Solar Powered Electric Bicycle. Now We're Talking.

looks pretty fake to me. But who would've thought a pillowmaker would change the world!

From the website linked above: "The bike is propelled by a 500 watt front hub motor."

As to how the energy is transferred from wheels to motor, I can't see how that could be done. Any wires would surely just get tangled and wound up as the wheels turn?

I'll stick to using my legs, regardless.

Good idea. Looks a little suspicious though. "Need the info."
I wonder if the reflective surfaces might blind drivers.

Heres another idea for power from cycling - bike dynamos. They have been around since the 1930s can generate electricty for lights or be stored in a battery There are mechanical ones that run on the wheels and ones integrated into the hubs

The bike is definetly a hoax, if you look at the photo there are no wires going anywhere on the bike. 500w wires are going to show up in a photo that shows bike spokes!

But it does bring up a good point. Bikes are usually parked outisde. If you could put solar panneling on it, it would make it a nice personal transport, but where would you put hte pannels. The angle of the weels seems to be a bad one for solar pannels priced at >$4 a watt.

You could have panels that fold out, like solar scooter. or flexible panels, since they would certainly weigh allot less. I would just be scared to leave it parked anywhere in the city.

I like the idea of incorporating PV in the wheels. However, I think Bionx has a better overall system with much better batteries. I hope either Bionx decides to incorporate PV into their wheels or this company decides to adopt some Bionx features, especially the battery technology and placement.

I agree that this is probably not ideal for city transport since it makes it tempting to try and steal the bike, or at least the tires. In my situation it would come in handy since I mostly do countryside driving and go to very small towns. The likelihood of theft is minimal, I can plenty of possibility to leave the bike on an incline, and there aren't difficulties of finding non-shadowed areas.

Thanks for all the uninformed comments out there. It's nice to know people will still spout off without a clue. The poster who wondered how anything could spin without tangling the wires must not have thought about how ANY rotating electrical system works. Let me give you a clue. Brushes.

The bike does appear to be a mock-up, but may not be. The hub in the front wheel would be obscured by the thin-film solar collector. There is a battery pack on the seat post, and wiring could be run on the side away from the viewer.

The sad fact is that even if the solar panels on the wheels work well, they would still only collect about 100 watts while set perpendicular to the sun. One would have to leave the bike laying on it's side for two hours for every hour he wanted to ride.

Plugging in a standard electric bicycle consumes will allow the bike to charge up to an average of about 9 amp-hours, or 216 watt-hours while consuming less than a dime's worth of electricity. This electricity, even if generated from a coal fired plant, would produce less carbon dioxide than a car would just starting up.

Electric bicycles are the most efficient way to get around, bar none, solar powered or not.

David

There are many choices available for electric transport. Many "hub motor" bike kits have wires that enter the wheel without tangling or twisting. Hub motors themselves come in many varieties of strength and operation: some require pedaling first up to a certain speed, while others start operating from a dead stop. There are many kinds of drives that transmit power via belts or chains as well. My old ZAP 500 watt kit uses two radiator fan motors coupled to a friction wheel that rubs on the back wheel. Not elegant but it works. Hub wheels are now cost competitive to friction and chain drives and have fewer moving parts. see www-dot-electrictransport-dot-net/shop/ to see a variety of choices. (I am not affiliated, you can google bike hub motor...)
What ever system you choose, from raw legs to electric or even gas motor assist, make sure you check with your local department of transportation for rules regarding power assist. The general rule of thumb is less than 750 watts and under 20 MPH.

Does seem a little fake...enough solar to drive a 500 W motor? Looking at those wheels, I'd be guessing you'd be lucky to get more than 60 W effective with cheaper cells (remember, sun's only going to hit on one side, and at that funny angle which will just get the top half of the wheel...unless the panels are hidden in there flat). And if people realized you had (supposedly) 500W of solar in your wheels, they'd be gone in a second (look at the going rate for panels, at $s per watt!). Wonder too how much they overrated those panels (ie. if it's a 500W motor, you want at least 500W of solar).

TT, don't forget your laws of conservation of energy ;) . You can't run a dynamo to power your motor and expect it to be 100% efficient; you'll actually be wasting energy. The bike is already a marvel of efficiencies; we don't want to squander some by converting mechanical->electrical->mechanical energy (your muscle->dynamo->motor) with losses at each stage.

