Search
Support the Blog
Syndicate
Categories
- Animals
- Art
- Aviation
- Business
- cars
- Children
- Column fodder
- computers
- Conspiracy Theory
- Cranky Geeks
- crime
- Dirty Politics
- DIY
- Dvorak-Horowitz Podcast
- Ecology
- economy
- Endless War
- Fashion
- FeaturedVideo
- food
- FUD
- Games
- General
- Global Warming
- government
- Guns
- Health Care
- humor
- international
- internet
- Internet Privacy
- Kids
- legal
- Lost Columns Archive
- media
- medical
- military
- Movies
- music
- no agenda
- OTR
- Phones
- Photography
- Politics
- Recipe Nook
- religion
- Research
- Reviews
- Scams
- school
- science
- Security
- Show Biz
- Society
- software
- space
- sports
- strange
- Swamp Gas Sightings
- tech
- Technology
- television
- The Internet
- travel
- Video
- video games
- Whatever happened to..
Pages
- (Press Release): Comes Versus Microsoft
- A Post of the Infamous “Dvorak” Video
- All Dvorak Uncensored special posting Logos
- An Audit by Another Name: An Insiders Look at Microsoft’s SAM Engagement Program
- Another Slide Show Test — Internal use
- Apple Press Photos Collection circa 1976-1985
- April Fool’s 2008
- April Fool’s 2008 redux
- Archives of Special Reports, Essays and Older Material
- Avis Coupon Codes
- Best of the Videos on Dvorak Uncensored — August 2005
- Best Videos of Dvorak Uncensored Dec. 2006
- Best Videos of Dvorak Uncensored July 2007
- Best Videos of Dvorak Uncensored Nov. 2006
- Best Videos of Dvorak Uncensored Oct. 2006
- Best Videos of Dvorak Uncensored Sept. 2006
- Budget Rental Coupons
- Commercial of the day
- Consolidated List of Video Posting services
- Contact
- Develping a Grading System for Digital Cameras
- Dvorak Uncensored LOGO Redesign Contest
- eHarmony promotional code
- Forbes Knuckles Under to Political Correctness? The Real Story Here.
- Gadget Sites
- GoDaddy promo code
- Gregg on YouTube
- Hi Tech Christmas Gift Ideas from Dvorak Uncensored
- IBM and the Seven Dwarfs — Dwarf Five: GE
- IBM and the Seven Dwarfs — Dwarf Four: Honeywell
- IBM and the Seven Dwarfs — Dwarf One: Burroughs
- IBM and the Seven Dwarfs — Dwarf Seven: NCR
- IBM and the Seven Dwarfs — Dwarf Six: RCA
- IBM and the Seven Dwarfs — Dwarf Three: Control-Data
- IBM and the Seven Dwarfs — Dwarf Two: Sperry-Rand
- Important Wash State Cams
- LifeLock Promo Code
- Mexican Take Over Vids (archive)
- NASDAQ Podium
- No Agenda Mailing List Signup Here
- Oracle CEO Ellison’s Yacht at Tradeshow
- Quiz of the Week Answer…Goebbels, Kind of.
- Real Chicken Fricassee Recipe
- Restaurant Figueira Rubaiyat — Sao Paulo, Brasil
- silverlight test 1
- Squarespace Coupon
- TEST 2 photos
- test of audio player
- test of Brightcove player 2
- Test of photo slide show
- test page reuters
- test photo
- The Fairness Doctrine Page
- The GNU GPL and the American Way
- The RFID Page of Links
- translation test
- Whatever Happened to APL?
- Whatever Happened to Bubble Memory?
- Whatever Happened to CBASIC?
- Whatever Happened to Compact Disc Interactive (aka CDi)?
- Whatever Happened to Context MBA?
- Whatever Happened to Eliza?
- Whatever Happened to IBM’s TopView?
- Whatever Happened to Lotus Jazz?
- Whatever Happened to MSX Computers?
- Whatever Happened to NewWord?
- Whatever Happened to Prolog?
- Whatever Happened to the Apple III?
- Whatever Happened to the Apple Lisa?
- Whatever Happened to the First Personal Computer?
- Whatever Happened to the Gavilan Mobile Computer?
- Whatever Happened to the IBM “Stretch” Computer?
- Whatever Happened to the Intel iAPX432?
- Whatever Happened to the Texas Instruments Home Computer?
- Whatever Happened to Topview?
- Whatever Happened to Wordstar?
- Wolfram Alpha Can Create Nifty Reports












Weeeee…
50mph on the Flats, and still not pushing hard.
Its all motorcycle and zero bicycle: all the forward motion is generated by the motor. The foot cycling motion takes the place of the accelerator having nothing to do with generating motion.
Motorcycle.
45K for a power assisted petal bike? While that does look interesting, but the price tag is a bit high considering you do have to still petal.
Or you could modify the bike. Replace the petal part with a handle throttle and modify the wheels to act like an alternator to recharge battery.
Necessity might be the mother of invention, but laziness motivates the improvement of the invention.
He says pedaling also charges the battery.
