[Imc-makerspace] Fwd: Joint Meeting with MakerSpace, Bike Project?

[Stewart Dickson]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Childress, Matt <childrss at illinois.edu>
Date: Mon, Jul 30, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Subject: RE: Joint Meeting with MakerSpace, Bike Project?
To: David Noreen <davidnoreen at ymail.com>, Stewart Dickson <
mathartspd at gmail.com>


 We actually have a member that has done several eBicycle as well as
gBicycle (gas bicycle) conversions.  While we’re an EV club, gas bicycles
ARE high MPG vehicles and have a significantly lower
cost-of-entry/conversion.  Other than that, the gBikes are loud and stink
and have safety issues (hot exhaust pipes).  However they are very much the
poor-man’s solution to high gas, insurance, parking.  I’ll try to get him
to the August meeting with one of his rides.

A really decent eBike conversion, assuming the donor bicycle is free will
run you about $500 to $1000 (a gBike is around $300-400).  That being said,
if you end up using it to eliminate the use of your car for most local
travel (even if it’s just on the ‘nice’ days) you’ll easily get paid back
in 2-3 years. If you work on campus and you are able to give up your
parking space because you can now park for free with the rest of the
bicycles, then the payback period is much shorter.

If you make it a folding eBike, then you can transportation mode-shift with
it: a good folding bicycle will set you back $300-600, then then $500-1000
to make it electric.  However it will go INSIDE the MTD bus system (so if
it’s raining and you need to stay dry you don’t have to fight with the
other bicyclists for the two available racks on the front), Amtrak trains
for free and potentially an airplane as checked baggage (the Lithium-Ion
battery packs may or may not be able to go with you on a plane).  At that
point you have one of the most functional forms of local transportation
combined with medium-to-long distance mass transit.

>From a maker/hacker-space perspective, there’s also the concept once you
have a decent mass of batteries on your ride of lojacking it with an
Arduino with a GPS unit and a cell phone shield so if somebody steals your
ride, you can find it and recover it…

M@****

** **

*From:* David Noreen [mailto:davidnoreen at ymail.com]
*Sent:* Monday, July 30, 2012 10:07 AM
*To:* Stewart Dickson
*Cc:* Childress, Matt
*Subject:* Re: Joint Meeting with MakerSpace, Bike Project?****

** **

Hi Stewart,****

 ****

     Thanks for your email.  Yes, this sounds like a very interesting
synergy between the groups, and one very much worth exploring.  We've
mentioned the Bike Project and the MakerSpace (and the FabLab, as well) in
our meetings and on our ListServ mailings, and there has been interest in
projects and collaborative work along these lines.  As you can see, I've
copied our Illinois EV Club President, Matt Childress, on this email, and
I'm sure he'll be glad to read of your suggestions, as he and I have
discussed similar things many times.****

 ****

     A bit before Engineering Open House 2011, for example, one of our
members was interested in ordering an electric bicycle from China in kit
form (for around $1000).  Another member mentored students who were
interested in gaining additional mechanical skills, so the students and
their mentor assembled the electric bike during the morning of EOH,
and some of our club members demonstrated it (and tried it out on the
Engineering Quad) later that same afternoon.  (As a second example, we've
also talked a number of times about the possibility of converting a folding
bike to electric capability.)****

 ****

     For our August meeting, instead of meeting at the University YMCA (as
we do in the non-summer months), we're going to participate in the Green
Fair at the Research Park this coming Friday (and announce that to our
members as being our August meeting).  Perhaps we can arrange to set up
close to the Bike Project area, so that we might have a chance for some of
our members to meet each other (and possibly give an opportunity for some
synergistic connections to get a start)?****

 ****

          -  David Noreen****

** **

*From:* Stewart Dickson <mathartspd at gmail.com>
*To:* David Noreen <davidnoreen at ymail.com>
*Sent:* Sunday, July 29, 2012 9:12 PM
*Subject:* Joint Meeting with MakerSpace, Bike Project?****


Hi, David,

Would anyone at the Illinois EV club be interested in having a joint
meeting with the MakerSpace?

I think that we'd like to explore the possibility of workshop/presentations
on the following topics:

    o Bicycle Modifications

    o Mutant Bike builds

    o Bike Electrical Systems, Lighting

    o Bicycle Motor/Generator retrofits

Does anyone at the Illinois EV club have experience in bicycle hub
generators or electric
bicycle motorization projects?

You may be aware that the Makerspace is just at the opposite end of the
corridor from the
Urbana (IMC) Bike Project.  It came out at out meeting this evening that
more than one of the
Makerspace members owns welding equipment.  And we have tons of raw
materials (salvage
bike parts) right nearby.  http://thebikeproject.org

Do you think that anyone at the Illinois EV club might be interested in
such a thing?

Thanks,

-Stewart


****
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