December 18, 2012
The solar-powered bike-car thingy we’ve all been waiting for
Scott Huler in Scientific American:
You want to see my next vehicle? I’m going to get a TruckIt, a tiny little recumbent-bicycle deal with an electric motor — it’s called a velomobile, if you want to know. It costs $5,500, recharges its battery with its own rooftop solar panels, can legally take you on the road,
on the sidewalk,* and on greenway trails, and has a 30-mile-per-charge range. Then you can either rely on those solar panels or you can take the little battery out and plug it in. And though it’s designed to carry me and up to 800 pounds of payload (guitar, amp, and groupie?), I can retrofit a little jumpseat so I can just haul around the groupie if I need to. You can read all about it in this story by the News & Observer of Raleigh.
And hokey smokes, it’s made right here in the U.S.A., by Organic Transit, in a renovated furniture warehouse in downtown Durham, NC.
The thing — and the Elf, its more carlike little sister — is limited to 20 mph on pure electricity (to remain classified as a bicycle), but it can take you up and down hills with or without your pedaling. Every New Urbanist, transit focused downtown renovation should all but give these things away for free. If you live and work in a walkable downtown that lacks — as so many do — a grocery store, instead of needing a second car, all you’ve done is given purpose to your workout. “Going out for a ride, dear — got that grocery list?”
More here.
Posted by S. Abbas Raza at 09:20 AM | Permalink
Comments
Here's a crazy idea - how long do you estimate it will take to charge the batteries from the rooftop solar panels or even to add significant oomph to the actual transit.
You wanna make a wager?
I'll take the side of 'weeks'
Posted by: Steve | Dec 18, 2012 9:54:45 AM
How do you figure that Steve? It looks like it has enough room on top for a one square meter solar panel which should be able to produce 150 to 200 watts in good light. Even if it uses a full horsepower (which is probably more than it needs) that's only 750 watts. They say it has a range of 30 miles and a top speed of 20 mph. So let's assume it runs for two hours at 15 mph, for which we need 1500 watt-hours of electricity. A 150 watt solar panel would charge that battery in 10 hours of good light by my rough calculation, not weeks.
Posted by: S. Abbas Raza | Dec 18, 2012 10:09:40 AM
Does is have to be the ugliest thing I've every seen?
Posted by: Olavi Valo | Dec 18, 2012 10:20:03 AM
In the interim maybe the solar panel can run the radio? These would be great in Colombo but I cannot see a SUV Buyback in the States anytime soon, it would be more costly than guns. This method has been running a couple of years in Oz.
http://www.betterplace.com.au/
Posted by: Troy | Dec 18, 2012 10:28:58 AM
It's a Piaggo Ape, worth oodles more character than the Truckit, and with at least 60 mpg who needs to worry about solar?
See: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=piaggio+ape+pictures&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=u&rls=en&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=afjRUKjYG4iR0QXzh4G4Dg&ved=0CDcQsAQ&biw=1311&bih=806
Posted by: laturb | Dec 19, 2012 12:28:36 PM
Well, ugly or not, at least the idea has some kind of promise for our future -
Posted by: Deniz | Dec 19, 2012 1:15:41 PM
I'm waiting for a nice-looking electric car with range of over 300 miles, 0 to 60 in under 10 seconds for under 30k. Still waiting.
Posted by: Olavi Valo | Dec 19, 2012 2:05:31 PM
What everyone wants is already here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkccwTPc-wk
AND THEY ARE CUTE!!!
"Global Electric Motorcars, a Chrysler company, has been in operation for ten years. Located in Fargo, North Dakota, Global Electric Motorcars manufactured its first vehicle in April 1998, a 48-volt GEM car that accommodated two passengers and had a top speed of 20 mph. Less than two months later, a significant breakthrough occurred in the market as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) designated a new class of motor vehicle, the low-speed vehicle, also known as the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV). The low-speed vehicle class allowed GEM cars to be driven on public roads if they met certain safety criteria such as having safety belts, headlamps, windshield wipers, and safety glass. GEM cars always come equipped with these safety features making them a benchmark in the industry.
"GEM battery-electric vehicles not only represent a relatively new vehicle in an emerging market segment, but also a new and growing brand within the Chrysler family. Just like Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep®, or many of the other well-established brands in the company's portfolio, GEM stands for innovation and leadership.
"Global Electric Motorcars aims to establish its brand presence both as the maker of the top-selling NEV in the market and the purveyor of one of the smartest solutions to traffic congestion and air quality problems yet to be introduced. The solution: zero-emissions personal transportation that is well integrated with traditional alternative transportation choices such as mass transit and carpooling.
"GEM models are sophisticated yet simple. They represent a new kind of personal transportation, that expands the capacity to have fun. They represent a versatile and efficient way to get the job done, as well as a clean way to do everyday work. GEM cars harness and put to work the power of silence."
Posted by: Norman Costa | Dec 19, 2012 3:25:26 PM
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