Lithium Iron is just now becoming available from a number of sources. I am not waiting for it to bottom out, just get into a $ range where I can justify it. The A123 and other varieties of LiPoly, Li Ion, etc. are nasty chemical mixes, and not environmentally sound. There are other industrial quality solutions coming onto the market, like the NILAR NiMH batteries ( www.nilar.com ), which are benign chemically and will rival the Lithium for charge cycles and low cost. NILAR does not use cylindrical cells so the space wasted between cylinders is added capacity. One of NILAR's principals was a key person in the Optima battery development.
Moving an object with a motor down a 1/4 mile DS in a few seconds hardly is the example of a road bike. All you have to do is live near hills and realize having a 2 speed trans would make EMCs more fun, and practical. Without a lower gear going up a steep hill with a single gear (compromise) will a.) eat a good number of amps, and b.) create a lot of heat in a motor, without adequate cooling lessening the life of the motor. I have solved the heat problem. The only (sic) modern bike with a separate tranny is the Harley and that puppy is heavy, Ebay has 5 speed pulls for $500 +/- but a clutch and pulleys, linkage will run another $500. Having built a bike with 72V of 55AH AGMs, and ridden it (commuting) over 1000 miles (in CO) April to November time-frame, I see little advantage to having spent the $2500+ for Lithiums, the AGMs ran under $600 with shipping. With modest discharge levels I expect my EMC pack to last 4 or more years. Lead has risen in price about 25% this past year which makes lead a worse deal, but many people on this DL don't have the money to sink into Lithium (yet). I am happy with the AGM performance my next project (3 wheeler) will have 12 AGMs unless I can scare up a set of NILAR batteries to "test". Cheers, Jeff 84 Honda VF Franken'ceptor On Jan 28, 2008 8:53 AM, Tim Humphrey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I hear that "when lithium gets cheaper" banter quite a bit. I agree that the > initial outlay for lithium seems quite expensive and can be hard to justify > or even obtain. But, if you do the math over the entire lifetime of the > battery the lithium-iron at todays prices is about the same as flooded lead > and about 5 times cheaper than sealed lead. Yes, cheaper. > > Yeah, I'd like to see lithium get even cheaper and it is headed that way, > but to buy lead while waiting for lithium to bottom out is just plain silly. > > Have you ever mentioned to Bill Dube' that he's not going to win races with > a single gear ratio? ;-) > > > Stay Charged! > > Hump > > Ignorance is treatable, with a good prognosis. However, if left untreated, > it develops into Arrogance, which is often fatal. :-) -- Lee Hart > > > --- On Fri 01/25, Jeffrey Blamey < [EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote: > > From: Jeffrey Blamey [mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [email protected] > Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:24:44 -0700 > Subject: Re: [ElectricMotorcycles] Goldwing? > > > Unfortunately none of us are going to win races with single gear > ratio. My next project (hope) will have room for a Harley 5 speed. Our > nemisis is the range possible with SLA, when Lithium Iron or NiMH type > batteries get in a reasonable price range we can all switch and our > bikes will have renewed life (miles) ;-) > > Cheers, Jeff > > > > ________________________________ > Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com > The most personalized portal on the Web!
