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E-bike E-xperiences?
Jakedata writes "I am in the process of building my first e-bike. I intend to use it to commute to work a couple times a week, weather permitting. I can only assume that many members of the /. crowd are already riding e-bikes and would be only too happy to share their experiences. I am looking at a very affordable e-bike conversion kit from Golden Island Machinery. They offer a 36 volt lead-acid battery pack for it, but I am concerned that it will be too heavy. Rabbit tool has a selection of components and power options but they are pretty pricy. So, is Golden Motor's kit any good? Is lead acid OK to start off with? Does someone want to donate a direct-conversion methanol fuel cell to the project?"
Have you considered buying an E-Bike? Something like the Sharper Image One... http://store.yahoo.com/sharperimage-best/si791.htm l
$1000
http://seanism.com/
If it were me, I'd dump the lead-acid cells and use Li-Poly (Lithium Polymer).
Sure they're more expensive but they're much, much lighter due to their greater power density (hence a lot easier to pedal when you're not using the batteries).
Just make sure you use a real Li-Poly charger otherwise they could go bang.
I'm not sure why on the fuel cell, but from racing I can tell you a few things.
You can't (not as a fuel) buy ethanol, you can buy e-95 (95% ethanol, 5% methanol) Drinking ethanol (100% ethanol) is strictly taxed. They use e-80 and the like a lot in brazil instead of fossel-fuels. e-95 got a bad name as of late becouse it can be used in explosives with ease. Methanol works better as a fuel becouse it absorbs less water from the air (but is still really bad about it) and its cheaper. Also, it smells really good when its burning, but if you drink it, it will pickle your liver. In world war II the us used methonal in torpeados, some people still call it torpeado juice. Also methanol has a higher octain rating (really high, like 130 or something like that) and it can cool your manifold better then gas.
!
If you can shower at work, it's easier, but it's also very possible to take it a little easy on the way in to work and not show up smelling. Then you get the option of hammering it on the way home or just taking it easy. :)
Good luck with whichever way you decide to get to work -- far better than hauling a 3000lb steel beast to and fro every day!
Once you start riding, you might be surprised to see how quickly you lose the ass. It won't happen overnight, but I am sure you or anyone else would be able to gradually lose weight, increase endurance and general health, even if starting from a very low level.
I used to bulls-eye womp-rats in my pants
Check out
http://www.wildernessenergy.com
They have a nice kit. But if you want better quality, for about $160 more you can get the Go Hub kit from:
http://www.largoscooters.com/stealthkits.html
Also here is a great site for reports on EBikes:
http://www.visforvoltage.com
http://www.beauty-fly.com/cpzs.asp
http://www.biliqi.com.cn/cpjs01.htm
http://www.cnqianjiale.com/c-chanpin1.htm
After getting into BattleBots years ago, I decided to reduce my commute to college (before I graduated) by building an electric scooter out of "spare" parts. It's not an e-bike from the standpoint that I didn't want to have to input any energy into the system myself (i.e. the motors had to do all the work). For cost and simplicity reasons, I chose to go with SLA (sealed lead acid) batteries and a couple of overvolted motors. With the proper timing, I achieved a flat speed of 16.5 MPH on two 1HP motors. With 64Ah (@12V) of Pb-acid chemistry onboard (this weighed a whopping 50 pounds), I had a maximum range (tested on all terrain including large hills) of just over 12 miles.
:-)
That's what I did and perhaps you can learn from what I would have done differently. First off, I would have used NiMh batteries. This would have cut the weight in more than half and also would have allowed me to customize the pack more both in shape and capacity (I only needed to go 9 miles in a day). The only downside to this was the charge time. SLA batteries are pretty indestructible and I could charge the full 64Ah in around an hour. With NiMh, you're talking about several hours or less if you don't mind compromising lifespan (with the right charger you could charge the same capacity in NiMh in the same time if you didn't mind getting only ~100 charges out of your packs). If I had the cash, I would probably use the high capacity, high discharge Li-Ion batteries from PowerStream (http://www.powerstream.com/LL.htm) as they would be incredibly light (~10 pounds for the same capacity).
