Ride like the Sun: Electrobike - Solar Electric Bicycle
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09.28.07
Cars & Transportation (bikes)
Yeh, we know, you’ve heard it all before. Like when we bought you news of the mythical E-V Sunny with solar panel wheels. But The Electrobike Pi looks different.
For starters we get to see a real live journalist from the LA Times ride about on it. And solar panels are not integrated into the bike itself, but come as an $1,800 optional extra (see pics after the fold). Although touted as cutting the Pi's carbon load by half the panels look awkward to deploy and require eight hours in the sun for a full recharge. You might be thinking "Geez, if that is the price for add-ons, what does the bike cost?" A cool $7,500 USD! But for that you get a street legal bicycle that can get up to 20 mph (32 kph) and travel about 25 miles (40 km) per 2.5 hour plug-in charge. The batteries, with a 400 charge lifespan are housed in the curving arc of the frame and can be topped up by regenerative braking (A Prius convertible/cabriolet, if you will!).
I would personally wonder about a few things. The stats on the bike are great and the aesthetics are definetly unique, but aside from the looks and the internal batteries, is there something about this bike that makes it a better choice than spending $1400 on a BionX and just picking up a nice bike to go with it, for instance?
Project goal: Make an electric fly. Without wings.
I think they're charging you $6000 for the aesthetics. :D