I’ve been doing a lot of work in the MetaEfficient lab. I thought I would post an update on my experiments and research:

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The Zero X Motorcycle was designed from the ground up to be a 100% electric bike. What makes this new bike truly different is that it contains 168 individual high-power lithium ion cells and is expected to endure six years of hard riding. Zero Motorcycle’s power grid technology has the highest power density (power storage per weight) battery pack on the market, delivering the full current of the battery pack immediately, safely and without overheating. (more…)

^{eZee’s Torq II electric bike.}

We recently published a story about Schwinn’s new electric bikes, but a reader alerted us to the fact that the new Schwinn bikes may have some reliability issues, according to the comprehensive electric bike review site A to B Magazine. Here’s their electric bike review page, where bikes are rated on a five star scale. Unfortunately, all of their 5 star bikes are only available in Europe. One brand that got a 4 star rating is the eZee electric bike range from South Africa, and these bikes are available in the U.S.

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Schwinn’s new range of electric bikes are finally available. These innovative bikes have electric motors and batteries integrated seamlessly into their design. Schwinn claims that the four pound Protanium® lithium polymer battery included with these bikes is the lightest and most durable on the market. One charge will last 40-60 miles. The battery also charges faster than those found on most electric bikes — they become fully charged in less than four hours. (more…)

We came across an electric bike we hadn’t seen before: the Liberty Stealth Climber Mountain Bike. Sold by Liberty Bikes in Pennslyvania, this bike has a 450 watt 36V motor and it’s powered by a lithium-ion battery. Electric-assist is engaged with a throttle, and motor will get you up to 18 mph. If you want to go faster than this, you can provide further pedal power using the 6 speed gears.

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A group at MIT has unveiled a scooter that folds in half, and collapses to the size of a suitcase. The low-cost bike could be carried on a bus or stored under your desk at work. A prototype of the new design was recently unveiled at the Milan Auto Show. According to William J. Mitchell of MIT’s Smart Cities Group, “the design is all about providing a clean, green, silent electronic scooter that would provide the same kind of urban mobility as motor scooters.” (more…)

Scheduled for release in early 2008, the iZip Express is an electric bike that will operate without a throttle. Instead, the bike has a special torque sensor that applies power as the rider requires it. Basically, the harder you pedal, the more the motor assists you. Test drivers have said that this automatic drive system is one of the most intuitive they’ve tried. The bike is said to have a 70+ mile range. (more…)

This could be a great commuting machine — it’s an electric-powered bike designed by the French company Matra. The bike was recently introduced at the Paris Motorshow. It has a range of 60 miles, in addition to the mileage you add by using pedal power. It has a top speed of 30 miles per hour, but this is an artificial limit set on the motor.

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This customized bike, the Biontague, is a powerful combination of a folding bike and a lithium-ion powered electric motor. It was created by Electric Cyclery in Laguna Beach, California. They built the Biontague by taking a Montague Swiss Bike LX folding mountain bike (we featured this bike previously here) and fitting it with a Bionx PL350 electric conversion kit. The resulting electric bike offers speeds in the 20 MPH range, great hill climbing assistance, and a range of up to 60 miles on a 3-hour charge.

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The Navitas is a bike trailer that generates its own power using the sun and wind. Designed by Paul Smith, a student at University of Derby in England, the trailer has a rear wheel that splits three ways to become a vertical axis turbine. There is also a compact solar panel to help to provide a charge to the onboard 24V battery. The battery provides power through a 12V cigarette lighter socket and a USB hub. I’m not sure how practical a wind turbine the wheel would make, but the idea is interesting nonetheless.

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This compact electric bike, the EC-02 from Yamaha, costs just under $2000. First introduced in Japan two years ago, the EC-02 is similar to the Enertia motorcycle I wrote about recently in TreeHugger. But this scooter has more modest specs: a top speed of 18 MPH and a range of 40 miles. So it’s more suitable for commuters and scooting around in your neighborhood. There’s also a special iPod edition of the EC-02, that has a built-in iPod dock.

