Homestead mailing list

[Don Bowen <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>]

At 6/7/2007, you wrote:
> But it would take far less motor and battery to propel a bike with a
> small trailer than even the smallest electric car.

I built an electric assist bike last year.  It uses a 600W hub motor and a 
36V 12 Ah battery pack.  With that and the hills around here it goes about 
10-15 miles.  With less me and smaller tires it could go maybe 20 miles.  I 
am thinking of restoring a 1980 Commutta-Car Postal Van.  With modern golf 
cart batteries it would have a range of maybe 40-50 miles, less with a 
load.  Pictures are in my journal.

The question about restoring it spins around money.  12 batteries at around 
$80 each adds up and it would more than likely need major rewiring and 
conversion to a modern controller.  Throw in hard to find brake parts and 
$100 tires and it becomes an issue.

I figured that the payback would be on the order of 2 years.



Don Bowen              Awl Knotted Up                       KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com
My travel journal
http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html

I am omnivagant.  
> From Clansgian AT wmconnect.com  Thu Jun  7 21:12:06 2007
Return-Path: <Clansgian AT wmconnect.com>
X-Original-To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
Delivered-To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
Received: from imo-m27.mx.aol.com (imo-m27.mx.aol.com [64.12.137.8])
        by lists.ibiblio.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6B3214C010
        for <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>; Thu,  7 Jun 2007 21:12:06 -0400 
(EDT)
Received: from Clansgian AT wmconnect.com
        by imo-m27.mx.aol.com (mail_out_v38_r9.2.) id 3.ce4.1280033b (41809)
        for <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>; Thu, 7 Jun 2007 21:12:00 -0400 
(EDT)
From: Clansgian AT wmconnect.com
Message-ID: <ce4.1280033b.339a06df AT wmconnect.com>
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2007 21:11:59 EDT
To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Mailer: 6.0 for Windows XP sub 11501
X-Spam-Flag: NO
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.9
Subject: Re: [Homestead] gas prices
X-BeenThere: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.9
Precedence: list
Reply-To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
List-Id: <homestead.lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/homestead>,
        <mailto:homestead-request AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/homestead>
List-Post: <mailto:homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Help: <mailto:sympa AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=HELP>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/homestead>,
        <mailto:homestead-request AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 08 Jun 2007 01:12:06 -0000



> But it would take far less motor and battery to propel a bike with a  
> small trailer than even the smallest electric car.

This is a problem that might just take care of itself, but right now, as we 
live and breathe, we could get to town on the horse dawn forecart towing the 6' 
trailer behind and do almost all our business.  Trips that do not require 
heavy loads I, or several of us at once, could make on bicycle.  Geezer that I 
am, I can still do 20 mountian miles on a bicycle and be standing at the end.  
And I wouldn't distain Don's power assist bike nor any other such contraption.

The problem here is that any such trip, bike, cart, horse, etc. is suicide.  
People are stupid and discourteous on the road.  A friend of ours got 
clobbered on his bike coming around the bend in a mountian road a few years back and 
nearl killed him.  Illegals and so even though the van was eventually found, 
the owner had plenty of deniability, saying he had no knowledge the van had been 
taken by Vincente, or was it Raul or Pablo, he couldn't recall.

But time could come, and could come quickly, when the remnants of the roads 
are peopled by bikes and horses and such vehicles that can run on a few pint of 
castor bean oil.  It'd be safe then.   </HTML>