The biggest Cargo Bike yet

SOURCE: Mads Phikamphon (hej@cykelvalg.dk)
SUBHEAD: A pedal and solar assisted operational cargo bike as big as a truck and evolving further.

By Nico Junge on 30 November 2015 for Ice Bike -
(http://www.icebike.org/biggest-cargo-bike/)


Image above: The 8rad cargo bike on the road with another cargo bike aboard. From original article.

We love cargo bikes, so a few weeks ago we took a look at why cargo bikes are better than delivery trucks.

After reading the article, one of our readers told us about what is probably the biggest cargo bike in the world: The 8rad which is 5 meters long, 2 meters wide and supported by 8 wheels!

In this interview we talk with the creator of the 8rad, Nico Jungel. We talk with Nico about why he build the 8rad, how he did it and what his next projects are.

How did you decide to build the 8rad?
A real decision wasn’t made, it was more a series of steps that i took one by one. Maybe the decision was taken when I bought 8 high-end wheels for too much money and placed them on the floor in a 5x2m dimension. After that I couldn’t go back.

More generally spoken, the idea of building the bike is a mixture of the way of life I have taken. I once gave up living in flats, bought a van and lived a mobile, nomadic life.

I liked the idea not to have walls and only a few things, but cars cost money, a lot of money, they pollute, are way too heavy in proportion to what they carry and so on.

Coming from some kind of squatting and being involved in ‘right to the city’ movements, I wanted to change something and create a vision. I needed a new mobile space that fits my demands and I was also eager to built something new. I knew that I would need at least 8 square meters and this led me to the fact that I would have to have 8 wheels. 4 wheels would have to be able to steer and so on.

The 8rad is somehow more a chain of solutions, but in the beginning there was an idea of a mobile, pedal-powered space.

Was it difficult to build?
It was sooo difficult. I had never built a bike before and because I had just moved to Berlin, my friends weren’t there to start a group project. I had to gain all the knowledge, but it’s all on the internet and one just has to combine what is there. I don’t know how people did it before the internet.

I also checked every concrete truck I saw and crawled underneath them. Learning is super easy today and I can just encourage everyone to watch, read and try.

I failed many times and it was obvious that the project was too big for one person, but once I have something in my mind there is no other way (and yes, I spend way too much money on my projects).

As a side note, the 8rad could be even bigger. German traffic regulations only speak of ‘vehicle dimension’ which are 12 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and 4 meters high if I remember correctly. And one shouldn’t be too much concerned with laws when inventing new stuff, laws can be changed…


Image above: parked 8rad with cargo aboard. From original article.

How is it to bike the 8rad?
It’s pretty easy, it moves when you touch the pedals. Most people are surprised once they start pedaling. Of course it needs mirrors and it takes a lot of space, but supplied with an electric motor (solarpowered ONLY!) one can ride it alone.

Because it has independent wheel suspension it’s super-smooth. I never understood why no one else took the decision to use independent wheel suspension, but recently, some projects (4-wheelers) have appeared.

But to be honest, the 8rad is still a prototype. I would like to change and improve many things, so if there’s someone with money or material/parts to spend – please contact me!

How often do you use it?
I don’t use it that much. It’s more an utopian idea, a vision to inspire other people. It’s shown at fairs, takes part in demonstrations/parades and other public events. Due to time and money I choose events that reach many people and support it’s transportation vision.

Instead of the almost empty words of clean, safe and silent cities, the 8rad proves that cities can look different. It proves that a lot of transport can easily be done by bike and that there’s an alternative to cars. If a bike of that size can drive and load (up to 500kg), then it should be obvious that regular cargo bikes can easily replace a lot of car transportation.

Has there been any problems using the 8rad?
There have been technical problems. For example cheap chains that crash too many times because I haven’t got money for good chains.

But people are always happy when they see the bike. I have not met a a single angry car driver being upset that I block the street. I think if you want to change things, you better give a positive suggestion. It’s always possible to do something radical without people noticing it and without getting upset because they like it too much.


Image above: Covered version of cargo bike is 8rad2 covered with solar PV panels and with an electric motor for additional power. From original article.

What is a traffic activist?
I think there has been written and discussed a lot when it comes to city development. Almost everyone is an expert or at least has an opinion when it comes to gentrification.

