02.23.10
Posted in Miscellanea, Velomobiles & HPVs at 8:24 pm by smalghan
After a full day of explicating the finer points of velomobile design at the European Velomobile Seminar on Saturday, it was time to hit the road and enjoy velomobiling around Copenhagen! My host Halfdan lives only two miles away from the Leitra factory so after a hearty European breakfast we drove over to check out our rides for the day.
While inside, I got a better look at a Leitra chassis being constructed of stainless steel and top flight components like a SON generator hub and a Rohloff. Since each Leitra is built to order with a variety of components and options, it may be possible that Carl-Georg has never built the exact same Leitra twice. The factory has several Leitra on hand as demos, mine was white and green with wheel fairings. Luckily, the bottom bracket boom was of the right length for my legs though the fairing was a little higher than I’d like for good visibility. I quickly settled in and in a few minutes our convoy started pedaling towards Copenhagen…
Over the nearly 25 years of production, the nearly 300 Leitras around the world have traveled more miles than any other velomobile. If it’s not quite the newest and sexiest velo out there, It’s designer and builder Carl-Georg Rasmussen has constantly refined it into certainly the most practical and livable vehicle whose virtues of practicality and livability are revealed over miles and hours in the seat.
Even with just a thin cushion, the fiberglass seat was quite comfortable. The fasteners are sited well away from any place where your body might touch them and the seat has just a little give to accommodate different body shapes. My ride was equipped with a Sachs 3×7 drive and drum brakes up front and both felt like they had done many miles. The brakes were not all that powerful but after a little practice, modulation became easier and it was at least possible to slow down smoothly. The Sachs system suited the Leitra well but it happened to keep shifting past the gear I wanted to ride in most of the time. For a while I tried to hold the gripshifter to keep it in gear but that became annoying and I just dealt with being in a gear just a little to high or a little too low. I can imagine the Sachs would be a good choice as the internal gears ensure you won’t be caught out in too high a gear at a stop and the gears were spaced well with a range that made only one front sprocket necessary.
Steering the Leitra is by dual joysticks that fell right to my hands. Unlike most trike steering systems, the joysticks in the Leitra don’t end up running into your leg with lots of lock; they do go through a slight arc but after the first few actuations it feels most like a fore and aft motion. I was surprised how tight a turning circle the Leitra could manage, even navigating around bollards at trail entrances or turning around on sidewalks was no problem.
The Leitra handles better than I expected, after my time with a Catrike Speed I was expecting that with the Leitra’s higher center of gravity and shorter wheelbase that lifting the inside wheel in a corner and putting daylight under the rear wheel under braking would be a common occurrence, yet neither happened. That can be explained by the far weaker braking power of the drum brakes on the Leitra but the more forgiving handling is possibly due to the slightly slower steering, soft front suspension and wider track. That extra stability really inspired confidence that the Leitra could safely maneuver around the odd pothole, errant pet or any other obstacle that might lay in its path.
The all wheel suspension proved its worth on cobblestone surfaces as well as helping to soften the blow of riding up on low curbs (even in Copenhagen!). The fiberglass springs don’t have quite the wheel control of a coil spring/oil damper setup but are much lighter, simpler and compact.
I half-expected the fiberglass shell to resonate to the point of irritability over the cobblestone stretches of downtown Copenhagen but it really wasn’t an issue. More visibility would be welcome, especially to sight the front wheels while maneuvering around obstacles but it’s a delicate balance to prevent the cockpit from becoming a solar cooker; it’s amazing how quickly sunlight and body heat make the interior warm and eventually a little too much so. Then one realizes the reason why the small, upright windows of a Leitra make so much more sense than the fully transparent canopy used on a Go-One, for example. For hotter climates, more flow-through air is required. Halfdan has had great success with the front intake duct he made to channel air directly to his face and neck. The real glass forward section of the windshield (which never fogged up, by the way) also deserves mentioning as it provides a scratch resistant surface for the manually operated windshield wiper.
Riding to Copenhagen is a very gradual downhill journey so the Leitra felt like it rolled well. The trip home though, felt more strenuous than it should have with the Leitra not coasting well at all. I figured it was due its general old age but once we got back to Halfdan’s house the diagnosis was simply underinflated tires. A short trip from his house to the factory revealed a huge difference and made the velo much more enjoyable. At least I got a good workout!
