BMW Electric scoot

[gn2]

I've never really been anti-electric per se, the problem for me is that I've not yet encountered an electric scooter which will do what I need day in day out for at least three years without major repairs.
Once an electric becomes available that meets my needs it will get serious consideration.
The low number of moving parts, potential for high relabilty and minimal maintenance is extremely appealling.
It was the same with computers, I wasn't at all interested till they were capable of doing stuff which was useful to me.
Now the house is full of the bloody things!

[michaelphillips]

well no point going to ali baba etc usually someone has had the business idea / thought and imported some to sell... heres one Zev5100 with lithium batteries at a very good price http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZEV-5100-LITH ... 2ed14a8550" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[SH125Paul]

See a Vectrix regularly on my commute to work...

would seriously consider an electric for communting...
mines 35 mile round trip - very stop start - rairly see more the 20 for the majority of the journey - OKR & Elephant etc - 30 would do for the rest...
A 125 would do the journey really - just lack ooomph - maybe an electric would give thi soomph with a reasonalble speed of say 40... and a range of 50 miles - just to be certain...
Other issue is teh number of charge / re-charge cycles - loan batteries etc etc

[Bluebottle]

A full set of silicon batteries was £60 for one of mine

They do seem expensive on the mainstream models though, usually they are the lighter more expensive lithium types

Different battery chemistries give a different number of cycles and longevity. It needs some study before deciding which one to go with.

[MrGrumpy]

would seriously consider an electric for communting...
mines 35 mile round trip - very stop start - rairly see more the 20 for the majority of the journey - OKR & Elephant etc - 30 would do for the rest...
A 125 would do the journey really - just lack ooomph - maybe an electric would give thi soomph with a reasonalble speed of say 40... and a range of 50 miles - just to be certain...

With that sort of journey, a cheaper lower powered electric scoot might do the job pretty well. My issue is that my commute has dual carriageway bits in and so a decent top speed is needed (well, wanted!), and high power ones can be damned expensive. And the Vectrix only goes 60mph which is only barely enough.

[irev]

As short-distance commuters leccy bikes make sense.
As a `green` alternative they don't.
As a cheap servicing option they do.
As long-distance cruising and recreational machines they don't.
On initial purchase prices they don't, and there is no government grant support like there is with cars and vans. (For that reason alone, the MCIA should be compulsorily disbanded and all board members excluded from working in the industry on the grounds of utter incompetence).
On refueling cost they make a lot of sense.
One refueling time (and frequency) they make no sense at all.

On balance: Not yet ready for primetime - unless you have a limited requirement and a near-unlimited budget.

And why are they made to look like conventional scooters and motorcycles when the known benefits of aerodynamic design and alternative construction styles and methods would almost certainly find a happy home with the eco-commuter?

This is my machine of choice

http://peraves.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bluebottle]

As short-distance commuters leccy bikes make sense.
As a `green` alternative they don't.

Really?

My electric can run for over 20 miles at full throttle on the amount of electricity needed to refine a litre of petrol.

That is the same/more mileage from a litre of fuel but without actually burning it

How is any combustion engine greener than that?

[irev]

As short-distance commuters leccy bikes make sense.
As a `green` alternative they don't.

Really?

My electric can run for over 20 miles at full throttle on the amount of electricity needed to refine a litre of petrol.

That is the same/more mileage from a litre of fuel but without actually burning it

How is any combustion engine greener than that?

Mass production reducing unit cost
Efficient use of raw materials on a cost-per-kilo basis (reduced mining effort and large-scale extraction)
The machine on which you are pinning your hopes still has raw materials processed using petrochem methodologies: Tyres, chassis, motor componentry, etc. etc. etc. And the copper and aluminium all require vast energy input
And I've mentioned before the volume extraction required for those difficult-to-find elements in the battery.
Then there's the hidden cost of age-related degeneration in the batteries
And the marginal extra cost of transportation given that large quantities can be subject to shipment control and mandated inspection. Lithium is, for example, transported huge distances from the point of supply to a battery plant via aircraft, ship,train and truck - none of which are using lithium-ion batteries themselves right now. And I haven't seen a sailing ship cargo freighter since 1922...

The only true green is to not use those materials, not manufacture an electric scoot, and rely on pedal power...

...but then that makes you a cyclist - and who wants that..?

[bikerdezzie]

Hopefully technology is progressing at a good rate, I have read lots about a material called grapheme which will be the next wonder material and has great capabilities for storing and more efficient than current battery stuff.

[michaelphillips]

Hopefully technology is progressing at a good rate, I have read lots about a material called grapheme which will be the next wonder material and has great capabilities for storing and more efficient than current battery stuff.

Photovoltaic Cells

Offering very low levels of light absorption (at around 2.7% of white light) whilst also offering high electron mobility means that graphene can be used as an alternative to silicon or ITO in the manufacture of photovoltaic cells. Silicon is currently widely used in the production of photovoltaic cells, but while silicon cells are very expensive to produce, graphene based cells are potentially much less so. When materials such as silicon turn light into electricity it produces a photon for every electron produced, meaning that a lot of potential energy is lost as heat. Recently published research has proved that when graphene absorbs a photon, it actually generates multiple electrons. Also, while silicon is able to generate electricity from certain wavelength bands of light, graphene is able to work on all wavelengths, meaning that graphene has the potential to be as efficient as, if not more efficient than silicon, ITO or (also widely used) gallium arsenide. Being flexible and thin means that graphene based photovoltaic cells could be used in clothing; to help recharge your mobile phone, or even used as retro-fitted photovoltaic window screens or curtains to help power your home.

Energy Storage

One area of research that is being very highly studied is energy storage. While all areas of electronics have been advancing over a very fast rate over the last few decades (in reference to Moore’s law which states that the number of transistors used in electronic circuitry will double every 2 years), the problem has always been storing the energy in batteries and capacitors when it is not being used. These energy storage solutions have been developing at a much slower rate. The problem is this: a battery can potentially hold a lot of energy, but it can take a long time to charge, a capacitor, on the other hand, can be charged very quickly, but can’t hold that much energy (comparatively speaking). The solution is to develop energy storage components such as either a supercapacitor or a battery that is able to provide both of these positive characteristics without compromise.

Currently, scientists are working on enhancing the capabilities of lithium ion batteries (by incorporating graphene as an anode) to offer much higher storage capacities with much better longevity and charge rate. Also, graphene is being studied and developed to be used in the manufacture of supercapacitors which are able to be charged very quickly, yet also be able to store a large amount of electricity. Graphene based micro-supercapacitors will likely be developed for use in low energy applications such as smart phones and portable computing devices and could potentially be commercially available within the next 5-10 years. Graphene-enhanced lithium ion batteries could be used in much higher energy usage applications such as electrically powered vehicles, or they can be used as lithium ion batteries are now, in smartphones, laptops and tablet PCs but at significantly lower levels of size and weight.