All Your Green Blog

Inspired by the Bio-diesel Ambulance of those crazy cats at Ecologic Designs, I decided that we needed a company ride.

After doing some quick research, I found the Schwinn Fusion 1000. This bad mamba-jamba sports a 1000 Watt direct-drive motor, a top speed of 15 mph, and an impressive range of 18 miles! And at a sticker price of $250, I figured we could use it as a platform for satisfying our amateur electrical engineering urges without risking all that much.

Once assembled, we plugged in the charger, all filled with dreams of commuting to work the next day on our eco-friendly hog. I arose early the next day to find the charge light green (wait... was it green last night?), and strapped on my helmet and gear, and set out on my 5 mile trek to the office. With an optimal range of 18 miles, I figured with my less-than-ideal circumstances, I should still be fine. I assume the 18 miles was with a 90 pound rider on a flat surface, maybe with a breeze at their back. Well, I'm about twice that weight, and I have a little incline on the way to the office, but it's only 5 miles. I set off.

At first, I was surprised at how zippy it was. I cruise lazily on a bicycle at about 8 to 10 mph, so the 12 mph or so I was going was a nice pace. I was also careful to not use the throttle too heavily, as I knew this would shorten my range.

I got about half way when the battery life indicator told me I had half of my juice left. "Dandy!" I thought to myself, as that's how much I needed. I started up the long, straight bike path (legal in my state, with an electric) toward the complex where my office sits. This is the slight incline, as well. The whole trip probably gains about 30 vertical feet, so nothing really serious. As I approached the top of the hill for the perfectly flat last mile, the indicator told me I had "LOW" battery. "Splendid!" I thought, as I didn't need much to coast victoriously into the office, just down the road.

Well, I didn't make it. I made it to within a half-mile, and had to push it from there. It's not far, but there is no clutch on a "direct-drive" and the resistance of the solid state magnets in the motor are fighting you all the way. The rear tire would rather skid than roll. Most inconvenient.

After making it less than half way home (that's downhill you may have discerned), I decided something was wrong. When Dan, Allyourgreen's CTO, picked me up and got me back to home base, I started messing with the charger. Turns out, to quote Gir from Invader Zim (a cartoon I'm fond of), "The plug thing! It's not plugged!" The plug on the charger didn't seat properly in the receptor on the bike. With some slight modifications (certainly not involving aluminum foil strips stuck into the receptor), the charger indicator was RED, so it was actually charging.

Well, there's going to be an honest charge tomorrow. Check back for the continuing saga of the Allyourgreen Electric Scooter and Portable Resistance Training Device.