explaining how ScootAlert works, but it was confusing and had no pictures except one of the back side of a remote that looked nothing like mine.
My remote has a closed lock button, which intuitively I figured out is arm the alarm, an open lock button for disarm, a lightning bolt and a bell/horn. What the last two do is not as intuitive.
By playing with the buttons I discovered that the lightning bolt sounds the alarm, kind of like the panic button on my Jeep key (an annoying feature to say the least, but one that is standard for vehicle alarms), and the bell also seems to work like a panic button, hmm…
…So I e-mailed My bike dealer Read the rest of this entry »
My E-Bike, a 2008 Veloteq Commuter RSV-GT
I never did manage to get a picture of my bike on here till now.
In case anyone was wondering, this is what it looks like. …and yes, that’s me on the bike.
Veloteq e-bikes will soon be propelled by high-density nickel-zinc (NiZn) batteries manufactured by PowerGenix.