As far as the motors went, I was fairly satisfied with the power output, but would have liked more. If you compare it to a car (~100HP for ~2000 pounds), you should have ~10-15HP available for the same performance. Now with electric motors, due to their differing torque curves (in comparison to internal combustion engines), you can achieve similar results from significantly less overall horsepower, but I still would have preferred having 3-6HP on my project.
Of course, if you go with high output motors, you need a speed controller capable of handling the current. And if you go with the Li-Ion batts, you need a fairly expensive charger.
You can take a look at some basic pics of my scooter at:
http://sloviper.com/hobbies/scooter/index.html
A good place for parts is:
http://www.robotmarketplace.com/
Cheap Ni-Mh batteries can be found at:
http://www.batteryspace.com/
I have used them in BattleBots before and they hold up decently, almost as well as the "expensive" ones from http://www.battlepack.com/
If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me. I love discussing this sort of thing and have had tons of experience.
In theory, theory always works in practice. In practice, theory rarely works. <><
According to Amazon.com, it can do a 6 degree (10% grade) climb.
I wish these existed when I was younger. So cool!
http://www.hokeyspokes.com/
I can't wait to have kids so i can buy them stuff like this
I do it all the time in Tokyo weather. No problem. You get there early, wait a few minutes to stop sweating, and do the "towel wash and change of clothes" thing.
"Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are the dead." A. Huxley
I live in Pittsburgh... hazardous roads with human size potholes, everyone driving an SUV and utter lack of cycle friendly road width...
I was considering the same idea...cycling to work and the local grocery seems utterly rewarding... However, bicycles lack meaningful space to stash the groceries or to put your notebook computer...
To solve those problems, I found this excellent sub-frame bolt on that gives you essentially storage/trunk space. I own and ride one now.. Works very well and give the bike a better stability going over rough road.
See: http://www.xtracycle.com
Since Pittsburgh is part of a chain of mountains, getting anywhere consumes tons of energy regardless of your power source... For instance, the hills around my valley are 200-400ft inclines over say 1/2 - 1 full mile area.. steep stuff... With cargo, these hills would eat even an active cycler...
In comes the motor options... Pennsylvania being the backwards ass place it is treats bicyclists like troublemakers with all sorts of limitations on where you can go (not on highways) and how you can be cited... Anything with a motor other than farm equipment requires you to have a license and deal with the financial exploitation of say insurance...
So the way to go I belive is a pedal-assist that looks like a bicycle.... This way you get your exercise and help the motor pull you while benefiting from aid of the motor... Obviously, most E-bikes look like some weird concept and that is bound to take your local cops about one glance to start bothering you as if you were a 12 year old on one of those mini bikes..
Well, the electric bikes aren't very appealing at current... maybe the power could be used to run lights at night time instead... Batteries weigh a ton and every ounce matters on a bicycle... The alternative is gasoline...
Gasoline while not being ideal, is not really any more or less green than gas as a majority of it still is produced from COAL here in the US.
What really matters is miles per gallon and the ability to really go as far as you want... This is the same thing holding back electric cars for 30 years.. No one can deal with limiting their trip to say 30 mile range... It isn't that folks use more in a trip, but in like that cellphone that you always forget to recharge, a dead car would leave you stranded.
I've been back and forth with a company called Golden Eagle Bike Engines... Nice belt driven kits that seems to go really well (30+ MPH) and really long (250 MPG)... Their kit get's wonderful reviews and is short on my buy list...
See: http://www.bikeengines.com/
It seems most posters and lousy bicycle stuff happens in the US, say except the left coast.... California up to Washington... While across the pond, Europe is buzzing with cycles both motorized and people powered...
I cycle 10 miles to work some days. This isn't actually too bad a problem, provided:
1. You allow yourself enough time. If you don't have to rush, you won't sweat very much on a ride of that length. I like to leave myself an hour so I can take it nice & easy.