It could charge the battery while it's locked up, but I have a hard time believing it's enough to propel you with no cycling on your part, or even give you that much of a boost (enough to counteract the cost and weight).

Remember that aero wheels for cycle racing are only put on the rear. Don't try to turn this model into the wind. . . .

OverMatt is right, the panels look too small, and you're really not going to get a lot of solar energy with vertically mounted solar cells anyway. Maybe you're supposed to lay the bike sideways when you're not riding it?

Where are the pragmatists among us? In the 10 well lit hours of a work or school day, you are only going to be actually peddling for perhaps 2 at the very most. That leaves 8 hours in which this bike or one like it could be out in the sun, adding to the total available charge for the return home. A trickle charger may only take it up 10% but who's to complain about that if the cost benefit tradeoff is good? What law requires bikes to be parked in an upright position? What principle of design requires that the traditional silicon-slice SPV type be used instead of thin film, low cost, low effiiciency polymer?

Added theft risk does seem to be the most significant drawback. For this we need LEED certified work places with showers for bike riding employees and a secure lockup as well.

On top of everything already mentioned, I'd just like to add that those solar collectors would be covered in sand and mud and road salt after the first five minutes of riding. At least where I live. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be too effective at that point.

Also, I don't know anyone who just lays their bike down so it could recharge. Generally you want to lock it to something, usually a standing rack with room for other bikes, or a lamppost or something.

75 pounds! Are you kidding. don't try hauling this beast out on a windy day or riding home at night and having the battery run out. Why not just get a bike of at least half the weight (or less as in the case of many many new models) and cruise along under man power. Sure 19 mph sounds good, but it's not all that hard to get cruising at that speed on a road bike.

Looks great except for the front wheel solar panel that will make the bike difficult to handle in light wind and impossible in a strong breeze. There is a reason front disc wheels are only used on indoor track bikes. Serious design flaw, but it could be worked around.

Seems suspicious to me that the ordering page (http://www.therapyproducts.com/order.html)
requests your credit info but isn't a secure page. Which means no encryption for your finanical info. This could be a phisher site.

I don't know about you all, but I beat the crap out of my bicycle - hopping curbs, riding year round in all conditions (hello, sand and salt!). And as others have said, I have trouble enough not getting my beater bike stolen. I can't imagine having one with all that extra equipment, not to mention weight.

Just seems it would be far more practical to have a stationary panel at home and pull some or all of the charging from there, if indeed one were trying to be so "pure" about one's transport energy.

But as someone else noted, bikes are already ridiculously more efficient than automobiles, or even walking, so it seems like a lot of effort to try and improve something already at the edge of "greenness".

The wheels are photoshopped. See the manhole reflected in each? the front wheel would have to be turned to reflect the manhole cover, and it would then appear from a different direction.

i occurs to me that 'holographic' PV set up may help with charging while upright.

I actually ride a hub-driven bicycle and I really like it. There is no time when I'm riding where the sun hits my bike long enough to get any real charge and I live in California by the beach! I suppose if I parked it in the sun I could get a bit of a charge but I question how long I'd have to leave it in the sun before I get even half a charge, and that's in the perfect weather conditions.
tmac posted an interesting thing about the wind affecting your riding. It gets pretty windy at the beach and I can imagine that the bike would not be fun to ride in windy conditions.

I am sure the motor is inside the rear wheel hub, like the Bionix system.

Hope your wheels stay clean... and you don't hit anything that damages your wheels. :)

It seems that the Hub is in the front wheel. I am sure the wires on are on the far side. You can't really see the wires on my E-bike and I have a 350Watt Bionx kit. After reading there website I am pretty suspicious about the solar.... This bike has a battery... so my guess is the batters are covering about all the power requirements and the Solar panels just recharge the batter a bit.

Personally, I think I would rather get a Solar Panel to charge my Electric Bike at work… rather then trying to do it while moving. I could mount one on my windows and recharge the battery during the day... :) Still have to rely on NW Hydro-electric at night.

For Nay-Sayers about E-bikes... first off, the only people that have a right to complain are people that cycle in the first place and live in hilly area's. This technology is actually wonderful if it gets anyone out of their cars, a E-bike still requires lots of human effort, your only getting about 1/2 HP out of system like mine, but it really takes of the edge on hills in Seattle.

