the alternative personal transportation thread
I had to pay $1.85 this morning.
My guess would be because we're much closer to both the fields *and* the refining?
Quant has been pitching their vaporware for several years. I have little hope that their technologies are more real than needed to fleece some venture capitalists out of a few million.Interesting new car from Europe, I'll be interested to see how much traction it gets.
http://blog.xposethereal.com/salt-water-powered-car-gets-european-approval-yes-its-real.html
But saltwater batteries are already in production and on second generation for non-transportation use - https://gigaom.com/2014/10/21/startup-aquion-energy-shows-off-the-next-generation-of-its-battery-for-solar-the-grid/
In the very first post of this long-running thread I mentioned the Stokemonkey. This was a product made by Clever Cycles, which has since ceased to support it although ebikes.ca has adapted it and kept the flame going with their Edgerunner design. In essence, the Stokemonkey was a very early "mid drive" design, adapting the clunky Chinese-built hub motors of the time (red thing in below photo) to drive a cargo bicycle's geared drivetrain for increased efficiency.
As I can attest, having put several thousand miles on my e-bike in both its first (Crystalyte 407) and second (9 Continent) guises, hub motors are good for their simplicity, quietness, and high rpm efficiency, but are terrible due to their mass, poor weather sealing, and very low low-rpm efficiency. On hills, when one wants the assist the most, the motor becomes very good for turning electrons into heat, but poor for turning them into forward motion.
Although one can adopt any manner of exotic RC airplane "outrunner" motors to propel human powered vehicles given a clean sheet for required form factor, if one sticks to a conventional-length (as opposed to the cargo bike above) bicycle layout then neither the Stokemonkey or hub motor solutions are ideal.
Enter the modern "mid drive" concept as a more ideal solution.
Apparently mid drive e-bikes have taken off in Asia and Europe over the past several years. There are sundry manufacturers these days of both the core mid drive drivetrain components (including such big names as Bosch and Panasonic, with Shimano and Samsung also possibly entering the fray) and bike manufacturers, including such household-for-bikers names as Trek and Cannondale. (Before you go a-Googling away, the answer is that no, Trek and Cannondale do not import their mid drive e-bikes for US-market consumption. Although Diamondback doesn't make it clear, I doubt their offerings are on our shores, either. Apparently Americans like our automobiles automatic and our bicycles manual, as it were.)
These modern mid drive designs fall into two camps, those with geared reduction prior to inputting power at the bottom bracket or chainring, and those without (as exemplified below). I'm going to ignore the units that have no geared reduction because they're kind of missing the point, in my opinion.
The Bosch unit provides a nice look at what can be done given a dedicated frame layout and an actual engineering team:
That's a metal pinion partially hidden at bottom left that drives the ISIS BB through two more reduction gears. Note how tiny that motor in the bottom-center is compared to my probably 12" diameter hub motor that I used to run (and which now occupies space in a Seattle landfill).
The astute reader will note that most of these mid drive designs require a dedicated frame design. This is part of what drove me to pick a hub motor for my original build, as I have my own preferences in frames and components that often don't line up with what a cheap OEM is offering, not to mention that most of these factory mid drive bikes are both not sold here and are limited to 250W by European regulations. Thankfully, there is hope to be found, as one of the Chinese part manufacturers, Bafang, has developed a 750W mid drive retrofit kit, the memorably-named BBS02. (For those really closely following along, I ran 48V x 35A on my hub motor e-bike, or 1680W through the controller. A 750W geared mid drive would probably outperform my old bike in all but top end thrust.)
Pictures aren't nearly as pretty as those of the Bosch, eh? One can see that this design has a larger motor than the Bosch, a really long pinion gear for some reason (!), and also has two reduction gears, the last of which sits external to the BB casing, necessitating a really long spindle.
Not as nice, but it also doesn't require anything but replacement of the BB and cranks (note nasty old square taper design--corresponding old design crankarms without a spider are included, as this uses a weird proprietary spider as well). Add one of their kits to a normal bike, and all one would need is a 48V battery with reasonable mounting (as opposed to my old brick in a pannier, which was not ideal for weight distribution or balance) to make for a pretty decent mid drive e-bike…
Cliffs Notes: E-bikes are still not widely available in America by OEMs except as crappy hub motor designs. Mid drives seem the way forward. One can create a pretty decent mid drive for about $1000 over the underlying bike.
As I can attest, having put several thousand miles on my e-bike in both its first (Crystalyte 407) and second (9 Continent) guises, hub motors are good for their simplicity, quietness, and high rpm efficiency, but are terrible due to their mass, poor weather sealing, and very low low-rpm efficiency. On hills, when one wants the assist the most, the motor becomes very good for turning electrons into heat, but poor for turning them into forward motion.
Although one can adopt any manner of exotic RC airplane "outrunner" motors to propel human powered vehicles given a clean sheet for required form factor, if one sticks to a conventional-length (as opposed to the cargo bike above) bicycle layout then neither the Stokemonkey or hub motor solutions are ideal.
