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Barcelona is to introduce electric motorcycle charging stations in September, 2010. The first eight will be installed in the district of 22 @ and will recharge up to 25 vehicles simultaneously.
Two companies, Mobec Point and Schneider Electric, have submitted a tender to place re-charging stations in the Montmelo racetrack, and to install electric motorbike charging in the Catalan capital from next September. The stations can charge up to 25 vehicles simultaneously, it is so “simple and safe,” according to a joint statement from the companies, that forecast 40,000 electric bikes will be in use by 2016.
The TTXGP has a unique ownership structure, Trust.eGrandPrix.org. The TEO enables teams to own a piece of the TTXGP series. Nobody can buy into the TEO, it’s only open to competitors.
Normally, teams spend a lot of money to compete, much of which is paid by sponsors, while the organizing body pays to hold & market the events, then collects all of the income from TV rights, ticket sales, and event sponsorship. If TTXGP grows as popular as MotoGP, or even a national series like the AMA, this has enormous potential.
South Korea — Samchully, Korea’s leading local bicycle maker, introduced yesterday the country’s first electric bicycle as part of Korea’s low-carbon green growth policy.
Named “Greenity,” 71 percent of the high-tech bicycle is built using domestic components such as rechargeable batteries from Samsung SDI and motor controllers from SPG. The price is 1.2 million won ($1,016).
“We’ve been able to come up with an electric bicycle a year since we started to build a factory in Uiwang [Gyeonggi],” said Kim Seok-hwan, Samchully’s chief executive.
Last year, a UK Volvo dealership offered bicycles as loaner vehicles when customers’ cars were in for service. Now, in Spain, Fiat offers owners of its Fiat 500 an electric bike option while their car is in the shop.
Launched in May, Fiat’s offering is now available in its Barcelona, Valencia, A Coruña, Sevilla and Madrid locations through a partnership with bicycle maker Trek. There’s no charge for borrowing the electric bikes, which have a 70 km range and recharge during braking as well as through plug-in power. The motivation for the move, Fiat says, is to demonstrate its commitment to sustainable mobility; the company also offers an eco:Drive service to help consumers use their cars more efficiently.
Irvine, CA — Pedego Electric Bikes in Irvine has grown to #2 in market share in just 18 months in business and from 7 dealers to 70 nationwide.
The company recently moved to larger quarters at 17155 Gillette Ave. in Irvine.
“Baby boomers love our bikes,” said partner Don DiCostanzo. “Our average customer demographic is 59 for men and 58 for women…It’s a perfect storm of aging baby boomers who want to stay active; it sounds good to be ‘green’ although that’s not the reason people buy it; and it’s fun.”
The Examiner has launched a series of 3 reviews of electric bicycles:
This review of the A2B Metro bicycle is the first part of three articles making a head-head comparison of two high end electric bicycles. (part 2 Review of the E+ Motion Systems Elite electric bicycle) The A2B bicycle has been on the market for a couple years and established a reputation for ruggedness. The big beefy tires, the oversized frame, the suspension, the unique shape, all speak of ruggedness. Additionally with a powerful 500 watt electric motor it has the potential for climbing serious hills. The combination would tend to make it suitable for off-road riding but the name, Metro, speaks of city use. The ruggedness can handle pothole filled roads as well as gravel paved hiking trails. This bike does not disappoint.
Fort Collins, CO — A Fort Collins company that specializes in electrically assisted recumbent tricycles has teamed up with Longmont’s Small Planet E Vehicles to open a new electric bicycle shop on College Avenue.
Their store is called Small Planet E Vehicles and RunAbout Cycles, and is located at 244 N. College Ave. The shop is a collaboration of Josh Kerson, president and CEO of RunAbout, and Tom Wilson, owner of Small Planet E Vehicles.
Cambridge, Massachusetts — Cambridge Vice Mayor and City Councilor Henrietta Davis showed off the electric bicycle she has been driving around Cambridge, testing out the suitability of the electric bicycle as another option for car-free urban travel. The electric bicycle is on loan from Electric City Cycles, a local retailer of electric vehicles established in 2008 by Cambridge resident, Paul Elwood. The bike is powered by a lithium battery. The electric motor can carry cyclists along at speeds up to 20 mph, or assist pedaling for an experience more like traditional bicycling.
Because of cycling’s long history with doping, any dramatic victory is as likely to create suspicion as admiration in the audience, as well as among the bicycle teams. But the whispers surrounding Fabian Cancellara’s decisive wins in two of this spring’s most important races have a novel twist: they accuse him of using a tiny electric motor to help power his legs.
The battery-powered Gruber Assist motor can be built into the frame of a bicycle and remotely activated to give a tiring rider a boost of power.
Although no one offered proof, and Cancellara dismissed the allegations as “stupid,” online speculation reached such a point that on Wednesday it crashed the Web servers of an Austrian company that makes an invisible motor system for bicycles. And the International Cycling Union, while carefully noting that it is not investigating any specific rider or team, is reviewing the need for a new bicycle inspection system to detect motorized cheating.
Bloomberg announced on April 19 that China may announce rules to increase the weight and speed of electric bicycles this year, This should help stabilize lead battery consumption from the industry, said Niu Qin, head of general affairs at the China Bicycle Association.
“We feel quite positive” that the authorities may loosen restrictions for e-bikes, Niu said in an interview in Beijing. Currently, speed and weight are limited to 20 kilometres an hour and 40 kilograms. Bikes are usually powered by a 10-15 kilogram battery, with a lead content of about 9 kilograms, he said.