2. You live in a relatively flat area. I wouldn't want to do it if the office was halfway up the side of a mountain, for instance...
3. You pack aerosol deodorant and a change of clothes. This will remove the worst of your sweat problems.
...there are already dozens of comments saying "Why don't you peddle your bike to work you lazy bastard".
It's PEDAL, not peddle! Peddling is marketing. Pedaling is using your feet on the pedals of a bicycle.
Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
On my no so great MTB, I average about 28km/h (no wind) over 2 hours (no stopping). You can't go much faster on a MTB over long period of time without help from the weather.
Short distances, like <5km, you can push to 45+km/h on MTB:)
Hi, I would avoid trying to deal with Golden Island Motor directly for ordering a single conversion kit, they don't do the english/communicating thing very well and the cost to wire transfer and ship just one hub motor will exceed the listed kit price considerably. You can get very similar value hub motors that are distributed locally through http://www.wildernessenergy.com/ and http://www.evsolutions.net/, a supplier of the http://www.crystalyte.com/. These are all direct drive motors, no gears to wear out and perfectly silent, but also fairly heavy for their power output.
I've also ordered reasonably cheap hub motors from http://www.elebike.com.tw/. They have an interesting selection including some internally geared models, and are quick to respond to queries.
Good Batteries continue to be the biggest hurdle for DIY e-bike experimenters because even though there are tons of asian companies that reportedly make them for cheap, there are simply no local suppliers. If you don't mind trying to import from China, some companies to check out:
1 http://www.peacebay.com/,
2 http://http//www.hyperbattery.com,
3 http://splendidbattery.com/,
4 http://www.gmbattery.com/,
5 http://www.thunder-sky.com/en/index.htm
Personally haven't ordered from 1 or 2 yet, 3 has very reasonably priced lithium polymer ($.82/watt-hour) and NiMH ($.40/w-hr) packs and will sell in individual qunatities. My favorite so far are the prismatic NiMH packs from 4, GMBattery, because you can access each individual cell and restack them easily. Finally there is the infamous thundersky who have lithium-ion batteries for less than most companies' NiMH. Their old 10Ah 36V setup had no protection circuitry and a few problems, but their new 20Ah 36V ebike pack looks a bit more reputable. Note that the 24V 4Ah NiMH packs from batteryspace.com that someone recomended are GARBAGE. Ours turned out to have only 2.6 Ah capacity and couldn't deliver more than about 5 amps. If you buy from batteryspace, be sure to get the 30Amp high rate pack.
Lead acid isn't really that bad if you're generally doing ~20km ish trips so you can get away with lower capacity pack. NiMH has about twice the energy density, and Lithium packs are 2-3 times better than NiMH.
I see a lot of people here have misconceptions about ebikes and exercise. I find I pedal as hard or harder riding an assisted bicycle than a regular bike. The difference is that I move at 42km/hr instead of 26, I don't slow down on the hills, and no matter how hard I work I don't get sweaty because the breeze at those speeds is so strong. This is a much overlooked fact of ebiking, the wind keeps you cool and dry.
Justin Lemire-ElmoreI solved that problem. I added a Currie US PRO drive to a standard mountain bike. 17mph on flats with a distance of about 19 miles per charge if I don't peddle. Cheaper than an E-bike and not fruity looking.
And to all the asswipes mocking this guy for not wanting to peddle, let me tell you the type of people who have made those types of comments to me in person. 1) Overweight, every single one without exception. 2) Drives cars to work. No problem with them getting in a big ass air polluting car and hauling their overweight asses to work, but if I want to put a motor on my bike and ride through clean electric power, why I have to hear your bullshit. 3) False sense of machismo. They talk macho, but they are about as masculine as that guy who does the "sweating to the oldies" workout videos.
The really short answer for why you would want an electric bike over peddling is it does not look good to show up for work drenched in sweat and needing a fricking shower. It is not professional. Those of you who really do peddle bike, I'm sorry to tell you this, unless you are showering after you get to work, your odor is offensive to the people around you and people are talking about you when you're not around. So while you may not be contributing to outdoor pollution, you are fouling up the indoor environment for your co-workers.