Which seems pointless – if you hook a stationary bike to a generator, you have to pedal hard just to light up a 50w light bulb. I can’t see how extra pedaling on a motorcycle can add anything but a minuscule extra charge to the battery.
Here’s a much better idea:
No worries if this taking mainstream hold in the U.S. i doubt it will go that fast once we get through accessorizing it with a remote satellite/cable TV system and other idiot lights, not to mention that overall, we’re to fat to care and have programmed to think otherwise)
As for the technicals..they’re probably using the a portion of new magnetics/electrics that have been “blacklisted” here in the states along with some extra gearing.. -no mystery.
I think by next summer the latest they may make an appearance here.. we only need a “hiccup” in our energy grid for an extended time for them to show up en-mass…if the Universe doesn’t supply the hiccup via magnetic anomalies, i’m sure our government will provide one for us. (though i don’t think the new electrics will be the goal of the interruption..just a product of the fallout)
-as for the motorcycle/bicycle argument..makes no difference..what matters is, should this vehicle be produced en-mass, will the governing (oil-based) body allow it to use state roads “fee-free”
-here in the states it will only be seen as road hazard..it will take one, maybe two
“good-accidents” involving the ever popular “innocent children” (exploited to no end by the MSM) for it to be legislated into obscurity with licensing, registration, safety checks, and of course, the big ticket item, -insurance.
-s
#3,
Umm, thats easy, its called GEARING..
send peddle power to a combination gear..you are peddling a SMALL gear that has a LARGE gear attached, which spins a Smaller gear attached to a generator, WHICH charges the battery.
Voltage regulator for the Volts from peddling to the battery, to the Handle bar control, to the electric motor..
But I cant see the $44k price tag.
I would also add a Internal Wheel charger/motor..
When you are coasting it generates power..
You just just peddle and generate power and NOT use it tell later.
ps…if Federal health care is approved, i’m sure if you own something like this bike, it will used a negative variable (cost cutting factor) in deciding your “level” of available health care. (negating the positive health variable of a pedal machine)
-grow up around corporate lawyers and you get exposed to all sorts of “crazy” concepts.
-s
It takes about 5 horse power to reach and maintain 50MPH.
I’ll stick to my old school in line 4 internal combustion machine and burn gasoline.
Let’s see this POS hit 150+mph and do 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds, THEN I might stop laughing and take it seriously.
I have the need for speed and out grew 5hp a long time ago.
He should go to China and have it made for $500.
THEN it would sell!
Next stop, WalMart.
#6 ECA: good description..coupled with more efficient generation, it’s easy.
pessimist view: no doubt, the price tag involves an invisible [huge] fee to be payed to offset the losses incurred to Energy suppliers because you don’t “plug it in”
optimist view: they are entrepreneurs and need to charge a large sum because it won’t take long to figure out the actual simplicity of the design and have cheap labour produce it en-mass for $500-$1500 retail. (not to mention the garage entities)
plus, the high price tag is always an easy sell to those who compete to “wear” big ticket (read: overpriced) items as part of their big ticket status. -i’m sure some hollywood types would snap these up like candy.
and…if they could get Oprah to be seen riding one of these it would become an instant success/fad.
omg..I almost forgot.. the “Green Factor”
-all technology (currently) that appears to be “green” must have an exorbitant/absurd cost because in part, you MUST pay a lot to “offset” your guilt of being CO2 breather/user/producer. (which of course, is a fallacy in itself)
any technology that can be “green” must be a “a new miracle of science” and therefore expensive…even though the roots of this technology was invented centuries ago and honed to perfection in the late eighteen and early nineteen hundreds. (speaking mainly of magnetics and electrics)
-s
A human can generate 1/6 of a HP fairly constantly, and a fit person can generate 1/3 HP (more in a burst). It seems worthwhile to peddle if this is a 5 HP device.
Power generation is a function of torque multiplied RPM; gearing lowers torque as it raises RPM (contrary to the implication of ECA’s explanation), and there is no net gain in power generation from gearing. That is why a car accellerates more slowly in “higher” gears. In fact, gears are less than 100% efficient, so it is unwise to gear a generator to the peddles unless the generator can not be designed to operate at low RPM.
It looks like a cool device, but dangerous.
So it’s lighter than a motorcycle and more expensive (than most)… wonder if it’d even be possible to insure.
The driver would be in seconds on the freeways and streets of southern Calif without it making noise.
He’s an Innovator, not and Inventor. It’s essentially a pedal moped married with a electric bike.
#9 – Ah_Yea – He should go to China and have it made for $500.
THEN it would sell!
It would just take one Chinese person to buy this and then there would be a Chinese copy a month later.
And this is a real motorbike, rather than an enginebike.
However, the person peddling is technically an internal combustion engine.
12,
ask any insurer about doing 50mph on a bike..
Dont think you want to afford THIN TIRES on a HOT road.
POP, BANG..
Maybe fine on the flat. I have to climb a steep hill to leave home. We have several steep long hills.
You can buy a real car and PLENTY of gas for $44,000.00. AND, you won’t necessarily get killed in an accident, or wet in the rain. And, you can piss off the idiot greenies by driving EVERYWHERE.
18,
YES, i KNOW THAT ONE, very WELL.
and all the videos show FLAT roads.