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So it’s another post not strictly about electric bicycles - but the electric skateboard is probably its closest relative! Thanks to xkcd’s latest comic (pictured and linked above) I now know that Nathan Fillion does indeed have an electric skateboard - an 800w one from this EW account, and after a little bit of web ferretting, I’m going to guess he most probably owns a board from Altered because they seem to be the best known and apparently are the originators of the vehicle. And when I say vehicle I do mean it, because 800 watts is a serious amount of torque, much more than any of the eBikes I own! Those boards are designed for all terrain and can go over grass and rough ground. Yikes! Below is one of the more standard street versions:

There also seems to be one manufacturer in Australia, Kronik Boardz. They also do a couple of 800w models including one with foot locks - and I wonder how on earth they manage to get away with that in this country! I guess maybe electric skateboards are yet to be classified? If 800w electric bicycles were legal here, we’d probably have a hell of a lot more converts… see below for a Channel 10 intoduction to Kronik electric skateboards in Oz!

While they don’t look too exciting on video, I’m a bit of a nanna when it comes to riding, so seriously, I could even consider getting one of these. I’ve never been keen on skateboarding, and my very brief flirtation with a Razor scooter ended in several bruised bits (including my ego), but an electric skateboard might be something I’d be able to pick up a fair bit quicker. And while I really enjoy my Trikke, it’s a whole lot more effort than a bike to ride, so it’s stayed in storage for a while. An electric skateboard would be considerably more portable than either, too. Plus I could say yeah, Nathan Fillion has one of these, when people ask me about it in the street. *chuckle*

Looking forward to Part Two from xkcd tomorrow!

A pleasant surprise indeed to find a mainstream and conservative magazine like The Economist plugging the humble eBike in a very positive article just a few days back. The article is fairly short, but includes a review of the rather snazzy A2B eBike from Ultra Motors, a well designed and compact eBike with a good range and a well placed battery pack. A top end ride, this is a bike I’d definitely like to own.

The article concludes with a derisive comment commonly flung at eBike users, the old “is this just for lazy people” epithet made by dedicated cyclists covered in lycra and swigging from an electrolyte drink bottle.

I just want to bash my head against a brick wall when encountering this attitude. Yes, I realise you need to make yourself feel more important and better than everyone, lycra brigade. But the fact remains - eBikes are more efficient that human-powered-only cycling, and by choosing to eBike, you are making a choice to use the most efficient form of transport that we currently have. This is not “lazy” - it’s smart and responsible. The benefit of arriving places not covered in sweat is really the icing on the cake.

Treehugger has just posted a comparison of the eBike with the eScooter - and to make it a fair fight, they’re talking low speed eScooters, not Vectrix-type dealies. To be honest it’s a bit of a no-brainer - 25kg vs over 100kg weight for a start, and vastly bigger battery packs on the eScooter. Read the verdict over here - but you can guess what I was expecting, right?

Is this fantastic video from cycle stuntman Danny MacAskill. No, it’s not an eBike but it’s just so out-of-this-world incredible that I’m posting it anyways. Check it out below.

Inspired Bicycles - Danny MacAskill April 2009

c/o the BBC: UK Supermarket chain Waitrose has begun a small pilot program with four stores for groceries purchased online to be delivered by electric-assist cargo bikes.  The bikes can carry up to 6 trays of groceries and keep food frozen for 2 hours. While the bikes will only be doing a small portion of deliveries the store makes, it’s a step in the right direction and the store will not need to purchase any new delivery vehicles for the time being - with any luck this will be the way they’ll continue to grow their delivery fleet!

Full story and video available here.

So, last week I had to do a bunch of ticket distribution as well as flyer and poster drops for an event we’re holding for NYE - Euchronia. Turns out the absolutely best possible vehicle for such a task [visiting half a dozen inner city suburbs within 3-4 hours, total distance around 25km, frequent stopping and traveling along busy commercial streets with many shops and much foot traffic] is my trusty eBike! Bit windy out [as my chapped lips attest] but the job was made easy with my eBike, and headwinds didn’t deter me in the slightest. There will be more poster runs in future, and I’m looking forward to them!

Saw this, and had to share:

Lady is the Boss - Bicycle fight!

Lately I’ve been using my eZtorq to head up to Fitzroy once every week or two. It’s a nice easy route, and faster than any other means at my disposal. Also cheaper, and just generally awesome. It’s almost a shame I don’t need to travel more often but I’m quite happy knowing my carbon footprint is as low as it possibly could be for my daily travel requirements!

We went a visiting to CERES today! It was the first outing for my eZee Torq having only just got heem back yesterday, and even with the long hiatus, battery charged fine and I didn’t even come close to running out, even going back via Merri creek and stopping in at FOE on the way home.

At Ceres, Chris had a bit of a look around the bike shed area, then we went and had a lovely lunch - there wasn’t a huge rmenu but the salad and the gluten free orange & poppy seed cake + bush chai were all great. My salad looking delicious:

But Chris looked a little alarmed by his muffin:

Got asked by one of the staff about my tshirt, and had to provide a business card, heh. Then we went wandering, and I took many photos:

I then went and bought a bunch of seedlings at the Nursery, we wandered back down past the hoardes of chilluns, and then all loaded up zee bike, we chuffed off back to the city, via the Merri trail, though the way was confusing at times and we ended up having to go up stairs at one point. Oops. Of course, we had to stop for photo ops along the way:

Here’s a pic of Chris’ Brompton Folder “at rest”:

and ready to roll [it's really neat the way it just flips over!]

and finally here’s me and my eZee Torq [not the most flattering pic of me ever, but eh]:

And then, just when I thought we were almost in the city, we came upon the Collingwood Children’s Farm which I had no idea was there! It was delightfully green, and very traditional farm vibe, almost a little too tidy and pristine, like Switzerland (if you’ve ever been there, you’ll know what I mean). Must go back for one of the Farmer’s Markets there or the Convent next door, as well as a nice breakfast at the Cafe [nom]. I have to say, the food at Ceres will be hard to beat.

So there, that was our Adventure. It was neat. I am hoping to do more eBiking rides in future. If you can suggest any good rides in Melbourne, please do!

Ah, xkcd, you finally have something I can post here.

I’d just like to point out that electric skateboards don’t get anywhere near the mileage of electric bikes - a good average would be anywhere from 1000 - 2000 mpg equivalent. Some weight behind that assertion can be found here, here and here…