I've been using my electric mountain bike for close to 3 years now. Contrary to the idiots who talk out their ass about things here, you actually will get in better shape. You will still find yourself peddling at times to get higher speeds, and it still requires strength and dexterity to maneuver the thing around. It is still exercise, it's just light exercise, as opposed to tour de body odor exercise.
Great thing about the currie kit: I can maintain it just like a normal mountain bike, and the motor system is trivial to maintain. It's also hackable too.
Most people significantly overestimate the steepness of hills, often by 3-6 times.
What you percieve as "30 degrees" was probably 5 or maybe 10 degrees at worst.
Most councils restrict roads to an incline of about 10 degrees maximum!
(google for "overestimate hills")
I'm a perfectionist but I'm trying to cut back.
On top of that, I find cycling a lot less stressful than driving, it's relaxing really
Cycling is relaxing, but only if you're doing it where there are no idiot drivers anywhere near you.
I spent a year cycling the 45-minutes to work, unfortunately I don't now as I work much to far away from home to even consider cycling. When I was cycling, and even now when I cycle, not a journey went by without some idiot driving to close, pulling out in front of me or doing something completely idiotic within a few metres of me, putting my life in danger.
The main reason I cycled was because I had no other means of transportation, I mean there was the bus, but it was often full and therefore wouldn't stop for you, the cost adds up paying for it everyday, and the majority of the time it was quicker and easier to cycle, although it was good to know I had the option if I couldn't cycle for whatever reason.
I don't know about any other country, but here in the UK you are required by law to leave at least six foot between your car and any cyclist you're overtaking, that is the approximately the space that a cyclist would need if they fell off their bike into the road. I'm sure that 99% of the drivers are completely unaware of this.
Everyone wonders why more people don't cycle and I think one of the main reasons is that it is outright dangerous. Until there are more cycle routes that don't use roads, or drivers are more considerate towards cyclists, I don't think any more people will cycle to work.
A project a friend of mine was involved in a project that designed and built a hybrid pedal-electric bike with regenerative capabilities. Only down side is that it doesn't use a hub motor, so there's more to mount on the bike than just the batteries and control module.
t m
http://www.iit.edu/~ipro315/Fall2003/Calendar.h
They got a sweet frame donated from Santa Cruz because they sponsor my friend in triathalons and bike races. I don't know if the project is currently operating, but if you'd like to know more, I can put you in touch with the people from the project. Just drop me an email.
"I threw up my hands in disgust and wondered if it had been such a good idea to have eaten my hands in the first place."
Erm...you reminded me of something from my Dad's old 73 magazines, and here it is, The Winnebiko! There's more if you google +ham +bike ---KC2MMW
Actually 95% of the calories you burn are at resting heart beat. And for every pound of lean muscle you burn 50 calories per day. The amont of calories you burn at a work out are almost worthless. That's why the best way to lose weight is : high protein low sugar diet and weight lifting. Cardio is good for working your heart but it won't make you lose weight.
And it's very likely for him to lose fat from his arse before he loses it from his gut. Men lose it from certain parts before others. For instance, I lost it from my face, arms, and legs first. Now I'm having to completely alter my diet to lose it from my belly and chest because working out just isn't enough.
Blessed be he who reads this post, Cursed be he who tells my boss.
I have been considering the e-bike idea (when my office moves to the far end of the city next spring). I haven't done alot of shopping yet but one of the best add-on units I've seen so far seems to be the BionX system http://www.eps-system.com/en/ . The one bike shop guy that I talked to said it was a very smooth system (compared to a Giant Lafree that he bought earlier). But it is a little expensive. :(
been updated in quite a while, but http://www.eruditium.org/cmefford/
4. You don't have to ride through bad neighborhoods. A guy that rides to work (and takes a shower) told me a friend of his had his bike stolen out from under him...
--RJ
Does someone want to donate a direct-conversion methanol fuel cell to the project?
