Lets Discuss an Ebike friendly sticker campaign........

[morphix]

Tourist Boards, Local Tourist Offices in towns etc ... imagine you cycle into town in need of a charge. You going to have to do something for the hour or two or three or four that it its going to take ....that something is likely to involve spending money on something in that town. This could range from a cup of coffee to a bag full of wool from the local wool shop! ....

Good point Alan. One of the limitations of ebikes for many is the range..I don't know about other ebike owners but I'm always worried about going too far for fear of getting stranded. If you we had access to charge points and you could plan your routes/jaunts accordingly, you could in theory travel all over the country It takes ebikes to a whole new level both in terms of general transport and tourism as you mentioned. Another thing is that it's much better and safer to have your bike and/or your battery safely in someones premises while you're having that coffee and doing thats shopping for wool ;-)

 

[kitchenman]

What about electric meters like they used to have when I was a student. Put money in get electricity out! ... although in this day and age I would expect to have a swipe card system ...

 

[morphix]

What about electric meters like they used to have when I was a student. Put money in get electricity out! ... although in this day and age I would expect to have a swipe card system ...

Yeah I would hope one day if the industry grows sufficiently enough we might see such charge points all over the place if the government takes an active role. So far they don't seem be showing much interest in ebikes do they? If they did roll out those meters onto every highstreet, that would render our scheme obsolete? Or another way of looking at it...if our scheme took off, the government wouldn't need to invest tens of millions in the meter and charge point infrastructure? So they could give us a million each instead for doing it? ;-)

 

[Trevor Holloway]

OK I will chip in with my two penneth worth !
Big green button looks bright, modern and "green".

For me a big draw would be if the charging point were somewhere I was going to stay for at least a few hours eg at National Trust property where charging could be free to NT members or ask politely and hand over battery + charger on arrival, lockers in supermarkets / shopping centres like left luggage locker with a power point inside.

 

[morphix]

Saying that, I think it's less likely we'd ever see the government committing to a big project like making electric meters all over the country...these days its all private enterprise rather than public funded eh. It's likely we'll see loads of companies operating their own networks in different areas of the country and charging extortionate rates for charging?

 

[morphix]

OK I will chip in with my two penneth worth !
Big green button looks bright, modern and "green".

For me a big draw would be if the charging point were somewhere I was going to stay for at least a few hours eg at National Trust property where charging could be free to NT members or ask politely and hand over battery + charger on arrival, lockers in supermarkets / shopping centres like left luggage locker with a power point inside.

Interesting observation Trevor, specific destinations and public attraction places would be the key places for such a scheme.. it does raise a lot of questions about how you would charge though and the insurance side of things.. I think a lot of businesses might be reluctant because of the risk of fire or theft/damage.

We'd need to get someone with legal knowledge to explore that side of things..what I do know is, all places that are businesses or open to the public have to have public indemnity insurance by law, but I'm not sure if that would extend to covering theft or damage or accidents related to charging. So perhaps might have to clarify that people who use charge points do so entirely at their own risk and it might have to be an online registration/membership card approach, so you that proves you accept liability and businesses are protected from claims.

The other legal side of it though is, fire and insurance to business premises. Would their policies cover or prohibit charging batteries? Are there are public safety law issues or restrictions from electricity providers on such use of electricity to third parties?

We need to try and think about this more from the charge point/business side... you would have loads of random people coming with batteries and chargers you know nothing about, if they're safety approved, how much current they draw etc.. in most cases just a chat with the owner might be sufficient but a lot of places might just think, no its a load of a hassle.

These legal issues might severely limit the scope a charge point scheme, and restrict it more to friendly family business type places?

 

[hihihi]

"re-charge"

Wow, what a thread! It's growing so fast it's hard to catch up on all the posts...

Anyway, I much prefer "re-charge" to just "charge". Sounds more positive to my mind. Don't you agree?

(Peter Blackman [axcess electric bikes] penned "Isle of Wight Re-Charging Stations" )

 

[banbury frank]

Hi
How about internet cafes

every high street have then

Frank

 

[morphix]

Hi
How about internet cafes

every high street have then

Frank

Internet cafe's great idea, they would be the ideal place to "recharge and rest" have a drink and chat while your battery charges!!

The more charge points we had, the less time presumably people would need to monopolise each charge point? You would just "top-up charge" like 20-30 minutes between places and move on..

 

[kitchenman]

OK I will chip in with my two penneth worth !
Big green button looks bright, modern and "green".

For me a big draw would be if the charging point were somewhere I was going to stay for at least a few hours eg at National Trust property where charging could be free to NT members or ask politely and hand over battery + charger on arrival, lockers in supermarkets / shopping centres like left luggage locker with a power point inside.

Yes. You would normal spend an hour or two in a Museum, a country house, etc ... Places that have lockers already: Swimming pools, Train stations, Schools, Colleges, ...