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12.20.09
Posted in EVs, Miscellanea at 8:05 pm by smalghan
After several attempts to restore function, at long last the AC Forum is back online. If you’re incorporating an AC drive into your EV conversion, this page will serve as a great resource.
Also, if you need back-end web page work at a reasonable rate, check out HLiNaK. I’ve used their services and am very happy with the results.
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12.05.09
Posted in Miscellanea at 2:01 pm by smalghan
Looking for a unique gift to give this holiday season? Until January 15, 2010, Google will match your donation to EWB-USA and significantly increase EWB’s ability to bring engineering solutions to people around the world that increase public health and strengthen communities. Click here to go to the Google donation page.
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11.12.09
Posted in Miscellanea, Velomobiles & HPVs at 11:49 pm by smalghan
I’ve never put much thought into getting around on a bike with a little one, but with the impending arrival of our own tiny passenger I’ve been taking a closer look at some of the ways parents take their kids along for the ride.
In Copenhagen, getting around on bikes is just what people do since it happens to be the most convenient, fastest and most flexible way to get around town, not to mention a great way to stay warm and fit. During a velomobile tour around the city the day after the seminar I noticed a very well-trimmed version of the typical kid carrier…
…another Leitra on the tour with a Burley-type kid trailer attached 
…and finally this fantastic contraption: 
Instead of packing the kids in the minivan to get to school or day care, it’s commonplace to see the kids being pedaled around by mom or dad in a family trike, a vehicle I had never heard of yet upon first sight thought it was the most handy bike ever invented. The design brings together substantial kid and cargo- carrying capability, the stability of a trike format, an upright riding position for mom or dad and the best seats in the house saved for the kids to watch the world go by under the watchful parent’s eye.
The most popular models are the Kangaroobike (pictured above) and the Mobii, both if which were ubiquitous around town. Both have seating for two kids and space for bags while keeping and rain and wind off of the valuable contents inside the bubble. They’re so sensible I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen them before. An email to the makers of Kangaroobike revealed that they are considering entering the US market but have to become comfotable with the product liability regulations here before that happens. I can only believe they’d be a hit here, even at $3000.
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08.31.09
Posted in EVs, Miscellanea at 10:38 pm by smalghan
Though the eMR2 couldn’t be there, this Saturday’s Power of DC autocross event hosted a variety of factory and conversion EVs from all over the east coast. Three Teslas, including a Sport model, tore around the course with the Sport model setting fastest time of the day by rounding the course in under 18 seconds. Though the Teslas set the pace, it was a Mini-E that set the record for the most runs as it rounded the track nearly all afternoon.
Among the conversions, surprisingly it was a VW Rabbit pickup that cut the cleanest path around the cones despite it’s nearly 3/4 ton of batteries. A sunburst yellow Destiny 2000 (based on a Pontiac Fiero chassis) gave it a run for the money but the Rabbit’s driver was an obviously experienced hand who could make the most of his car’s abilities.
Other interesting vehicles that ran the course included the WVU Formula Lightning racecar, a Porsche 944 conversion and a daily driver VW Jetta. Below the pictures are the times for all the day’s runners, courtesy of Chip Gribben.
AUTOCROSS
Saturday, August 29
place/et/driver/vehicle/runs
Production EVs
1) 17.761 – Dave Bolling – 2009 red Tesla Sport (31 runs)
2) 17.979 – Don Auker – 2008 blue Tesla (44 runs)
3) 18.718 – Tom Jamison – 2009 prismatic blue Tesla (19 runs)
4) 19.316 – Ken Barbour – 2009 Mini-E (64 runs)
5) 23.289 – Bryan Murtha – RAV-4 EV (5 runs)
Conversion EVs
1) 21.214 – Dave Cover – Porsche 944 (6 runs)
2) 21.948 – Alan Arrinson – VW Rabbit truck (13 runs)
3) 22.648 – Doug Stansfield – White Hyundai Tiburon (5 runs)
4) 23.441 – Bob Rice – VW Jetta (11 runs)
5) 24.842 – West Virginia University – Formula Lightning (9 runs)
6) 26.643 – Joe Lado – Destiny 2000 Fiero (24 runs)
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08.28.09
Posted in EVs, Miscellanea at 9:24 pm by smalghan
Finally, this past week I was able to enjoy commuting in the eMR2 v2.0, equipped with a new single speed transmission, motor coupler and batteries, every day.
