- Thread starter norlander
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M
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Come on 
We all have mobile phones and cordless power tools and how many times has the batteries let you down? Ive had quite a few phones that have needed new batteries cos they werent holding their charge and ive had a good few batteries for drills become useless and ive had one MP3 player explode when on charge.
Has anyone been taking notice of the IOM TT Zero, the bikes there are the best the newest technology has to offer and theyre still nigh on hopeless and not even close to matching the Lightweight TT bikes.
The royal institutes christmas lecture 2016 done a piece on electric cars and the best on offer, Tesla, can only get 2/3 of the way from London to Edinburgh on one charge.
This technology has a long way to go before it can even come close to being as viable and versatile as internal combustion engines. The best compromise so far seems to be hybrids with their Atkinson cycle engines.
They are selling us propaganda
We all have mobile phones and cordless power tools and how many times has the batteries let you down? Ive had quite a few phones that have needed new batteries cos they werent holding their charge and ive had a good few batteries for drills become useless and ive had one MP3 player explode when on charge.
Has anyone been taking notice of the IOM TT Zero, the bikes there are the best the newest technology has to offer and theyre still nigh on hopeless and not even close to matching the Lightweight TT bikes.
The royal institutes christmas lecture 2016 done a piece on electric cars and the best on offer, Tesla, can only get 2/3 of the way from London to Edinburgh on one charge.
This technology has a long way to go before it can even come close to being as viable and versatile as internal combustion engines. The best compromise so far seems to be hybrids with their Atkinson cycle engines.
They are selling us propaganda
MattH
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What I don't understand is why they are aiming this technology at the mid range and trying to sell it as sporty.
How many people start riding on Scooters or commute around towns on them? They are low powered, generally don't do much more than 30mph and don't use the motorways.
Surely they'd be the market virtical that could easily and smoothly be converted to electric power with almost no downsides.
And as the technology evolves then it can move up into the higher performance sectors of the two wheeled world.
How many people start riding on Scooters or commute around towns on them? They are low powered, generally don't do much more than 30mph and don't use the motorways.
Surely they'd be the market virtical that could easily and smoothly be converted to electric power with almost no downsides.
And as the technology evolves then it can move up into the higher performance sectors of the two wheeled world.
thinfourth
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I'll counter that
How many times a week do you drive from edinburgh to london? For me it is almost exactly zero and the same for the vast majority of the UK drivers
The average car does 8000 miles a year or 153 a week. So lets say an average car is used twice a week that is 77miles which is just inside the range of a normal electric car
BUT it takes 14 hours to recharge!!!!
So what you are only using it twice a week so it can charge overnight while you are busy sleeping. Its not like dino juice you don't have to stand there pulling a lever you can leave the car and do other stuff.
And that is based on using the car twice a week which is ******** as folk use their car daily. It is also based on charging from a 13amp plug which is limited to 10amp by the granny cable. Most home chargers are 16amp or 32amp.
If you have a driveway and don't do an unusal usage pattern then a modern electric car is fine for most folk for most journeys.
And returning to your tesla example. The car can get 2/3rds of the way from london to edinburgh. Well my bladder can't and i want a cup of coffee and a sticky bun. So i'll be stopping halfway to plug the car into a supercharger. While it charges to 80% full in 30 minutes. I'll be having a pee, some tea and a leg stretch and maybe some lunch. With a tesla i'm the limiting factor not the car.
The technology is viable today for most people for most journeys. The charging infrastructure still sucks big time but 90% of charging is done overnight on peoples driveways. And because they are charged overnight they use power when the grid is at a low level.
norlander
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There are quite a number of electric vehicles in use around here- in the city- logical to me as where is pollution/fumes/noise more concentrated and thus more of an issue- in the city, plus, you can park and pay a deposit for an electric bicycle.
Folks who venture beyond the city limits are moving to hybrids.
Its city dwellers who should be the target market in the first place- I'd consider battery power for city use, but marketing electric vehicles for wider ranging use with the current (see that
)technology does not convince me.
I live well out in the cuds -34 kilometers round trip to supermarket/petrol pumps- and its hilly.
If they are serious about electric vehicles, I'd want:
a much much bigger subsidy to make me think about one
vastly expanded charging points availability
vastly reduced insurance premiums on em
rebate on my electricity bills
a thorough explanation of the environmental issues of battery production and disposal- and I aint convinced a leccy motor is "zero emissions" where there are whirly roundy things and heat "stuff" is being produced (thats my view though
)When I go to the city, I park and walk, if I lived in the city or the suburbs, yeah, I would consider an electric scooter, but for owt else I want the good ole infernal combustion injun coz they make noise/smells, are satisfying to tinker with and for bikers, ya got singles, twins, trips, fours, vee twins, para twins.
Who the hecks gonna start a fight down the caff over battery types
.
Northumbrian
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The entire idea of electric vehicles, is a fundamentally a good one.
However, the idea of being dependent on an energy supply that can be switched off, is somewhat concerning.
