Shiny new geek toy...

[Solar]

We had two cars, a van and a compact car. Sold the van last week, it was showing its age.

The plan was to get something small for me to commute to work, freeing up the compact for the wife and kids. (We no longer require the big space / hauling capabilities of the Espace.)

Yesterday the scooter arrived, today I had my first trip with it.

It doesn't do more than 45 km/h (28 mi/h, yanks!), but for the couple of klicks I have to commute that's enough. But the geek thing about it is that it's running on a 2 kW electric hub motor. No exhaust, no noise, just a gentle humming sound as it cruises along.

You don't even realize how noisy our streets are until that thing glides by you. It's eerie, like a ghost.

Not having any moving engine parts, and having less than 30% the cost per 100 km than a comparable gasoline scooter, is a very nice side-effect.

Yes, I'd have prefered a Tesla Roadster, but this new toy I could afford. Can't wait for the rain to end to give it a nice ride across the countryside, enjoying the silence.

[Brendan]

Hi,

Can't wait for the rain to end to give it a nice ride across the countryside, enjoying the silence.

..and the nice walk back from the countryside, as you realise the battery takes 6 to 8 hours to charge and was flat after returning from work.


Cheers,

Brendan

[Solar]

Well, that's what the charge level indicator is good for. Knowing the range of the vehicle and doing the on-the-fly maths doesn't hurt either. (Just as you probably do with your gasoline car: You look at the fuel gauge and the odometer to find out how far you can still go.)

The manufacturer's range value is probably just as optimistic for this electric vehicle as miles / gallon is for gasoline cars (although related forum posts indicate that 50km range is indeed possible). Finding out the actual range of my vehicle - so I can do the maths and don't have to walk in a critical moment - is what that field trip is for, partially.

Since a trip to work and back takes about 15km off that range, I figure there's enough in that battery for a detour or two.

[Laksen]

How much does such a thing cost?

[bewing]

Batteries also change their charge storage performance pretty dramatically over their lifetime, so make sure you recalibrate your "remaining range" estimates every few months.
(Or, if the thing uses 12V, carry a spare charged car battery with you. )

[Solar]

How much does such a thing cost?

Around 1000 Euro for the specific vehicle I bought. There are other brands available, with higher speed / longer range, which can cost significantly more (I've seen up to 8000 Euro).

If you don't mind the German, try this Wikipedia page for an overview of electro-scooters available in Germany; some of those should be available elsewhere too.

[Brynet-Inc]

I would never buy a silent electric powered vehicle, nor a tiny scooter bike.

A car simply must be a V8 fuel guzzler, environment be damned.

[Combuster]

I'm a tad old-fashioned. I drive a motorcycle to save on fuel and parking tickets. It's cheaper in use than that "modern highly efficient car" you often see advertised.

The idea is the same though


Now, we can of course discuss if it's more geeky to have a modern thing you can't repair or something that you can actually take apart and put together

[Brendan]

Hi,

Now, we can of course discuss if it's more geeky to have a modern thing you can't repair or something that you can actually take apart and put together

I'm more curious about the braking systems on electric vehicles.

A long time ago I worked on diesel/electric locomotives ("train engines"); where the electric drive motors where used as generators for braking if it's moving fast enough, and also used as actual brakes (using electricity to slow down, rather than something mechanical that wears). Unfortunately these locomotives "wasted" the electricity generated from braking (converted it to heat and blew it out the top), as there's no storage/batteries.

It seems to me it should be simple enough to do the same for both hybrid and electric vehicles, but to use the electricity generated from braking to help charge the batteries and increase efficiency (especially in urban areas with traffic lights, where you're frequently stopping).


Cheers,

Brendan

[Solar]

It's called "regenerative braking", and my scooter does the same. I don't expect it to do much for me - the countryside is rather plain here, and my driving style always was easy on the brakes. (Actually I had the brake disks on the old car replaced due to corrosion / disuse about as often than I had to replace the brake pads.)

As for not being able to repair the thing... I am more confident to take an electric motor apart than I am about a gasoline engine. And even then I am the person who'll gladly pay a technician for these things so I can spend the time computing (or playing with the kids).

[Dario]

Most of the modern fuel guzzlers are anyway in the 8-16 l/100km range, but yeah, RRAAWRRRR!

I bought Polo 1.2 TSI this year(with DSG). Runs like hell(under 9 sec to 100km/h) and is still very low on fuel consumption(can be as low as ~6l/100km!). Great engine, great car...so screw Prius.

[Combuster]

Is it that bad? Screw modern technology - we do 5.5l/100km in a Renault 19.

[gerryg400]

It's not shiny or new but my Pontiac uses 21 litres per 100km. 280 kW and 600 Nm of torque have a cost.

[quok]

It's not shiny or new but my Pontiac uses 21 litres per 100km. 280 kW and 600 Nm of torque have a cost.

Gerry, you leave me wondering exactly what you have

My "geek toy" is actually a 1970 Chevy Nova. 8 mpg (Google says that's 29 l/100km), must run high octane fuel in it, too. But 425HP and 450ft/lbs torque have a cost.

I also have a 1967 Ford Mustang. Nowhere near the power of the Nova, but it's still great fun to drive. And gets 20-25 mpg depending on how heavy of a foot I have when I drive it. That's still better than my 2005 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, which gets about 17 mpg.

[gerryg400]

It's not shiny or new but my Pontiac uses 21 litres per 100km. 280 kW and 600 Nm of torque have a cost.

Gerry, you leave me wondering exactly what you have

My "geek toy" is actually a 1970 Chevy Nova. 8 mpg (Google says that's 29 l/100km), must run high octane fuel in it, too. But 425HP and 450ft/lbs torque have a cost.

I also have a 1967 Ford Mustang. Nowhere near the power of the Nova, but it's still great fun to drive. And gets 20-25 mpg depending on how heavy of a foot I have when I drive it. That's still better than my 2005 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, which gets about 17 mpg.

I've got a 69 Firebird with a 400 ci RA III engine. I need high octane fuel too. 21 is normal city driving. Love novas.