If you're interested in throwing a lot of money (yours or someone else's) into the project, you're better off going with an advanced battery chemistry, like lithium ion or nimh. The fuel cell battery charger you pointed to delivers 50 watts. This would not be acceptable for moving a bike down the road, for the same reason that fuel cells are not [yet] acceptable for moving cars -- they require too much mass to generate enough power. At 6kg (without fuel) this fuel cell has a specific power of a little over 4 w/kg. Lithium ion can give over 350-400 w/kg, especially if packaged in large cells. And though specific energy is very high, lithium ion is actually considered fairly crappy in terms of power output, compared with other battery chemistries.
MetricMind's lithium ion batteries are sized for a car, but their specs are useful as an example:
http://metricmind.com/battery.htm
And unless it runs on pure hydrogen, it emits exhaust. It's a little cleaner than a combustion engine, it's quiet, and a little more efficient (compared to burning the methanol and generating the electricity conventionally), but right now, batteries are just a better solution.
I've recently had a chance to try out the WaveCrest TidalForce bike, powered by NiMH batteries. At 750W (approx 1HP), it's a pretty fun ride:
http://tidalforce.com/
My solution to the passing problem is to be bold and ride in the middle of the lane, especially if there are two lanes.
According to the highway traffic act here in Ontario (and I think all of Canada) a bike is "vehicle" and thus the lane is mine.
I got into shouting matches about this with drivers, to a point where a cop was interested and told the guy if he doesn't shut up and move on he'll gonna ticket him for dangerous driving (he saw how the guy almost ran me off the road).
Why do I take a whole lane? Because that way I have at least some "escape" room if need be.
Interestingly enough, a lot of guys I know down in the states always tell me that they "ride on the shoulder" wherever they can or "squeese to the right" as to not be "hindering" the car traffic.
Personally I give a shit about this, If I am already squeezing on the side they sure as hell won't respect me when passing, and most of the time people go the wide way around me, if they can't do it safely, then I guess they shouldn't pass at all.
[rant off]
If you want to e-mail me, use my PGP Key.
A Tri bike is in essence a road bike with a steeper configuration.
:)
Aero bars also help (though when I see some MTBs with them I have to wonder how they help at all considering that the people are sitting so high up).
The reality is: If you commute to work and you're not living out in the country, why use a MTB? Get a decent commuter, I have one two which I use to get around downtown with a heavy lock so that it doesn't get stolen.
I must be the only person in NA who does not own a MTB, it seems that is the only type of bike that people know here.... Almost like the SUV craze (suspension while riding on the road? Sure, if I want to hammer 20 - 30% of my output in the shocks).
I hate a MTB here too, I got rid of it, as I hardly go off road, though I am moving out west soon, so I might buy one again.
One can never have enough bikes
If you want to e-mail me, use my PGP Key.
I had the DX kit from ZAP for several years when I was at college in San Francisco. I had a number of interesting experiences.
I opted for the dual battery kit because the claims of distance on a charge were optimistic by about a factor of two. I'm sure if you were on some ultralight bike riding on perfectly flat roads at low speed you could achieve the rated numbers, but in the real world cranking up twin peaks with both you and the motors straining for all you're worth it was alot shorter.
The motor will become less efficient as it heats up. It will heat up as it has to provide more torque, so it will usually quit right on the steepest hill in your journey about the time you've become too tired to pedal the heavy bike without it. Then you'll walk the rest of the way up.
If you have a friction drive like the zap kit did, where the motor drives the wheel via a roller that rides on the tire, it will be useless anytime the tire is wet, dusty, or you're going up a hill where it produces significant resistance. The solution I found to this was to install an extra gear shift on the handlebars, and run a line down the frame to a point opposite the motor. Then ran the cable to a convenient mounting hole in the motor casing so that when I pulled the lever the motor would be pulled into the tire. This let me keep traction in any condition, even snow. I showed this to some people from zap, and they thought it was great. But not great enough to put in their kits apparently. I also designed a roller that worked kind of like a thick spring that could change diameter with pressure so using this you could change gear ratios, but that never went anywhere either. If anyone wants the design to work on building it, let me know.