There’s still some mechanical work to do, such as address the howling rear wheel bearing and sticky CV joint, but all the EV conversion components are performing as designed.
Pictures and video coming soon, as well as a report from Power of DC happening tomorrow in Hagerstown.
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06.07.09
Posted in Miscellanea, Velomobiles & HPVs at 10:12 pm by smalghan
You would think a bike locked up to a utility pole at high noon on a sunny Sunday in the heart of Fells Point would stay still, yet this morning I found out otherwise.
Sometime in the thirty minutes in between glances outside “just to check,” I was dumbfounded to find my bike vanished while I was upstairs.
Someone must have snipped the cable and thrown the bike into the back of a truck since the Kryptonite U-Lock tied the rear wheel to the frame and prevented it being ridden away. It probably took less than 30 seconds all told, fast enough that it’s possible no one walked by during the heist. There must have some witnesses though, as this occurred across the street from a senior center and it seems there’s always someone looking out the window.
So, on the off chance that you see the bike below, drop me a line. I miss it.
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01.08.09
Posted in EVs, Miscellanea at 10:19 pm by smalghan
While out at DriveCurrent I gave a lunchtime presentation about the basics of EV conversions. For your entertainment (and maybe even info-tainment due to the many COLOR pictures) I’m making it available for download. To give you an idea of what it’s about, a snapshot of the table of contents is below. Click here for the pdf document.
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12.23.08
Posted in EVs, Impressions, Miscellanea at 9:44 pm by smalghan
Last week I spent a couple of days in San Diego talking to Joe and Bryan at DriveCurrent about projects we can do together. Some exciting developments came out of the meeting and will be the subject of an upcoming post, but this post is devoted to the brief respite we had from meetings to check out the fastest street legal EV available.
On the one sunny day between days of constant rain that some San Diegans had never seen before, the three of us made a trip to La Jolla to accomplish two things:
1. Have our ideas for commercializing EV conversions bashed to pieces, and
2. Get a ride in a Tesla.
The dismemberment of our business plan wasn’t what we were expecting, but at least it was mostly constructive criticism we’ll be using to make our case stronger. We see a lucrative market for conversions in quantities below the volumes that the major automakers require for them to become profitable, given their large overhead. Now we know we have to show that in our plan.
Anyway, back to the interesting part, the ride in the Tesla. Our business consigliere set us up with a friend of his that had taken delivery of Roadster #37 just a month before. As we rolled up to his garage in the hills of La Jolla he and the car were waiting for us, resplendent in dark red with contrasting black leather (the car, I mean).
Aside from all the drama surrounding the company, the Roadster is a beautiful car. The lines flow smoothly and belie the car’s size; it looks bigger in pictures than in real life. To my eye, the design is far more attractive than the Lotus Elise it’s based on. The Lotus has all sorts of bumps, strakes, wings and spoilers that scream to everyone near and far how hardcore racer it is but it comes off a little too much like little man syndrome to me. The Tesla design is much cleaner and mature, letting the basic physicality of its low stance, trim proportions, and the sparing use of functional cooling and aerodynamic features to let everyone know that it’s something special without getting all red in the face about it.
Though there are plenty of pictures of the Roadster on the net, I had to snap my own. While I worked my way around the car, Joe and Bryan were getting the guided tour by the owner. As I was shooting the front end, the three of them were gathered around the charge port. Right then I heard a “PING, whack, thunk, thunk” coming from around where Bryan was standing. The owner turned around and started asking “What happened? What was that noise? What happened?” Bryan didn’t know as all he did was open the charge door and then heard the noise. He was extremely contrite and apologetic but no one could figure out what exactly happened. Seeing the melee of the owner loudly and repeatedly asking what happened, Bryan extremely contrite and worried sick about the whole thing and Joe trying to stabilize the situation by acting as a go-between, I figured there really wasn’t anything I could contribute and decided to ignore the whole situation and keep shooting. If we were going to get thrown out now I at least wanted some proof I had been there.