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The maker of the popular Vespa family of scooters, Piaggio, is set to release a new series of scooters called “HyS” which will feature hybrid engines. The bikes will be electric plug-ins, and will boast 85% stronger acceleration. The parallel hybrid engine is remarkably small, requiring no visual modifications to the Vespa LX, Piaggio X8 or MP3 (seen here), while hugely improving the gas mileage of all three. Capable of recharging from a standard 220v European outlet, the scooters can travel up to 12 miles on electricity alone.

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We recently featured the high-performance electric Optibike, which was mentioned in a New York Times article. Well, apparently you can build a equivalent electric bike for much less (for around $1,600). See the video for more details, and see notes on the bike’s design after the fold.

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There’s increasing interest in electric motorcycles these days. Just like other electric vehicles, electric motorcycles don’t generate any emissions and are quiet. They and can go 30 miles on 5 cents’ worth of electricity. You may have seen the electric motorcycle featured in Popular Mechanics recently. Not long ago, the electric Killacycle set a world speed record, and another speedy electric bike, the Lightning Lithium E1, was on display in San Francisco.

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Schwinn will be releasing a new series of electric bikes this summer, with the motors and batteries seamlessly integrated their overall design. The bikes will come with a lithium polymer battery that Schwinn says is the lightest and most durable on the market. One charge will last approximately 60 miles. The bikes also charge faster than most electric bikes — they become fully charged in less than 4 hours. You remove the batteries to charge them, so there are no wires on the bike itself. We will be interested to see if these bikes live up to their specifications.

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Here at MetaEfficient, we’re always looking for an excuse to ride a bike, rather than drive a car. It’s just more fun, and you get the added benefit of exercise. But what if you want to take your bike to work or to get groceries? Most bikes in the U.S. are built for recreation in mind, not as vehicles that can replace cars on short trips. Basically, bikes are missing two things: storage space, and an electric motor help you go swiftly across town. That’s where the Stokemonkey comes in. It’s an electric motor kit that works in tandem with an Xtracycle. (Don’t know what an Xtracylce is? (See this previous post). Xtracycle gives almost any bike great cargo capacity, and Stokemonkey gives you the power to haul it over mountains or swiftly across town.

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The New York Times recently featured an article about people using electric bikes for commuting to work. They recommend spending about $2000 for a good electric bike. You’ll get a range of 20-50 miles with these bikes, and this can obviously be extended with pedal power. Some notable electric bikes shops are Electric Bikes Northwest and NYCEWheels. The bike pictured above is an Optibike — it’s faster than most electric bikes with a top speed over 20 mph, and it has a impressive range of 50 miles — but the price range is also high-end ($5500-$8000). You can see videos of this bike in action here. Via Bike Hugger

From Amsterdam comes this sleek and aerodynamic electric trike. The Aerorider is a fully enclosed (and ventilated) semi-recumbent trike that comes an electric-assist drive. It has a 28 mph cruise speed, and the ability to overcome hills without breaking into a sweat. The single bucket seat supports your entire body placing you in a position to comfortably focus on pedaling. The range is based on your pedal power and the type of terrain you cover, so the range of the electric-assist engine varies between 12-50 miles. The battery charger can be plugged into a standard household outlet. You can opt for “advanced batteries”, which are lighter and smaller, can be removed from the vehicle.

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The KillaCycle, the world’s electric motorcycle, and the official world record holder in the ¼ mile drag, broke the world record again using its lithium-ion batteries. The official record for any electric vehicle worldwide in the ¼ mile is set now at an elapsed time of 8.16 seconds. Weighing just over 165 pounds, the A123Systems battery pack delivers over 350 horse power to the motorcycle drivetrain and holds 7.5 kWh of energy. The KillaCycle set the record at the All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) event at the Firebird Speedway in Chandler, Arizona on March 31, 2007.

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The VentureOne is another three-wheeling electric vehicle that has been given a green light to go into production. The vehicle seats two and is capable of 100 miles per hour while maintaining its 100 miles per gallon fuel efficiency going from 0 - 60 in a respectable 6 seconds. It can also tilt almost 45º in turns. The total range is between 300 - 350 miles which is equivalent to most compact cars like the Civic and Corolla.

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