E-bikes that don't need a battery

[GoSolar777]

I've recently come across an article about a new French invention - a bike that doesn't use lithium-ion battery but instead works with a supercapacitor. Since there are many growing concerns about lithium extraction and production, do you think this could be the beginning of a new era, sorta speak - of an even cleaner technology? If anyone actually knows more about supercapacitors and how they work, please share!

 

[usclassic]

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Tom Stanton's got skills — frickin' amazing skills in design, fabrication, analysis, you name it! Gotta be a space alien from some advanced civilization. And as this video shows, he doesn’t hesitate to tackle big projects just to test an idea he knows might fail. My hero!

 

[Taiwwa]

I would definitely be interested in an ebike that functioned like a hybrid car. Currently e-bikes are more plug in hybrid.

 

[usclassic]

I would definitely be interested in an ebike that functioned like a hybrid car. Currently e-bikes are more plug in hybrid.

If you mean having a gas engine as well battery motor then you could put one of these on your rear rack and plug in your charger to it.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I cannot fail noticing the guy who had built his e-bike from the scratch (that is, he never built the bicycle itself!) was the most happy after connecting a Li-Ion battery to his contraption

 

[circuitsmith]

At best, supercaps hold about 1/10th the energy per unit weight compared to lithium-ion.
So if you're okay with a 5 mile range supercap setup instead of 50 miles with an equal battery weight, have at it.

You'll also need a DC-DC converter between the caps and motor controller for a constant(ish) supply voltage.
Going from full to 25% charge a capacitor's voltage drops in half.

Supercapacitor - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[gromike]

I would think supercapacitors could act as an adjunct to the L-ion battery in efficiently harvesting regenerated energy, so I believe a hybrid system could have a viable future.

 

[usclassic]

https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/...d-the-first-e-bike-that-doesnt-need-a-battery

 

[6zfshdb]

If you mean having a gas engine as well battery motor then you could put one of these on your rear rack and plug in your charger to it.

View attachment 163505

I wonder how the law would view such a vehicle. Is it really an e-bike which requires no registration & insurance or simply a gas powered moped?

 

[Chargeride]

I have looked at ebikes and thought could you fit in a tiny model fourstoke 25cc engine connected to an alternator or even the coils of the midrive itself, and charge the battery in use or over a few hours in the wilds.
Oil has 100X the energy density of a li.ion battery.

It could be so hidden with an extensive exhaust and intake, it could pass as electric only.

 

[indianajo]

I have looked at ebikes and thought could you fit in a tiny model fourstoke 25cc engine connected to an alternator or even the coils of the midrive itself, and charge the battery in use or over a few hours in the wilds.

I detest the noise of small gas motors. I'd rather have a solar panel that rolled up. The big flat glass panels are so unsuitable for vehicles that ride in the wind. Or a 20 lb wind turbine; there is a huge amount of wind these days where I live. Out west where I want to vacation, even more. Wind works at night when bike riders sleep.
Like the picture but smaller lighter & not $2600. Maybe 100 w.

 

[harryS]

Speaking to the Frenck Pipop model, you can make a 150 foot climb under power before the capacitors are discharged? The rest of the time, you're pedalling extra hard both to go forward and to recharge the damn capacitors. Get that bike outa here.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I'm holding out for impulse drive. The only thing better than lithium is dilithium!

 

[m@Robertson]

We have nough crackpot battery innovation announcements that are best left to the Ignore button. Supercapacitors are even more crackpot in terms of the heavy-lifting (which may include repealing some of the Suggestions Of Thermodynamics) that needs to happen to make them viable for a personal bicycle.

 

[Kayakguy]

If you mean having a gas engine as well battery motor then you could put one of these on your rear rack and plug in your charger to it.

View attachment 163505

Much more efficient to use the gas engine directly powering the bike, instead of generating electricity to run the bike.

 

[6zfshdb]

I'm holding out for a bike powered by nuclear fusion.

 

[usclassic]

I'm holding out for a bike powered by nuclear fusion.

https://www.academia.edu/36358791/CONCEPT_OF_NUCLEAR_POWERED_E_BIKE_Neutron_235_

 

[Kayakguy]

Where's the perpetual motion machine when we need it?