I always liked the spaces in between things and so the streets are that kind of space for me. I think there should be more protests about traffic/transportation and air pollution in cities. There are more good solutions when it comes to architecture, but very few when it comes to traffic (except in the Netherlands…).

I want to shift focus so that’s why I use that term.

A common objection to car free cities is cargo transportation
Well, mostly there’s very little cargo in cars. People are always surprised what a cargo bike can carry (or a bicycle trailer – I don’t know why they are not more popular).

Bicycles take way less space and traffic would be much faster than if the deliveries were done by car. Parcels could be delivered faster and just think of how cheap bicycles are compared to cars (both when buying the product AND when doing maintenance).

Technically speaking, there exist very good solutions for cargo bikes on 2, 3 or even 4 wheels. Cargo bikes with load capacities from 80 to 300 kg.

It’s a political question, not a technical one. People are beginning to see the advantages of bicycles and there are more and more cargo bikes around. There are also more cargo bike producers and especially in Germany do I notice a very active atmosphere.

But I don’t think that there will be carefree cities. I’m not very fond of absolute positions, but understand that some protest forms need them to underline their demands. I like diversity and think there need to be taken closer looks at what can be done and how it can be done.

I think a really good and well planned public transport system, e.g. fast-lanes for bicycles and seperate car/bike-traffic like in Copenhagen, would improve things a lot.

In berlin the fastest way to get around, even on a 14 km distance, is by bike.

People are also buying less stuff in the shops because they order things on the net, so the need to carry things decreases and the need for improved business-to-consumer delivery increases (there are interesting solutions for that, e.g. in Paris where they bring goods via boat to the center of the city and then cargo bikes pick up parcels from the boat).

From time to time I work as a craftsman, and you can’t imagine the advantages of being able to get tools to the inner city without having to find a parking space and without having to pay for parking.


Video above: Demonstration of flatbed 8rad on the road. From (http://nicojungel.net/space.html) (https://vimeo.com/97304992).


Video above: Covered 8rad2 on the road. Plans are for electric motor suplement power from solar PV panels. From (http://nicojungel.net/solar.html) (https://vimeo.com/105572244).

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: China's Bubble of Millionaires 6/14/14
Ea O Ka Aina: European Cargo Bikes 9/29/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Trike Home & Turf 6/6/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Cargo Electric Bikes 11/4/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Cargo Tricycles 1/4/12 
Ea O Ka Aina: The Chinese Wheelbarrow 1/4/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Depend on your Wheelbarrow 11/7/10

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Renewable Energy Stories

SUBHEAD: The ten essential renewable energy stories this week.

By Nathanael Baker on 5 February 2010 in EnergyBoom - 
(http://www.energyboom.com/policy/ten-essential-renewable-energy-stories-week-14) 


 
Image above: Solar thermal power generation. Tower collects heat to run generator from mirror array. From (http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-vine/solar-power-24-hours-day-heres-how)  

Big winds were blowing, fast wheels were spinning, and good grades were flowing for renewable energy this week.

Early in the week it was announced that global wind power increased 31% in 2009. Although this growth was spurred by the European Union, United States and China, it was not limited to the industrial giants. Turkey, Chile, and Morocco each increased their capacity by at least 30%.

The transportation sector had some hot news with Ferrari's hybrid announcement, and electric bikes showed they are an exponentially growing market that is worth US$11 Billion worldwide.
Other renewable sectors had eye-catching news as well, and that is why we have developed this article--so you don't have to miss any of it. So, without further ado...

Here are this week's 10 Hottest Renewable Energy Stories You May Have Missed:
1. Caterpillar Delivers First Hybrid Bulldozer - The Cat D7E is Caterpillar's first hybrid bulldozer. This beast is more powerful that traditional bulldozers and also 10%-30% more efficient.

2. Wind Power Up A Whopping 31% Worldwide in 2009 - By adding 37.5 GW of new capacity in 2009, the global wind industry pushed its net worth to an estimated US$63 billion. One notable, yet unsurprising fact--China installed the most wind capacity of any country last year.

3. Ferrari Will Unveila Hybrid Model: Crazy Fuel Economy, Crazy Power, Crazy Thought - At the Geneva Auto Show in March you will be able to feast your eyes on Ferrari's first attempt at a hybrid vehicle--a lithium-ion battery powered 599 GTB Fiorano. The car has the same pop, 0-65 MPH in less than 4 seconds, but gets nearly twice as many miles to the gallon.