It won't electrocute you or short out in the rain, even in El Nino, even if you're stupid and go out in El Nino and get drenched. Your brakes however, will fail when they're hydroplaning on your rims as you careen down into the Noe valley at breakneck speeds.
Bike thieves will still steal your bike despite the fact they don't have the charger for it. Either that or someone will steal your battery and headlight and smash them in the street for no good reason. Kryptonite locks will not save you, it'll still be stolen even in broad daylight at a busy mall. I gave up after losing 2 bikes.
If you have to transport it a long distance, like to another state, don't ship it, fly with it. Most airlines have a flat $50 bike fee, just get a bike box from the local bike shop and pack it. Pack your batteries seperately in your luggage on top, so you can show them to the people at the counter in the airport before they check your bag. Lead acid gel cells are safe for commercial airline trainsport, and will likely have this printed on the batteries themselves, as mine did.
If you use the bike every day expect to replace your batteries every year or two, as they'll wear out.
Beware of other cyclists, alot of them will be mad at you for "cheating".
You'll hear lots of interesting things about better technologies, such as improved lithium ion batteries, and small fuel cells which are always "just around the corner". I waited and searched for 5 years to get either one. Even when they actually demonstrated a bike with the same kit as mine running on a li battery with half the weight and 6 times the range, they wouldn't sell it to me. They went on to make $450 laptop batteries instead and refused to license the tech to anyone interested in other applications and refused to build any other size or shape batteries unless you wanted like 100,000 units. As for the fuel cells, saw one on a bike too. But they were always experimental and "Oh we'll have this out in 2 years." It won't happen anytime soon.
You'll also hear about new and improved electric vehicles that are
Introducing the new Occam Fusion! Now with sqrt(-1) fewer blades!
Methanol is necessary because it can work with existing polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Methanol is CH4O...that can be ionized and transported through the electrolyte OK. Ethanol is C2H6O. It can't be ionized into a form that can diffuse through the electrolyte. Direct methanol fuel cells are special in that they don't require a reformer for their liquid fuel. That makes them really attractive for compact power systems...like laptops and cell phones.
I am not a physical chemist, so I don't know if it is possible to design an electrolyte to work with ethanol or other larger hydrocarbons. Usually when fuel cells "burn" larger hydrocarbons, they use some reforming process to turn them into H2 and/or CO first. This makes the systems bigger and much hotter (>800 C)...so there are heat exchangers, pumps, insulation, etc.
Ah yes, well the mountain run is also littered with routinely-ignored signs that say "Slower vehicles use turn-outs." If I recall correctly, failure to do so can result in a citation if you you have more than 3 cars on your back bumper. There are plenty of places where the turn-outs are visible with plenty of stopping distance for even the most ancient of vehicles, and yet 14-car lines are a regular sight up there. Usually someone in a rented brand-new Pontiac sedan at the front of the line, too.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
So, I have a y-frame MTB with a suspension - I'd rather waste some of my output (about 12%, BTW, not 20-30%) in absorbing the back-trail type of terrain and saving my back (rear shock). The front shocks are worth it because I can maintain a higher average speed over rough terrain, as the shocks help keep the tire on the trail.
While I agree that a lot of people buy MTB-style bikes for how they look (or because they don't know any better), one can't automatically assume that every city-rider who has an MTB is clueless. Especially when not everyone can afford multiple bikes -- I know people who commute on city streets, but buy the MTB because they off-road on weekends and don't want to own two bikes.
We may not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex—but Congress can. – Cullen Hightower
That's what Cyclocross bikes are for
I think it depends on your fork. The "beater MTB" I had had a VERY soft front fork and on more than once (sprinting for a green light) I managed to actually "ram" the fork to the bottom.