 

[kitchenman]

Wow, what a thread! It's growing so fast it's hard to catch up on all the posts...

Anyway, I much prefer "re-charge" to just "charge". Sounds more positive to my mind. Don't you agree?

(Peter Blackman [axcess electric bikes] penned "Isle of Wight Re-Charging Stations" )

Have been thinking about cycling around the IOW. Good to know. I also like CHARGING STATION.

 

[Trevor Holloway]

Our local Vodaphone shop has lockers that you can plug your phone in lock it and leave it for an hour for a charge.
You just select what make of phone you have and rent that box (Vodafone offering mobile charging in-store | Electricpig) !

Any locker facility will cost money to set up (to provide the boxes and power points) which I doubt the small independants will want to pay for.

I wonder how many folk would want to leave their expensive batteries (and chargers) unlocked while they wander round a town / museum / supermarket etc.

 

[funkylyn]

Any more comments on this possible scheme......whether for or against would be appreciated......

Lynda

 

[morphix]

Lynda, on a slightly different topic..do you know how to use a sewing machine? I just got one and can't figure it out at all! I posted earlier about a camera pocket holder I was making.

 

[funkylyn]

Whats the problem with it ?
Can you thread it ?
What make is it ?
Is there a manual ?
Threading it properly is usually difficult if you dont know anything about them.....is it electric ?
I'll try to help, although my forte is knitting not sewing....I DO have a sewing machine.....
Lynda

 

[morphix]

Whats the problem with it ?
Can you thread it ?
What make is it ?
Is there a manual ?
Threading it properly is usually difficult if you dont know anything about them.....is it electric ?

I'll try to help, although my forte is knitting not sewing....I DO have a sewing machine.....

I knew you would have one and be the person to ask!

Well it's only a cheapo electric "toy" type one from eBay, but its got decent reviews and said to be ok for small jobs. The make is "Signature" and it runs off electric mains.

It has a top thread and bottom thread, and from what i can gather by googling a bit, this is normal/typical of most sewing machines and the design principle is same for most? My question is then, why do you have two bobbins/threads (top and bottom)? I can't fathom that out from the manual as it's minimal and just says "threading top" and "threading bottom".. it's as though you can choose!

 

[funkylyn]

I knew you would have one and be the person to ask!

Well it's only a cheapo electric "toy" type one from eBay, but its got decent reviews and said to be ok for small jobs. The make is "Signature" and it runs off electric mains.

It has a top thread and bottom thread, and from what i can gather by googling a bit, this is normal/typical of most sewing machines and the design principle is same for most? My question is then, why do you have two bobbins/threads (top and bottom)? I can't fathom that out from the manual as it's minimal and just says "threading top" and "threading bottom".. it's as though you can choose!

NO...you cant choose......just thread both......dont even waste time pondering on the whys and wherefores.....I think you are trying to overcomplicate things here.....( oh why am I surprised )......no need to go into design principles.... .......thread it by following the manual......if you have a problem PM me and we can go over it step by step......its simple.....promise.......you will soon be the proud owner of a camera case.......if all fails I'll knit you one......

Lynda

 

[Synthman]

I've got the same issue with an electric sewing machine. I bought a new needle for it, made sure the top and bottom threads were engaged as best I could, and set the pattern dial, but it didn't work well at all. I have no manual for it, it was found disposed of in a skip but appears fully working and looks perfect.

However I can sew manually pretty well, as long as the material isn't too thick.

 

[steveindenmark]

WOW what an excellent way to derail a thread.......You could have sent a PM and asked this question Morphix, it was hardlings a "Slightly different topic was it"?

To get back to the original subject which seems to have stalled. I like both the green logos and think the word BIKE should be included as it is more recognisable internationally. It should be clear to everyone what the logo means and not just to electric bike riders.

Steve

 

[morphix]

WOW what an excellent way to derail a thread.......You could have sent a PM and asked this question Morphix, it was hardlings a "Slightly different topic was it"?

To get back to the original subject which seems to have stalled. I like both the green logos and think the word BIKE should be included as it is more recognisable internationally. It should be clear to everyone what the logo means and not just to electric bike riders.

Steve

Thanks Steve for bringing the thread back on topic! Apologies for derailing it with sewing machine questions. I think your comment about the logo makes sense having wording that is instantly recognisable. Lynda and I are keen to see some more ideas and opinions on this idea so appreciate your input.

I'm currently initiating some legal inquiries about how such a scheme might affect businesses and will report back to the thread when I get some answers.

Another thought I've had... perhaps it might be useful at this stage if we tried to gage the level of support for this idea? By that I mean, people could approach some local businesses and put the idea to them and see if they would be happy to support it. I don't know if anyone would be up for that? Another approach might be to try some online forums for specific industries, guest-houses, pubs etc.