Yes, fuel supplies can be stopped as well, but it's not within the absurd to produce a fuel at home, bioethanol etc
The simple fact that it's government backed, raises the hairs on the back of my neck.
However, the idea of being dependent on an energy supply that can be switched off, is somewhat concerning.
Yes, fuel supplies can be stopped as well, but it's not within the absurd to produce a fuel at home, bioethanol etc
The simple fact that it's government backed, raises the hairs on the back of my neck.
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...Who the hecks gonna start a fight down the caff over battery types
My Duracell lasts ten times longer.....
Ton-up
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Batteries will be irrelevant soon. Reading last week that vehicles are now commonly being powered by capacitors. They charge within the time it would take to fill with petrol, go twice as far with twice the power of batteries and weigh hardly anything!
Cobbler
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To charge that quickly you would need a supply cable about 4 feet in diameter!.
Hello Thinforth,
"
The charging infrastructure still sucks big time but 90% of charging is done overnight on peoples driveways. And because they are charged overnight they use power when the grid is at a low level."
I would think that anyone who commutes to work will want to recharge during the day also to keep a full charge so I do think the 90% at night is optimistic? Winter is the big test when heaters , wipers and lights are used so severely impacts the battery charge level.
Alec
"
The charging infrastructure still sucks big time but 90% of charging is done overnight on peoples driveways. And because they are charged overnight they use power when the grid is at a low level."
I would think that anyone who commutes to work will want to recharge during the day also to keep a full charge so I do think the 90% at night is optimistic? Winter is the big test when heaters , wipers and lights are used so severely impacts the battery charge level.
Alec
norlander
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zx9
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Having read all the above posts I kind of agree with most of the points raised, both for and against electric vehicles. I guess I am on the fence and the high purchase price will keep me on the fence for a while.
That said, I would quite like a go on a mid sized '600cc SuperMoto' electric equivalent just so that I could say 'Yes when I can afford it a little electric bike to run the eight miles to the City and back would be fun / usefull' or 'No way an I riding electric, I'll just pay the £10 / £20 pounds per day T Charge (T for Toxic
don't you just love Transport for London) to ride a petrol engine bike".
fftopic:Much as I have loved London over the last thirty years, I think Yorkshire is calling me back again, perhaps when the boys are out of school only five years to go now.
That said, I would quite like a go on a mid sized '600cc SuperMoto' electric equivalent just so that I could say 'Yes when I can afford it a little electric bike to run the eight miles to the City and back would be fun / usefull' or 'No way an I riding electric, I'll just pay the £10 / £20 pounds per day T Charge (T for Toxic
don't you just love Transport for London) to ride a petrol engine bike".fftopic:Much as I have loved London over the last thirty years, I think Yorkshire is calling me back again, perhaps when the boys are out of school only five years to go now.
Northumbrian
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Yeah, but mine are from zee Varta land
lazybones51
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As others have said it's a great idea, but at the end of the day the majority of the electricity produced comes from power stations burning fossil fuels! Yes the CO2/NOX isn't being pumped out of vehicles in to cities/towns etc, but it's still being pumped in to the atmosphere.
Until we can actually solve the problem of producing electricity from renewable sources instead of fossils fuels, we're not actually solving any real problems.
Until we can actually solve the problem of producing electricity from renewable sources instead of fossils fuels, we're not actually solving any real problems.
julianthegypsy
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Batteries in combination with supercapacitors is something I'd like to build for a bike. The problem with batteries is how fast you can charge them, as has been noted, whereas caps can take an instant hit. Using a combination allows much better regenerative braking. i.e., when I hit the brakes I'm really loading a generator and stuffing charge at the battery. Battery can't take it, so the caps do, then release it slowly into the batteries, so all my lovely downhill momentum doesn't get wasted and range increases. You can buy super capacitors now that will replace your car battery.
My work commute is 8 miles each way, so a once a week charge on an electric bike would do me fine. Plus I could charge at work. If I was gooing to do it though, I'd put solar panels on the workshop roof, and in summer at least I'd never need a grid charge. Just that damned price to work on!
norlander
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storage heater memories anyone???
M
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I was traveling 100 miles round trip to work 5 days a week to a building site. Finding a parking space these days is difficult enough, finding a charging point thats not taken and close to work would be difficult, you would be stranded if you couldnt find a place to charge. How secure will a charging car be? what if some malicious sod unplugs your car?. I live in Northumberland, everything is far away. I drive long distances often enough. What about delivery van drivers who have to drive long distances? I used to work in a factory where there were arguments over putting the electric forklifts on charge and running out because they were in constant demand.
I wonder about the materials the batteries are made from and sourcing them, they must be dug out the ground and refined and processed, similar to petrol or coal. The resources arent infinite, just like petrol. How much of the used batteries can be recycled?
Im not arguing that this is the technology of the future, just were not there yet, theres alot more development to be done.
I wonder about the materials the batteries are made from and sourcing them, they must be dug out the ground and refined and processed, similar to petrol or coal. The resources arent infinite, just like petrol. How much of the used batteries can be recycled?
Im not arguing that this is the technology of the future, just were not there yet, theres alot more development to be done.