It turns out the owner was not so much upset about Bryan mauling his new $100K limited edition Roadster but was more interested in what happened in a more detached, scientific sense. Bryan guessed that the part fell down the air intake right behind the charge port butsince no one could see, much less reach down there, we kind of moved on with apparently no hard feelings from the owner. Bryan, of his own accord, now maintained a safe distance from the vehicle.
Amazingly, the owner still wanted to give us a ride so I clumcily clambered over the wide sill and dropped myself into the very comfortable and low bucket seat. The wide structural sills mean the occupants literally sit shoulder to shoulder, as opposed to the MR2 where a tall and wide center tunnel gives each occupant their own personal space. I wasn’t sure what kind of demonstration I would get but the owner, who’s about 80 years old, wasted no time in flooring it through the residential streets of his neighborhood.
Several times I got to experience the full, unyielding acceleration from a standing start up to probably 65 mph. Preparing for launch in a Tesla is simple with no fancy throttle, gearshifting or clutch technique to perfect, the only requirement being a driver willing to punch it and hold on. The traction control nixes any unnecessary wheelspin, channeling all the energy from those 6831 liquid-cooled lithium cells into pure forward motion. The closest sensation is that of a jet on take-off: the whir and whine of the motor increasing in pitch as the speed piles on and the unrelentingly powerful yet smooth thrust that hurtles the car into the distance. As powerful as it is from a standing start, the owner insisted the really impressive feat was mid-range acceleration. From about 40mph on, nothing can catch it.
Joe said I had the ultimate in stupid grins as I got out of the car and I believe him. He got a little shorter ride and came away just as impressed.
While we were away, Joe and Bryan found a little metal bracket that was the cause of all the earlier commotion. The spring that held open the charge port had fractured and from the looks of it was close to breaking before Bryan ever saw it. That’s our story and we’re stickin’ to it.
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11.06.08
Posted in EVs, Miscellanea at 9:44 pm by smalghan
The ghost of futures past
On the eve of what will be a public admission of the catastrophic financial situation Detroit’s Big 3, and especially GM, have gotten themselves into (along with how our tax dollars are *DESPERATELY NEEDED NOW* to help them), I thought a little history lesson is in order.
Over the past 40 years, the new era of the electric vehicle has been heralded with the demonstration of sleek space age cars accompanied by exuberant press releases detailing the wonders yet to come.
The closest we came last time was in the early 90’s when defense contractors like Northrop and Lockheed Martin turned their considerable talents away from building Cold War death machines to leveraging their technical expertise into more commercially viable areas. The electric vehicle was a part of that plan and, funded with government money in the form of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), some of the EVs of that time from the Big 3 had powertrains designed by people whose talents were previously poured into spy satellites, missile systems and submarine propulsion systems.
The US industrial complexes were remaking themselves to adapt to new technologies that would make possible truly low emission transportation.
In hindsight, the apex of this era can be traced to the debut of the NiMH powered EV-1 in 1998. This press release from GM shows how little has changed in ten years.
Notice the timeline of hybrids by 2001 and fuel cell vehicles by 2004 along with the announcement of Ovonics’ NiMH batteries, a technology nearly completely buried and forgotten even though it showed the best performance and has the longest track record powering electric vehicles compared to any other advanced battery technologies. Also note the series hybrid with 40 miles all-electric range and a small gas motor (a turbine in this instance) to extend range to 350 miles (Volt anyone?).
GM also had the graciousness to acknowledge the part played by government, “which contributed to the technologies unveiled today.”
Something to keep in mind as the Big 3 come, hat in hand, looking for your money again. This time simply to keep them alive. Where’s our return from last time?
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After a full day of explicating the finer points of velomobile design at the European Velomobile Seminar on Saturday, it was time to hit the road and enjoy velomobiling around Copenhagen! My host Halfdan lives only two miles away from the Leitra factory so after a hearty European breakfast we drove over to check out our rides for the day.