4. Ted Turner and Southern Company Announce Alliance for Renewable Energy Ventures - Ted Turner and Southern Company have joined forces in an effort to get in on the renewable energy bubble. The partnership's first focus: developing solar photovoltaic power in America's southwest.

5. 55 Countries Pledge Their Copenhagen Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets - The Copenhagen climate conference has been deemed a failure by many. However, that has not stopped UN member states from following through on their commitments to the Copenhagen Accord, and submitting their national greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. Hope for a global deal to cut emissions remains.

6. European Union Beats Expectations, Grows Wind Power Capacity in 2009 - A new report from the European Wind Energy Association shows that the EU installed more wind power than any other source of energy last year. 39% of all new capacity installed in 2009 was wind power followed by gas (26%) and solar photovoltaics (16%).

7. Global Investments Brighten Outlook for Geothermal Energy - It looks as though 2009 was just the beginning of a sweet era for geothermal energy. Investments in geothermal grew more than any other sector last year, and it looks like the investments will continue to rise as President Obama has proposed to increase funding for geothermal energy 25% in 2011.

8. In-House Live Extraction for Algae: Turning the Corner on Biofuels - OriginOil has developed a breakthrough technology that will allow businesses and institutions to convert their carbon dioxide emissions to algae-based biofuel on their own premises.

9. Eight Teams Move on to Semi-Finals in Clean Energy Prize Competition - Colleges and Universities throughout Michigan are competing to develop business plans that promise to move their new, renewable energy technology from the laboratory to the market place. Out of 32 teams, eight remain in competition for the US$100,000 prize money.

10. Look Out: Electric Bikes Are an $11 Billion Industry - From geek to chique, electric bikes have gone from a fringe method of transportation to one of the largest growing markets in the world. China is the prime example: in less than 20 years, electric bikes have grown in number from a few thousand to 120 million.

Well, there we go, you are caught up...sort of. There have been numerous articles on EnergyBoom that did not make the cut, but are nonetheless fascinating reads. You can find them by browsing any of our technology channels or our Finance section.

Electric Boost for Bicyclists

SUBHEAD: Electric bikes open up cycling to a whole slew of people who would otherwise be driving a car. Image above: “It’s miraculous — it takes the hills out of riding,” said Roger Phillips, 78, who rides an electric bike around Manhattan. By David Goodman on 31 January 2010 in the New York Times - (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/business/global/01ebike.html) Jiang Ruming, a marketing manager, owns a van, but for many errands, he hops on a futuristic-looking contraption that lets him weave rapidly through Shanghai’s messy traffic. He rides an electric bicycle. Half a world away, in San Francisco, the president of that city’s board of supervisors, David Chiu, uses an electric bike to get to meetings without sweating through his suit.

And in the Netherlands, Jessy Wijzenbeek-Voet recently rode an electric bicycle on a long trip that, at 71, she would not have been able to make on a standard bike.

Detroit may be introducing electric car designs and China may be pushing forward with a big expansion of its highways and trains. But people like Mr. Jiang, Ms. Wijzenbeek-Voet and Mr. Chiu — as well as delivery workers in New York, postal employees in Germany and commuters from Canada to Japan — are among the millions taking part in a more accidental transportation upheaval.

It began in China, where an estimated 120 million electric bicycles now hum along the roads, up from a few thousand in the 1990s. They are replacing traditional bikes and motorcycles at a rapid clip and, in many cases, allowing people to put off the switch to cars.

In turn, the booming Chinese electric-bike industry is spurring worldwide interest and impressive sales in India, Europe and the United States. China is exporting many bikes, and Western manufacturers are also copying the Chinese trend to produce models of their own. From virtually nothing a decade ago, electric bikes have become an $11 billion global industry.

“It’s miraculous — it takes the hills out of riding,” said Roger Phillips, 78, who rides an electric bike around Manhattan. The sensation is akin to a moving walkway at the airport, he said.

Electric bikes have been a “gift from God” for bike makers, said Edward Benjamin, an independent industry consultant, not only because they cost more — typically $1,500 to $3,000 — but also because they include more components like batteries that need regular replacement.