Enter the modern "mid drive" concept as a more ideal solution.
Apparently mid drive e-bikes have taken off in Asia and Europe over the past several years. There are sundry manufacturers these days of both the core mid drive drivetrain components (including such big names as Bosch and Panasonic, with Shimano and Samsung also possibly entering the fray) and bike manufacturers, including such household-for-bikers names as Trek and Cannondale. (Before you go a-Googling away, the answer is that no, Trek and Cannondale do not import their mid drive e-bikes for US-market consumption. Although Diamondback doesn't make it clear, I doubt their offerings are on our shores, either. Apparently Americans like our automobiles automatic and our bicycles manual, as it were.)
These modern mid drive designs fall into two camps, those with geared reduction prior to inputting power at the bottom bracket or chainring, and those without (as exemplified below). I'm going to ignore the units that have no geared reduction because they're kind of missing the point, in my opinion.
The Bosch unit provides a nice look at what can be done given a dedicated frame layout and an actual engineering team:
That's a metal pinion partially hidden at bottom left that drives the ISIS BB through two more reduction gears. Note how tiny that motor in the bottom-center is compared to my probably 12" diameter hub motor that I used to run (and which now occupies space in a Seattle landfill).
The astute reader will note that most of these mid drive designs require a dedicated frame design. This is part of what drove me to pick a hub motor for my original build, as I have my own preferences in frames and components that often don't line up with what a cheap OEM is offering, not to mention that most of these factory mid drive bikes are both not sold here and are limited to 250W by European regulations. Thankfully, there is hope to be found, as one of the Chinese part manufacturers, Bafang, has developed a 750W mid drive retrofit kit, the memorably-named BBS02. (For those really closely following along, I ran 48V x 35A on my hub motor e-bike, or 1680W through the controller. A 750W geared mid drive would probably outperform my old bike in all but top end thrust.)
Pictures aren't nearly as pretty as those of the Bosch, eh? One can see that this design has a larger motor than the Bosch, a really long pinion gear for some reason (!), and also has two reduction gears, the last of which sits external to the BB casing, necessitating a really long spindle.
Not as nice, but it also doesn't require anything but replacement of the BB and cranks (note nasty old square taper design--corresponding old design crankarms without a spider are included, as this uses a weird proprietary spider as well). Add one of their kits to a normal bike, and all one would need is a 48V battery with reasonable mounting (as opposed to my old brick in a pannier, which was not ideal for weight distribution or balance) to make for a pretty decent mid drive e-bike…
Cliffs Notes: E-bikes are still not widely available in America by OEMs except as crappy hub motor designs. Mid drives seem the way forward. One can create a pretty decent mid drive for about $1000 over the underlying bike.
Another vaporware company sucks up investor/potential client money and proceeds to produce a whole lot of nothing:
http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/elio-motors-pushed-its-release-date-back-a-year-and-peo-1682456076
http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/elio-motors-pushed-its-release-date-back-a-year-and-peo-1682456076
All electric Audi? What could possibly go wrong? 
http://arstechnica.com/cars/2015/09/audis-e-tron-quattro-electric-suv-310-mile-range-arrives-in-2018/
http://arstechnica.com/cars/2015/09/audis-e-tron-quattro-electric-suv-310-mile-range-arrives-in-2018/
Volkswagen emissions rigging.... oooooo, burn!
" the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed that half a million diesel-powered VWs had been programmed to bypass emission controls, except during emissions tests.
The cars include the Audi A3, VW Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat models made in the last seven years."
" the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed that half a million diesel-powered VWs had been programmed to bypass emission controls, except during emissions tests.
The cars include the Audi A3, VW Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat models made in the last seven years."
I have been beating this drum for over a decade. Clearly fat people is the clear next choice.
http://www.geek.com/science/german-scientist-extracts-diesel-fuel-from-dead-cats-564518/
http://www.geek.com/science/german-scientist-extracts-diesel-fuel-from-dead-cats-564518/
There is a holocaust/jew joke in that story somewhere. I miss $tinkle.
Everybody has read about VW's flouting of the EPA's NOx regulations by 10-40x. What is the absolute output of these violating engines in context of medium-duty diesel engine emissions?
(Medium duty for this purpose means "not light duty": think F-250 or F-350, not a F-650 with a dump bed.)
It turns out that even at the headline "40x limits" level the TDIs are on par with diesel trucks as recent as 2006 (!) and are cleaner (!!) by a factor of 2 than diesel trucks as recent as 2003.
The data don't lie.
VW's intentional skirting of the rules is indeed egregious. I would argue that it's equally egregious that we have millions of diesel pickup trucks that are often used for commuting that until very recently have been allowed to pollute by well over an order of magnitude more than light duty passenger vehicles.
Keep in mind that this doesn't even begin to take into account the effect of aftermarket chips (Banks and the like) for diesels that most likely circumvent even these meager regulations...