Yes I agree, not everybody, but the majority of people who ride around downtown Toronto who have MTBs didn't buy them because they needed them. Studded tires and full shocks? Granted, the road conditions in Toronto at times are bad, but not THAT bad
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So when its a biker who isn't hugging the curb, but instead taking up an entire lane, I reserve the right to get pissed.
I hope your license is taken away from you before you kill someone.
When you are driving any car, you are operating machinery that has more lethal potential and more difficult to control than any modern firearm. It is dangerous to give firearms to people who get pissed easily; people who cannot control their emotions are even more dangerous in a motor vehicle. They account for a big portion of the highway death toll in the USA, since the state of being pissed is a very accident prone state. You should not be driving when you are pissed. There are anger control clinics available-- you should take advantage of one of them.
In all the states where I have bicycled, it is legal for a bicyclist to "claim the lane"-- and the law requires him to do so when it is unsafe to do otherwise. A bicyclist in the middle of a narrow lane is safer than one who hugs the shoulder because he is more visible, because he causes other traffic to slow down to a speed that is safe for the current conditions, and because he is not encouraging drivers who maybe are poor at safety assessments to attempt to pass without changing lanes.
Good bicyclists minimize this practice through route planning and being courteous in using turnout opportunities when those are safely available. That does not mean weaving in and out of parked cars-- which is a dangerous habit.
Bicyclists are another slow moving vehicle, like farm equipment, metermaid threewheelers, and drivers rubbernecking for an address. Of course you probably get pissed at these other legal users of the road, too. Get some anger management before you end up carrying a sack of guilt around.
Here is a "best of breed" you can dream about. http://www.tidalforce.com/
Check out the Yahoo discussion groups. Also, importing a "one-of" from China has proven very difficult. You might be better off getting one of the zapbikes kits.
If you burn more than you eat you will lose weight.
I burned ~6000 Calories this weekend running and biking. You gonna tell me that doing that all the time is not going to make me lose weight?
Also you left something out of your equation, the number of calories/lean pound/day you burn can be increased by doing cardio. Doing both cardio and weight training is the best way to lose weight. I lift for 1.5 hours twice a week, bike 1-2 times a week for 2-6 hours, and run 3-5 times a week for 1-3 hours. I am losing weight on a 5000 calorie a day diet, mostly comprised of complex carbs. You think I could lose wieght eating that much on just lifting 3 hours a week?
Cardio is good for working your heart but it won't make you lose weight.
The stupidity of this statment is obvious to anyone who has ever attended a post race party. Most runners are freakishly skinny, and eat like horses.
"I'll have a Guinness, no wait, make that a Coors Light" -Grad student I work with, who shall remain anonymous...
I used two EV Warrior surplus motors at 24 volts and managed to go about 30 km/h. The shafts both connected to a friction roller with a one way clutch built in. The idea was that you could still peddal the bike without driving the motors.
I mounted the motors to an unused set of brake mounts (my bike has two, presumable to support different types of brakes). I used rope and turnbuckles to get some tension between the roller and the wheel.
What I discovered is friction drives aren't that great. I peeled more rubber off the wheel onto the roller than anything else. Even though it had a one way clutch it was still difficult to peddal. I also didn't have a controller which meant full power when you turned it on. This worked well when you're already going 20 km/h, but from a dead stop was a little rough.
The bike is a lot heavier with the batteries. But it was still a fun project.
as somebody who just spent a large part of yesterday stuck behind a car very similar to the one the parent mentioned, i must say that i have no problem being behind somebody who is not going around the corners at the posted speed limit. however, ifyou are going to drive down the entire mountain at 10 mph below the posted speed, you could at least have the courtesy to use the slow vehicle pullouts provided every few miles specifically for those drivers. personally, i'm starting to believe that police should give out tickets for people going under the speed limit not using the slow vehicle pullouts, and the amount of the ticket would be the same amount as a speeding ticket would be for going he same number of miles per hour over the speed limit as the driver in question is going under the speed limit. that or maybe a ticket for not using the pullout when you have more than 7 cars backed up behind you.
If I don't put anything here, will anyone recognize me anymore?