In the Netherlands, a third of the money spent on bicycles last year went to electric-powered models. Industry experts predict similar growth elsewhere in Europe, especially in Germany, France and Italy, as rising interest in cycling coincides with an aging population. India had virtually no sales until two years ago, but its nascent market is fast expanding and could eclipse Europe’s in the next year.

“The growth has been tremendous in the last two years,” said Naveen Munjal, managing director of Hero Electric, a division of India’s largest bicycle and motorcycle maker. He expects sales at Hero to increase to 250,000 electric bikes in 2012, from 100,000 in 2009.

While the American market has been modest — about 200,000 bikes sold last year, by some estimates — interest is rising, said Jay Townley, a bicycle industry consultant. Best Buy began selling electric bicycles in June at 19 stores in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore. Trek, a manufacturer based in Wisconsin, recently began selling a bike created by Gary Fisher, a prominent bicycle designer.

“Electric-assisted bicycles will change how people think about bikes in urban areas,” predicted Mr. Chiu of San Francisco, who has been riding a prototype of the Trek bike since the summer.

Improvements in technology are resulting in lighter designs that appeal to older cyclists. “Now you’ve got a product you can present to a baby boomer,” Mr. Townley said.

New York City’s largest electric bike store, NYCeWheels, opened in 2001, and in the last few years, business has been growing, said Bert Cebular, the owner. In Chinatown, electric bikes are showing up on nearly every corner and several shops have recently appeared, selling bikes imported from Chinese factories.

As the global market develops, two types of electric bikes are emerging. One is similar to a standard bicycle with pedals, but it has an electric motor that engages on command or when the cyclist pedals. These are the most popular type in the United States and Europe, with many people using the electric motor mainly for help in wind or on steep hills.

By contrast, in China, electric bicycles have evolved into bigger machines that resemble Vespa scooters. They have small, wide-set pedals that most cyclists do not use as they travel entirely on battery power. The bikes move at up to 30 miles an hour, with a range of 50 miles on a fully charged battery.

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Gaining a Toehold for the E-Bike

Image above: Sanyo has introduced its Eneloop Hybrid bike, priced at $2,300, in the United States.

By Brad Stone on 16 January 2010 in the New York Times - (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/business/17ping.html)

Technology has eliminated many of life’s milder physical demands, like getting off the couch to change the channel, or going to the store to buy a book.

The latest exertion to be conquered: biking uphill.

Electric bicycles — a regular pedal-driven bike with a motor for steeper slopes and an optional extra boost — is an idea that has been around for more than a century. But while e-bikes have caught on in certain parts of the world, particularly China, where tens of millions are sold each year, they have never quite captured the imagination of auto-obsessed Americans.

That may be about to change. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this month, Sanyo, the Japanese electronics maker and a major producer of car batteries, showed off a sleek, lightweight e-bike called the Eneloop Hybrid Bicycle.

The Eneloop, priced at $2,300, came to stores in the United States late last year. It operates like any normal bike and, save for the black lithium-ion battery strapped to the frame beneath the seat, looks exactly like one as well. But when you press a button on the left handlebar, a 250-watt motor gently kicks in, providing about twice the power as your own pedaling — and making you feel like Lance Armstrong on even the steepest slopes.

“The average auto trip in the U.S. is five miles or less,” said David Cabanban, bicycle business manager at Sanyo North America. “At the end of the day, how do you lower pollution and get people healthy? We’ve got to get people back to riding bikes.”

For years, e-bike proponents have argued that these machines can get people to abandon their cars and cut down on pollution, all without working up the unsightly sweat acquired when biking to work. But early e-bikes were never very good.

In the 1990s, people like Lee Iacocca and Malcolm Currie, the former chief executive of Hughes Aircraft, got into the e-bike business. Their bikes had heavy steel frames and the same lead acid batteries used in automobiles, which themselves could weigh 80 pounds. The entire Eneloop weights about 50 pounds.

Those older e-bikes (many were more like electric mopeds) often needed repairs and service. And their regulatory status was ambiguous — were they motorcycles? bikes? — so many retailers were afraid to sell them. The federal government resolved the legal obstacle with legislation in 2002, classifying any two-wheel, pedal-driven bike with a maximum speed of 20 miles an hour as a bike, which does not need turn signals or licensed riders.

New technology has addressed the other obstacles. Lead acid batteries have given way to efficient and lighter lithium-ion batteries.

