New electric scooter, 100 miles at 60-65mph

[beatr911]

Surfing and following an alibaba listing I found Electroforcecycles. Happily it is about an hour drive from me so I called and started talking with the owner. Turns out the body is just a generic Chinese unit for development of the drivetrain. See the specs, it's pretty impressive for the Nucleus model.

So they are looking for a more aerodynamic and cooler body design. I put them in touch with Craig Vetter through his site. Hey, if anyone has a line on how or who to contact to make a good fairing Craig should, eh?

Anyway, the owner offered to meet and let me test ride the only prototype. Unfortunately I had to eventually decline due to conflicting family commitments, but I hope to reschedule. I'll report back when I finally can meet up with the owner and do a test ride/evaluation.

There have been several startups that only produced a prototype or have never really gotten off the ground. Even Zero, an established electric motorcycle maker I hear is having difficulty this year. One can only hope that they are eventually successful and more players come to market with better products. Bringing a new vehicle to market is no easy task!

Take a look at their site and post your impressions. Thought the group would like to know. www.electroforcecycles.com

[minimac]

$9K for a base model electrified Chinese 150 scooter? I could buy the same scooter with the 150 gas engine for $700-$900 (or less)and buy a boatload of gas, even at $5/gallon with the left over change. That's only one small reason why electrics are a hard sell. I see the almost total lack of infrastructure to support electrics a major hurdle.
At least it's a step in the right direction, although a very small one.

[mechman600]

Originally Posted by minimac

I see the almost total lack of infrastructure to support electrics a major hurdle.

Really? You don't have electrical outlets in every wall where you live?

[minimac]

Originally Posted by mechman600

Really? You don't have electrical outlets in every wall where you live?

Unfortunately, I can't carry them with me.

[niky]

You can get electric Chinese scooters for a lot less... but you add lithium, and that's more $... you add bigger motors, and that's more $... you add regenerative braking and the smart charger, and that's much more $$$.

Never seen a Chinese with a 10kW motor. Most of the ones here in the same price range as a 100-150cc Chinese scooter are merely 5kw or much less.

[renault_megane_dci]

The trend in Europe as far as electric vehicles are concerned is to rent the battery.

I think it is smart because a battery pack is subject to losing efficiency but if it is not yours you don't really care and the vehicle retains value.

[sendler]

They say nothing about the battery. They will need at least 10kWhr battery to go 100 miles at 60 mph. Maybe bigger.

[beatr911]

100,000 miles at $3.50/gallon getting 70mpg is $5,000. The cost to fuel the electric bike would be about $1200, on my local rate.

I'm not going to try to pretend to assume all the costs of a cheap chinese scooter over 100,000 miles much less 10,000 but I'd guess maintenace on the electric is probably alot less given good battery technology and BMS from the start. I'm a battery newbie so can't evaluate what the electroforce has.

For many, the range and speed of the more advanced electric vehicles fits thier daily needs. It does for me these days. I'd really like being able to recharge right in the garage and have no more nuisance fuel stops to fill up my little 1.6 gallon tank. Electric is perfect for short trips and in city use. The scooter format (vs. motorcycle like Brammo, Zero, etc.) is better for the wet weather we have here most of the time.

Anyway, I think the concept behind the electroforce is a good idea. For me? Naw, I'm just too plain cheap. My current bike has a total investment of under $250 now minus gas. Someday I'll go electric though.

[Grant-53]

I have been looking at the spec. for electric scooters vs e-bikes. The scooters tend to be in the 120+lb. range and the e-bike is half that. For urban riding the max speed may be 20 -30 mph by law. Both benefit from streamlining to improve range. The deciding factor may come down to local conditions, dealer support, and whether an e-bike can be transported on buses and trains easily. If you are riding beyond the magic 25 mile radius then consider building a small 16 hp diesel motorcycle or hybrid system. Cost comparison should be based on total average annual cost per mile which includes maintenance and depreciation.