The e-Rocket..... Surely it's a moped?

[T89 Callan]

On BBC news now, a German has invented an electric motorbike that you pedal to help along?

Now I thought that a motorised bike with pedals to help was a moped?

And now becasue it beat an Audi away from some lights it means it is the greatest invention ever. And becasue he overtook a Porsche sitting in traffic it must be faster than a Porsche.

fk me I hate the BBC, they say it makes no emissions but fail to point out that it needs to be charged from the mains.

Story here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8147104.stm

[kambites]

With a moped, you pedal to turn the wheels. With this, you pedal to help charge a battery which stores the energy to turn the wheels. It's basically a human range extender on an electric motorbike.

I think.

Edited by kambites on Monday 13th July 13:31

[The Moose]

I saw that too. I don't think the pedals help it along, rather they control the throttle if you like (that was my understanding!!).

The BBC coverage was a bit of a pisstake - I mean it "raced away from the lights in the lead" or whatever BS the guy said, yet the CBR just fked off!!

Their coverage was a joke.

Cheers

The Moose

[T89 Callan]

The Moose said:

I saw that too. I don't think the pedals help it along, rather they control the throttle if you like (that was my understanding!!).

The BBC coverage was a bit of a pisstake - I mean it "raced away from the lights in the lead" or whatever BS the guy said, yet the CBR just fked off!!

Their coverage was a joke.

Cheers

The Moose

Yeah maybe I didn't pull-it-off properly but I was lampooning the BBC's usual crap coverage of anything motoring realated than the bike itself.

They did fail to mention that it will need to be charged at some point, you can't simply 'create energy' if you want to travel at 80mph a steady pedal will not provide enough electricity so there must be batteries that are charged before a trip.

[ShadownINja]

I suppose if the cyclist holds his breath for the duration of the journey and doesn't eat, it would be truly green.

[james_tigerwoods]

I can't view this video from my works internet but:

BBC News said:

Stefan Gulas has developed a system that amplifies the effort you put in by a factor of 50, meaning you can accelerate quickly and maintain high speeds with very little effort.

So, he's invented gearing then?

[Uhura_Fighter]

I think it is a great idea, $40 000 though, hmmm. I think the reporting from the bbc is terrible. It is a good idea but why do they have to give it an "angle" It isn't going to save the fking planet so why make out it is? The "motor" could have many uses in agriculture etc.

[HowMuchLonger]

james_tigerwoods said:

I can't view this video from my works internet but:

BBC News said:

Stefan Gulas has developed a system that amplifies the effort you put in by a factor of 50, meaning you can accelerate quickly and maintain high speeds with very little effort.

So, he's invented gearing then?

Gearing will not amplify effort. I assume that effort means work, in which case this man is a genius of the magnitude that we have never seen before. If I put in 100 watts, that means we get out 5KW. Or am I missing something?

[james_tigerwoods]

HowMuchLonger said:

james_tigerwoods said:

I can't view this video from my works internet but:

BBC News said:

Stefan Gulas has developed a system that amplifies the effort you put in by a factor of 50, meaning you can accelerate quickly and maintain high speeds with very little effort.

So, he's invented gearing then?

Gearing will not amplify effort. I assume that effort means work, in which case this man is a genius of the magnitude that we have never seen before. If I put in 100 watts, that means we get out 5KW. Or am I missing something?

Ah - my mistake - I think I may have misinterpreted it.

I read it as "you put in YY effort" and you get out "YY x50" as "you pedal a bit and through gearing you get more out" - hence gearing....

[Dupont666]

Is it just me that would find this funny by attaching this to some of the bikes the the brits race in the oval tracks and see how fast they can get them to go?

Or give it to the british Tour du france team....

[LuS1fer]

A 4 stroke moped will do 200mpg. Is it possible to get much more efficient than that for just over a quid? I mean a cyclist will eat way more than that to compensate for the energy expended and even electricity from power stations must de-green the charge-it-at-home philosophy.

[breagh]

I loved the "pedal power leads the way" bit as the cameraman did everything he possibly could to try and not film the Fireblade totally wasting the contraption.

BBC s.

[JayPee]

NEWS FLASH: BBC news reporter filmed organising illegal street race

[Tunku]

JayPee said:

NEWS FLASH: BBC news reporter filmed organising illegal street race

Yes. But, it was somewhere foreign.

[Hyperion]

T89 Callan said:

fk me I hate the BBC, they say it makes no emissions but fail to point out that it needs to be charged from the mains.

In a few years time, all our power will come from wind turbines and kitchen waste.

...Obviously

[LeightonBuzzard]

Toyota had these at the grand prix at the RING i think

[jstuart312]

Gearing will not amplify effort. I assume that effort means work, in which case this man is a genius of the magnitude that we have never seen before. If I put in 100 watts, that means we get out 5KW. Or am I missing something?
[/quote]



I think you're right, im just 13 but I had an idea that amplifies effort and used it for a science project. It might be hard to understand but I'll try my best, here it is: You have a disc with 2 magnets on the edges both with south poles facing clockwise. Then you take one large magnet and hold it with the south pole facing the south pole of one of the other magnets so that they repel. It will cause the disc (which has an axle in the middle) to spin but not forever; only if you nudge it softly every 3 or 4 times a small magnet passes the large magnet, then it will spin easily.

[Papa Hotel]

jstuart312 said:

I think you're right, im just 13 but I had an idea that amplifies effort and used it for a science project. It might be hard to understand but I'll try my best, here it is: You have a disc with 2 magnets on the edges both with south poles facing clockwise. Then you take one large magnet and hold it with the south pole facing the south pole of one of the other magnets so that they repel. It will cause the disc (which has an axle in the middle) to spin but not forever; only if you nudge it softly every 3 or 4 times a small magnet passes the large magnet, then it will spin easily.

That's not amplifying effort. All you're doing is substituting the energy you would be using to spin the disc with the energy you're using to move a big magnet in and out.

[jstuart312]

I messaged him and I think this is the perfect ending for this discussion. "Hi! Thank you for your message and interest in eROCKIT. The vehicle is run by batteries that must be charged after 50 - 70 km. We state expicitly that the batteries cannot be changed. They are fixed to the vehicle's electronic, situated in the box in the middle of the frame."are exactly the inventors words

Papa Hotel said:

That's not amplifying effort. All you're doing is substituting the energy you would be using to spin the disc with the energy you're using to move a big magnet in and out.

[Jaged]

$40,000 for a a couple of hundred dollars worth of kit!!!
No wonder these things never catch on.


My son was part of project at his Uni in his final year, they built an electric bike with superiour range etc etc than anything else on the market for £800!

His Tutor uses it around Portsmouth now and the police don't stop him telling him to put him motorbike helmet on any longer.