The earliest e-bikes of the 1990s got about 15 miles on a single charge. The Eneloop’s battery can power the bike about 46 miles before it needs to be plugged into an outlet and recharged for around three hours; it also partially recharges when the rider brakes or coasts downhill.

Other e-bike makers brag about similar performance.

“If it wasn’t for the lithium battery I wouldn’t be in this business. It’s made this category possible,” said Marcus Hays, founder of Pi Mobility, a company in Sausalito, Calif., whose red, angular bikes cost $2,500 and can operate as a bike, a moped or both at the same time.

E-bike makers in the United States saw something of a mini-boom in 2008, when gasoline prices spiked and people started looking for eco-friendly alternatives to the automobile.

Some basic e-bike models, like the Ezip Trailz by Currie Technologies, now sell for as low as $500. Trek and Schwinn, traditional bike makers, both began selling e-bikes last year, the latter in conjunction with Toshiba.

E-bike makers say that some of the stigma surrounding the bikes — critics see them as a tool to avoid actual exercise — has faded.

“Four years ago, we encountered many people saying, ‘Oh wow, we are so lazy, we need motors on our bikes’ ” said Scott Shaw, president of EcoBike USA, an e-bike maker in Southern California. “Now people are understanding and saying, this is more a utilitarian vehicle for commuting and getting outside on two wheels rather than four.”

RETAILERS have also sensed the growing opportunity. Big-box stores like Wal-Mart, Sears and Costco have dabbled in the category for about a decade. Last year, Best Buy started selling e-bikes experimentally in three test markets: Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland, Ore.

E-bikes, like regular bikes, still face plenty of challenges. In many parts of the world, biking is an important form of transportation; in the United States it is seen primarily as recreation. Many major cities still do not have bike lanes, and the most important sales channel in the industry — independent bike shops — has been shrinking for more than a decade.

But there may be a greater challenge for companies like Sanyo and other e-bike makers. People tend to think of their transportation, like their clothes or cellphones, as an expression of their identity.

In China, riding an electric bike conveys professional achievement, even a certain degree of wealth. People in the United States, said Ed Benjamin, an independent consultant in the bike business, don’t quite know whether these bikes are fashionable. The e-bike is “an ambiguous statement,” Mr. Benjamin said.

The next few years, he said, could bring higher prices for gasoline and airline tickets. “We have to make some fundamental changes, and e-bikes can be a part of that,” he said.

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Electric Biker

The machine waits, eager and enticing, as I pull on helmet, goggles and gloves and zip my armored jacket to the chin. The charger's pulsing green light says, “Go!”

