Alternative transportation

As an alternative to the automobile, anyway. Interesting we have come to consider any other means of transport as alternative and think only of the automobile as the reliable standard....rather than any other way round. I use a car less and less and a bike has become my main means of transport. Be that as it may, this is about personal transportation and it will center mainly on the two-wheeled variety.
The bicycle hardly needs any introductions in that regard, it's been around for well over a hundred years and is a durable, simple machine that works.

It is a multiplier of effort, a raiser of efficiency, a freedom enhancer.....and much fun.

I don't think the bicycle needs much help in this regard either.... but I do at times.

I love the pure, sweet functionality of a well tuned bicycle and want to impact that as minimally as possible. As I grow a older I still love the the exercise I get pedaling ......but perhaps just not all the time. With that in mind, I've been exploring some power assist options and, I must honestly admit, without assist my time spent cycling would greatly diminish.

Power assist as applied by an ICE, small, efficient internal combustion engines that are both EPA and CARB II compliant. There are some wonderful mini, industrial quality engines available today that we've sourced from Japan, made by Honda and Robin/Subaru, Mitsubishi and Tanaka.

Electric assist might be applied by high output RC electric or hub motors that have regenerative braking that can be used to trickle charge a smaller_than_usual bike battery pack to keep weight down.



Or perhaps a combination of the two, a hybrid.....ICE/Elec equipped bike that could get 300 miles to a gallon of gasoline with minimal electric outlet charging.

Perhaps more appropriately we should make that tribrid power: human/ice/electric.


There was a day when mopeds were popular, back in the 1970's with the first oil price shocks. They still are somewhat popular in some places in the world. They are fun but not too practical as bikes. They are heavy, often weighing between one and two hundred pounds and damn near impossible to pedal as a bicycle. In fact, the pedals were only used just to get them started.


What I am proposing is more appropriately called a PEDMO© rather than moped, with pedaling as the primary function and the motoring aspect an ancillary but integral, assisted part of the machine. The functionality of the bicycle remains intact and the rider simply has more options to increase range, sustained speed and load carrying capability and an aid in dealing with hills and headwinds.



Perhaps, along these line, a fully realized PEDMO© would be a tribrid in a longtail or cargo bike.


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