How can I get involved?
HANDS-ON PARTICIPATION IN THEPEDAL-POWERED VEHICLES WORKSHOP
making pedal-powered work
30 Jan – 17 February 06
Melbourne
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If you'd like to participate in a hands-on way by designing and building prototypes, post a comment here and tell us a few things about yourself,
or
SUBMIT AN EXPRESSION OF INTEREST TO PARTICIPATE
responding to the points below and email to:
mick.douglas@rmit.edu.au
Your Name:
Email address:
Phone:
Address:
1. Tell us what a wonderful person you are and what you’ve been doing:
2. So why do you want to participate in the PPV workshop?
3. What experience do you believe you can contribute to the workshop?
4. Do you have welding & metal working experience? (It is not expected)
If so, please describe (eg: TIG? MIG? Oxy/Aceteline?)
5. Will you be available in mornings only, or could you work into the afternoon if enthusiasm and circumstances permit?
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REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Where ever you are, please do share your expereince, thoughts and ideas with us. Post comments on this blog, send us your own web links, post us cranks and chain! And we'll hope to keep you posted on what we discover along the ride.
posted by Mick @ 10:57 pm
4 Comments:
I have set up the the very relevant, open source velomobile hypertrike.org project but I'm way over on the other side of the continent in Perth.
I'm starting to look at a budget to get the Pedal Powered Vehicles Workshop but in case I can't make it, I'll definitely participate remotely!
Trev
I have minor one quibble though, not all bike mechanics are blokes. ;)))
cheers,
Chris
Re: GTW's comments
I am currently pedalling loads of between 350 and 450kg in Sydney on a modified trike using 21 gear sora groupset and a 200watt electric motor incorporated into the front wheel hub. Average speed on the flat is about 12km/h (without power assist), and about 4-7km/h on hills with 5-12% gradient using the motor. So it should be possible to haul loads of only 200kg up just about any hill in Australia with a 200watt motor and using a low gear ratio.
Although I would be very happy to have 4kW motor on my modified trike to make getting up hills a lot easier, I don't think I want to see 4kW motors on a road bike or hybrid frame. I'm sure the additional speed would be exciting, and I'm equally sure it would lead to a lot more deaths or serious injuries on the road.
You've also implied that a 4kW electric motor on a workbike/trike would come under the heading of sustainable transport. My own trike uses 2 12volt 15 amp/h sealed batteries and I certianly don't view using lead as ecologically sustainable or indeed healthy. Putting materials issues to one side though, there is the problem of recharging the batteries. My 2 12volt 15 amp/h batteries take about 4hours to recharge from the mains when they are almost drained (mains electricity comes mostly from coal-fired power stations, hardly sustainable). Periodic use of the motor over a 5-6 hour period (ie, only used up hills) is enough to drain the battery sufficiently for it to be next to useless. There are other methods of recharging the battery, but so far none of the ones we have investigated will keep the batteries fully charged during a work day so we still rely on mains power.
Fianlly I'm wondering what sort of power drain a 4kW motor would have on batteries, and how you would design batteries to store the amount of power required for a working day, and how you could recharge them quickly enough to take the bike out to work the next day.
hi mick , i'm sorry that this is late, i only just got the last email -
my name is Sam Johnstone - i talked to you a while ago.
email address - samjohnstone64@hotmail.com
ph: 0422521703
I am studying primary school teaching at melbourne uni. i am interested in the future and trying to educate people about enironmentally friendly living - i am really interested in bikes and pedal powered transport. i have been to vietnam and thailand and seen how effective pedal powered is there and would love to participate in a workshop to design new vehicles. I like to invent things and think of ideas to make things better.
I have reasonable practical experience with bike maintenence, but no welding experience, (would love to learn) I am very keen, work hard and would be available to stay later sometimes depending on what i had on that evening...
I also play drums and am very interested in eventually creating a trailer that i would be able to ride my drums to and from gigs in. this workshop would be a great way to learn some of these skills - but most of all i am interested in being very productive and forward thinking and this seems like a field which will become very important in the near future!!
Again, i 'm sorry this is late but i am very keen to participate
cheers
Sam Johnstone
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