By William Thomas on 18 November 2009 in Hope Dance - (http://www.hopedance.org/home/transportation-news/1596--electric-biker-) Stepping outside my island hideout, I hoist the bamboo-stiffened tarp like a gaff-rigged mainsail and cleat it off to the side of the shed. In the soft interior light, the bike's clear plastic fairing throws off reflections with the promise of motorized adventure only two wheels can offer. The machine waits, eager and enticing, as I pull on helmet, goggles and gloves and zip my armored jacket to the chin. The charger's pulsing green light says, “Go!” Unplugging the BikeE, I wheel it out under last winter's ravaged apple tree, swing my leg over its low-slanting frame, and settle back in the semi-reclining seat with a sigh of coming home. A quick brake check and final adjustment of the handlebar mirror gives me a moment to focus and quiet the adrenaline surging through me like the voltage I'm about to feed my pony. Reaching down, I punch the big red button on the heavy duty controller bolted to the side of the bike's box frame. A red glow reflecting on my glove is the only indication that we have ignition. I touch the thumb throttle and any doubt disappears in a surge of torque. As Honda Chairman Takeo Fukui reminds us, "Even the best internal-combustion engines still waste more than 80% of the energy created by burning gasoline." But electric hub motors can deliver full power directly to the wheel. And if that rotating motivator happens to be just 16-inches in diameter and connected to the front of a low-slung bicycle, you'd better be ready to brace for the kind of acceleration that brings big grins to the faces of all those who believe that fast is good. And faster is better. Shouting, “Power to the people!” I tuck my feet into the Power Grip straps as the bike moves forward under its own power and each pedal rotates into position. Making for the cove's paved two-lane road, I swing out of the gravel driveway that earlier last summer judo-flipped me into a 10-week aching meditation on paying attention. (Nothing broken and not a scratch on the bike - and no bruises if I'd been wearing the padded mountain bike jacket I always wear now.) Downshifting the internal rear hub transmission, I keep peddling in laid-back comfort for the long climb out of the “gravity well” leading up the relentlessly steep and scenic hill from Ford Cove. Passing Olson's farm, the grade inclines. Tilting back in the seat like a light plane pilot on a long climb-out, I keep peddling easily while gradually coming in with full power. Despite the drastically steepening grade, speed continues to hover around 22 kph as the numbers denoting amperage draw tick over quickly on the Cycle Analyst meter: 8, 10, 14, 20… 29 amps! Don't try this on a hot summer day without at least a 36-volt motor/battery combo, heavy-duty fuse clip and overbuilt power controller! But this classic, power-assisted BikeE handles the load without strain. Even at full power, the whine of the motor is much quieter than the bird cries and soft wash of distant surf . Lulled by the hum of the bike's spinning tires, I lay back in my lawn chair and admire the ocean view as the hill that used to necessitate three panting stops to recharge my “premie” lungs tops out in trees, sunshine and smiles. Starting down the backside, I firm my grip on the handlebars as the bike tips straight down in one long burn of all this “heightened” energy. Weighing over 225 pounds with rider, battery, controller and motor onboard, the BikeE sucks up gravity like rocket juice, accelerating like a Saturn IV leaving the pad. In seconds, the speedo whisks past 40 k. Whack! A bug bounces off my newly acquired ski-goggles. Good purchase! Even with power all the way off, at 45 kilometers-per-hour, “organic” regen kicks in as the spinning front hub motor maxes out and begins pumping juice back into the battery. Our descending rush does not slow as 13 amps momentarily surge back into the 36-volt sausage of wired-together Nickel-Metal Hydride laptop batteries cinched to the bike's boxbeam frame in front of the seat. Nearly supersonic, I “think” the bike's little front wheel past a jagged pothole. Even though you can't fly over the handlebars in a recumbent crash, a front tire blow-out at 57 k would not be fun. Which is why that Kenda Qwest high-pressure tire is new, internally protected with slime and a Kevlar puncture barrier - and regularly replaced. Speed slackens gradually as the BikeE levels out, but it's still another few moments before peddling again takes effect. Downshifting once, twice, three-times on the seven-speed rear sprocket, I thumb the power back in to keep grunt work off the pedals as the next hill looms. One more swooping roller-coaster is followed by a long pleasant flat stretch that finds me lightly blipping the throttle in a “pulse and glide” technique that extends range while keeping peddling speed near a brisk 30 k. Onboard a conventional bike, I'd be staring down at the pavement, back bent, with my weight on my aching wrists. But unlike full recumbents, which put riders almost on their backs, the BikeE's more upright seating gives me good eye contact with the astonished driver of a passing car - as well as fine views of unscrolling woods, sky and farms. I once passed Hogan trotting his horse along this stretch, proving conclusively the “one horsepower-plus” rating of my 480-watt Crystallite e-motor. Then comes another long delightful downhill run past a fine sweep of ocean rolling into Little Tribune Bay. Even leveling off, this descent carries me in a rush all the way to the Co-Op bike rack. Who says a grocery run has to be boring? Or must burn carbon? The bike's big wire basket, Spiderman totepack, and extra-long frame allow me to carry more than 30 pounds of cargo with ease. (I've even hauled logs lashed to the frame.) A trailer would turn this bike into a pickup truck, while carrying an extra battery for nearly 100 km range! So far, so good. The reliability of this rig is nearly 100% after I learned to obsessively tape, wire-tie and check every looping strand of wire clear of spinning sprockets and pedals. Over less than a year, the 1,800 or so kilometers I've covered on my electrified BikeE translate into roughly 40 gallons of gasoline saved - or more than 800 pounds of CO2 kept out of the atmosphere forever. Except for my own exhalations of course. Which I tend to do anyway. Mental and physical health benefits are incalculable. Not to mention the additional personal liberation of saving a fortune on the car I no longer support. Given all that's coming down, at 59, on my electrified BikeE, life is good! No one ever told me the end of the world (as we've known it) would be so much fun. .