There are many bikes already on the market with hub motors. The innovation here are the wheels that double as solar panels.
These wheels would be a handful in the wind. Bike dynamos create a conspicuous drag. You would probably bring this bike inside with you, not locked up in a bike rack. The were some pretty goofy comments about this bike. It shows how out of touch even Treehugger readers are about bicycles.

I would worry about the wind catching the front wheel. There are very few conditions where a professional cyclists wants a full disc wheel back AND front.

Sounds promissing, keep us updated on this one treehugger!

Bicycle generation of electricity is extremely adaptable. Electric bicycles come in a wide array of varieties. The generators now on the market are more efficient and new battery technology make electrical assist affordable. I'm working towards a bike electric system that charges small batteries, at my discretion, as I go about my daily ride. I'd also like to see regenerative braking for bikes.

As for solar, I carry my bike lights and their solar panels on my backpack. You can see video of it at http://solarray.blogspot.com/2006/03/solar-video.html

Hi all,

Charging the batteries while parked does work. My scooter traveled 1,100 miles in 104 trips to town last year without charging from any source other than the fold out solar panels. Having the panels incorporated in the bike, the wheels, places PV in a place not used for any other purpose. Hub motors won't be seen as they are in the center of the hub. There is not enough space on the bike to have the PV run the motor direct, but storing the charge by placing the bike with the wheels facing the sun would work. The weight reduction by not having teh fold out panel support would be a plus. As for the wind issue, this can be a plus as well. Wind hitting at a 45 degree angle would enhance the speed as a sail. Even if a hoax, the concept is a good one that could be realised.
Have a great day all.,

don dunklee

I hope a bicycle, minus flaws or lack of encrypted websites or the like, does come out one day. Ever since I injured my knee, tearing ligaments and menisci, I haven't been able to ride my bike up hills and so have to drive to work every day. I would LOVE to commute by a solar-powered bike that helps me go uphills.

Hm, i think to save wheight is one of the main goals. Better put a lot of solar panels on your roof at home and get one of these bikes.

http://www.optibike.com

(I'm just a fan of these bikes, not the manufacturer.) ;-)

Use your legs lazy people!

"...electric powered vehicles probably get their juice from coal or nuclear power plants. Not with this curious beastie they don’t."

PV manufacturing is extremely dirty and tremendous energy inputs are required to create solar cells.

Harry L, the problem with this bicycle and with optibike too, continues being the robbery.

:-(

Love the idea but kinda far fetched and probally a hoax.
If you want to see some awsome full-suspension electric mountain bikes check out this new site.
www.lightningcycles.ca

There was just a segment on this on the Discovery Channel's (Canada) Daily Planet. The aero covers are flexible solar panels, and the motor is integrated into the front wheel hub. they were driving it around on camera and speaking with the inventor.

No Hoax.

i also saw it on the discovery channel. i want 1 but 2 expensive

personally i own a sakura mustang electric bike, and the new stuff in electric bikes doesnt stop to amase me, the other day i counted how many cars i went by with only 1 person in each, the ratio was 10, to 1, where the ten was with 1 guy or woman in it, whist only 1 car had a dad and his kid in it, we can all get there faster on electric bikes than grinding it into a hault with 1 ton heawy machines.
im gonna make my bike run on a ac engine soon.

That bike is definitly a hoax!
- The solar pannels shown simply don't exist. Of course they could be manufactured, but up to now only prototype style of production would be thinkable. Does anyone know what it takes to build up production facilities for high efficient solar cells? Their overall efficiency would be very low as the most efficient technologies couldn't be used to get this shape easily.
- In addition it is not said that the bike had to be layed on the ground to better charge. I suggest to leave it in an upright position in a sunny place, for the indirect sunlight reflected by the atmosphere (about 50%) can be used by the pannels on the other side of the bike.
- Due to shading of parts of the pannel you generate additonal loss which can only be coped by special diode circuits which cause you additional voltage loss.
-The dirt issue is also a serious concern. You would have to keep the weels pretty clean, because a dusty surface can easily cost you the half of the total output power.
- 500W is too much for a solar bike... The panels shown could generate (and I am very generous) a maximum of 50W at best conditions.
- The bike would be very expensive
- Another thing odd on the photo: Why quick release skewers? Firstly there should be so many wires around that you can't think of quickly removing the wheels (for fast unwiring you need a plug on the outside, but there is none on the photo). Secondly: The wheels are the most valuable and expensive part of the bike... just stupid.
- If there were brushes to collect the current from the panels to lead it to the battery you would see them. They must be on the other and invisible side of the bike (just as every other technical interesting part!)

