September 22, 20169 yr I biked over the causeway to Lindisfarne on my Sparticle equipped ancient Brompton, and rode onto the little pier and a small group of people watched as I lifted the saddle and tucked the back wheel underneath to park it. "I've seen one on BBC 2 being made "offered one chap. "Is that one of the new E bike Brompton's they were talking about?" I answered no, I had it converted, and then he asked the Question that several people always seem to ask. "Does it charge up as you pedal along?" When I said no, he seemed disappointed. I must have been asked the same question at least a dozen times, I wonder why? has anyone else encountered the same question?
September 22, 20169 yr It illustrates the sad state of basic science knowledge the British public have. The question is tantamount to a belief in the possibility of perpetual motion In this forum when I pointed out the facts to a questioner on this, he confidently responded that future developments will bring it about! .
September 22, 20169 yr I think you are all wrong and if you don't believe me, just ask Douglas Carswell! Tom
September 22, 20169 yr I think you are all wrong and if you don't believe me, just ask Douglas Carswell! Tom . Or David Icke? .
September 22, 20169 yr I've told this story before, so apologies in advance to those those that have read before. My friend was convinced that an ebike/dynamo combo would create a machine that was capable of infinite travel. Over a few beers I tried to explain the fundamentals of physics. In the end I gave up with logic and pulled rank, leveraging my status as a professional engineer. A few days later I overheard him talking to his father about electric bikes. His fathers eyes immediately lit up, and he too went down the ebike/dynamo train of thought. My friends explanation still makes me chuckle. 'It won't work. Can't remember exactly why, but it's got something to with me being a fishmonger'. Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
September 22, 20169 yr I'm not asked often but I have to reply "Yes, it can" seeing as I have a Bionx system with 4 levels of generation as well as assistance. wheeler
September 23, 20169 yr "Don't tell anyone! Let it be our little secret" followed by a mad cackle should give them a hint...
September 23, 20169 yr Author I just remembered something rather else rather amusing that the chap said, he spotted the little bottle dynamo on the back wheel mudguard stay and said "Well does that charge it up then?" lets see now how far (and fast!) do you have to pedal to get a 6volt 0.5 watt bottle dynamo on a 18" wheel to charge up a 36Volts 10AH Battery? I contented myself saying "No that's just for the lights." But thinking about that problem if I could pedal at about the speed a Delorean reaches to achieve time travel if would probably only take about ten years to get a pretty good charge into the battery. Food for thought, eh?
September 23, 20169 yr Author I'm not asked often but I have to reply "Yes, it can" seeing as I have a Bionx system with 4 levels of generation as well as assistance. wheeler I hope you added "more or less"
September 23, 20169 yr Author "Don't tell anyone! Let it be our little secret" followed by a mad cackle should give them a hint... It might be good for a laugh to tell them it draws power from the internet through a WI FI link to my Mobile phone. Yes, next time I'll try that and see what the reaction is!
September 23, 20169 yr It illustrates the sad state of basic science knowledge the British public have. The question is tantamount to a belief in the possibility of perpetual motion In this forum when I pointed out the facts to a questioner on this, he confidently responded that future developments will bring it about! . Agreed, it's sad that the basics of power generation inefficiencies and power consumption are alien to most people today, despite an alleged superior standard education. Maybe their attention and interest is more widely dissipated over today's high tech gadgetry for them to really understand the basics of physics.
October 9, 20169 yr It is also a little known fact that torches do not give out light, They suck up darkness.
October 9, 20169 yr It is also a little known fact that torches do not give out light, They suck up darkness. That's why when their batteries are full up with darkness they have to be replaced with empty ones. .
October 9, 20169 yr That's why when their batteries are full up with darkness they have to be replaced with empty ones. . Someone better tell soundwave! He keeps buying cheap full ones!
October 9, 20169 yr It is also a little known fact that torches do not give out light, They suck up darkness. It's not that far from the truth actually, when you consider what an electron actually is, and how it moves from the negative to the positive pole.... Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
October 9, 20169 yr I had a guy going once: I overtook him and then got stopped by the traffic lights. As he came up behind and alongside me, he noticed the hub-motor and asked, "Is that some kind of fancy gearbox?" "No" I replied, "Its a gravity tilter" "Oh! how does that work then?" "Simple, You press this little lever on the handlebars and it tilts gravity so that I roll downhill even when it's flat or uphill" "Really! Show me then" I pushed the lever and glided away from him without pedalling. He couldn't keep up to ask any more questions. I wonder how long he spent on Google looking for a gravity tilter? To answer the question "does it charge the battery when you pedal?", try responding with, "Why would anybody want to do that?". It normally confounds them.
October 9, 20169 yr I had a guy going once: I overtook him and then got stopped by the traffic lights. As he came up behind and alongside me, he noticed the hub-motor and asked, "Is that some kind of fancy gearbox?" "No" I replied, "Its a gravity tilter" "Oh! how does that work then?" "Simple, You press this little lever on the handlebars and it tilts gravity so that I roll downhill even when it's flat or uphill" "Really! Show me then" I pushed the lever and glided away from him without pedalling. He couldn't keep up to ask any more questions. I wonder how long he spent on Google looking for a gravity tilter? To answer the question "does it charge the battery when you pedal?", try responding with, "Why would anybody want to do that?". It normally confounds them. however (and this is a big however), you're on to a feasible concept https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive our very distant offspring may end up having a very boring version of this conversation on 'intergalactic forum' (probably about whether a hub or crank warp drive is better)
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.