(Medium duty for this purpose means "not light duty": think F-250 or F-350, not a F-650 with a dump bed.)
It turns out that even at the headline "40x limits" level the TDIs are on par with diesel trucks as recent as 2006 (!) and are cleaner (!!) by a factor of 2 than diesel trucks as recent as 2003.
The data don't lie.
VW's intentional skirting of the rules is indeed egregious. I would argue that it's equally egregious that we have millions of diesel pickup trucks that are often used for commuting that until very recently have been allowed to pollute by well over an order of magnitude more than light duty passenger vehicles.
Keep in mind that this doesn't even begin to take into account the effect of aftermarket chips (Banks and the like) for diesels that most likely circumvent even these meager regulations...
manual windows.All electric Audi? What could possibly go wrong?
http://arstechnica.com/cars/2015/09/audis-e-tron-quattro-electric-suv-310-mile-range-arrives-in-2018/
Someone else pointed out that the switch to ULSD happened around 2006, so the huge NOx reduction is a side effect of this (and was not possible before that fuel was available).
Dan, this is not in the sense of medium duty Topkick trucks, but rather that 8501-14000 GVW diesel trucks have a different set of regulations than passenger vehicles. What's even more confusing is that < 10000 GVW passenger vans have another set of emissions regulations that's different yet.
Dan, this is not in the sense of medium duty Topkick trucks, but rather that 8501-14000 GVW diesel trucks have a different set of regulations than passenger vehicles. What's even more confusing is that < 10000 GVW passenger vans have another set of emissions regulations that's different yet.
This is the Trolley Problem applied to cars, no more or less.
http://lesswrong.com/lw/h8q/the_unselfish_trolley_problem/
http://lesswrong.com/lw/h8q/the_unselfish_trolley_problem/
That's not a hard question, it's a bullshit question. It's BS because it implies you have implicit knowledge that pushing the fat guy off the bridge will, without a doubt, derail the trolley. If the question is REALLY: would you push the fat guy off knowing that any number of outcomes could happen that wouldn't save the 5 people?, then maybe not, but that's not the question that is posed.
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Duh is right... that article is a bit of a statistical mess...
This will only work if everyone switches to standing-height Sprinter-sized boxes and somehow seatbelts aren't necessary in the future.
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/2015/12/article/2016-zero-motorcycles-eligible-for-10-federal-tax-credit/
2 and 3 wheel EVs are once again eligible for a 10% Federal tax credit up to $2,500. Requirements are >4 kWh and >45 mph.
This is retroactive to Jan 1, 2015 and good through Dec 31, 2016.
2 and 3 wheel EVs are once again eligible for a 10% Federal tax credit up to $2,500. Requirements are >4 kWh and >45 mph.
This is retroactive to Jan 1, 2015 and good through Dec 31, 2016.
Dunno pretty sure they could design one suitable for your unique design tastes....
But unless it's 4wd what happens with their system if you get a flat front tyre?
But unless it's 4wd what happens with their system if you get a flat front tyre?
BECAUSE PANIS
Filled the F-1Behemoth for $1.38/gal on Thursday. Alternative transportation will have to wait...
Its been awhile since I was in the indusrty, but the NOx reduction around this time was due to the introduction of EGR on diesel egines in the medium and heavy duty markets. ULSD was brought about for a few reasons; sulfur as a pollutant and its ability to poison catalysts. Here was some work done by a colleague.
http://www.swri.org/9what/events/confer/DAAAC/files/DPF Durability-Reggie Zhan.pdf
Yes, the testing methods and regulations across different markets is damn confusing. In the beginning when medium and heavy duty engines were sold to truck manufacturers it made sense to test the engines independent of the vehicle hence the g/bhp-hr. The method for converting to g/mile is a bit fuzzy when the EPA test procedure to get g/bhp-hr are completely independent of mileage. But the point remains, it is indeed frustrating to have so many standards when the end effect is the same (pollution). It became very muddy when the light-duty trucks (F250 and Dodge 2500) started coming with medium duty engines that were tested according to heavy-duty truck standards.
I have run both the heavy-duty diesel tests and the passenger vehicle tests and its so difficult to get an effective g/mile for a heavy-duty truck because the weight of the vehicle can drastically change effecting the amount of pollutant emission.
Up until 1998 the medium/heavy duty engine almost had no regulations. The introduction of the consent decree of that year caused some seriously puckered backsides in that industry.
https://www.dieselnet.com/standards/us/hd.php
Up until 1998 the medium/heavy duty engine almost had no regulations. The introduction of the consent decree of that year caused some seriously puckered backsides in that industry.
https://www.dieselnet.com/standards/us/hd.php
1)
2) Morgan EV3:
2) Morgan EV3:
3) Being stuck behind all sorts of cars in disrepair (smoking diesel pickups, run of the mill gasoline beaters spewing noxious fumes) makes me realize anew that these exercises in alternative transportation will only be truly relevant once all the carbon on this planet has been extracted and burnt.