It's a nice idea, but this bike shown is hoax and nothing else. It almost screams "I am Hoax!"

Thanks for your attention,

Lennart

You can watch a video of this solar bike at discovery.ca
It was broadcast last week on Daily Planet.

On the surface it appears to not be a hoax to me.

View video here:
http://broadband.discoverychannel.ca/?vid=5974

Ecellent idea, Everything here is possible. You should patent it, whether it is idea or machine. Congratulations. When you do, use the newer crystal that absorps and use all light wave lengths, which allows better use of reflectory light. Doctor Chiang from MIT is putting magnessium in his battery of Lithium, iron,and qs of phosporus that make the charge and discharge of the electricity for the battery a lot quicker (so quick that one of thes bike burnt up during initial trial (Magnessium quickens the electric potential, and solar cells work more or less passive, the quicker its ev in the holes empty out, the faster it is regenerate by the photons) His battery is patented and licenced with GE. Combining these advance technology, the efficiency of the solar cells will improve above the .39 k. Good luck with all the endeavors.
Hoojoon

I am designing myown electric powered mountain bike. Iam getting older 34 young and it is getting harder on the legs to ride long distances every day. I think this is a great idea. If anyone wants to debate this with me then I will reply.
I have done long trips from 5000km's in one shot plus and travelled all over, I've done bike courier work and pretty much every thing possible on a bike that can be done. Even road and mountain racing x-country. The knees are gettin' bent and tire out easy from the wear and tear earlier in life. Ilike the pedal power, but seriously, there is a better way to ride I am going to try it out. This is going to save my knees to keep up with the kids. I will still ride tradtional short, and mostly its for fun. That is all, I think that some of the comments/posts I have read you really look at first impression. Have not very much perception about certain areas. I can see that you are probably not even a cyclist to begin with. Maybe ride around the block a couple of times a week. Get with the program. It doesn't hurt to try out new ideas I think this one is great. Good thinking! I would buy it but I'm building my own custom. I want to cruise up to 40km plus per hour. It can be done and I'll prove it!

I bought my electric bike for $350 from KMart. It has a 200W motor, travels 30Km/h (20Mph) and costs about $1 per 100 miles to run (factoring in replacing the battery). I don't see the need for solar panels as it would take many years to recoup the costs.

For those who say "use your legs". Tell that to car drivers who drive to the gym in their V8's!

d concept sounds pretty cool, i wanna have the same bike but it can be made more efficient by using both battery n solar panels for riding. Battery can be used in rainy season and solar panels can b used in sunny days. This will surely enhance d efficiency.

This is entirely possible. The photovoltaic cells could transfer electricity to the motor (wherever that is) through use of a apparatus similar to the Dyno brand BMX freestyle brake system ( that allows the handlebars to turn 360 degrees without brake cables twisting). The connection to the wiring system ( which would ideally be inside the frame of the bicycle for durability) would be at the axel juncture of the front fork and rim, and at the axel juncture of the rear elbow for the back tire. The motor could be mounted for rear wheel drive behind and/or slightly under the seat, with its own disengagable chain and gear system for transmission of power. A heavy duty modified Shimano would probably do for a transmission system.

we will have them available in a few months....!!!!

Lennart,

"- Another thing odd on the photo: Why quick release skewers? Firstly there should be so many wires around that you can't think of quickly removing the wheels (for fast unwiring you need a plug on the outside, but there is none on the photo). Secondly: The wheels are the most valuable and expensive part of the bike... just stupid."

It's quite possible that the quick release skewers are there precisely BECAUSE the wheels are the most valuable part! It's not stupid, it's so you can take them off and bring them inside with you when you get to work. I have a bike with quick-release wheels and seat, and I've always assumed they were anti-theft devices.