so much has been said about electric cars on nairaland front pages but not much have been said about electric motorcycle and election bicycle.
well, let me awake people who never thought about the existence of the new electric trend. electric is the future for clean energy and all manufacturer are holding firmly to this new technology, and no one want to be caught in the web unaware or lose left behind ..
1, Electric Motorcycle
Zero Motorcycles has revealed their 2018 lineup of electric bikes. They'll be the same prices as their 2017 counterparts, but reduced charging speeds, improved range, and faster acceleration will undoubtedly make them more desirable.
QUICK CHARGE
Zero Motorcycles makes some pretty fancy electric motorcycle models that can be used by both consumers and police units. With the introduction of its 2018 lineup, Zero has improved the capabilities of its bikes with a higher range and reduced charging times.
As Zero explains in its 2018 highlights post , the improvements to their electric motorcycle models are a result of the newly-revealed 6 kW Charge Tank accessory, which can be used by the company’s Zero S, Zero SR, Zero DS, and Zero DSR bikes. The new accessory enables the Zero S and DS ZF7.2 to be charged roughly an hour when plugged into a level 1 110 V outlet, while larger batteries found in the SR and DSR can be charged in around two hours using a level 2 charger.
As for the vehicles’ range, the electric motorcycle models equipped with the ZF7.2 and ZF14.4 power packs can now travel 10% farther thanks to “ improved battery chemistry .” How far they can go largely depends on the area you’re in, but Zero notes the range will top out at around 223 miles.
“It’s the highest power and energy density battery in today’s transportation industry and for its size takes you farther than any other electric vehicle on the planet,” says Zero.
Riders who are all about speed will be happy to hear the new electric motorcycle models are slightly faster too. Bikes with the ZF7.2 power pack provide 11% more rear wheel torque, while the powertrains of the ZF13.0 Zero S and Zero DS have been finely tuned to offer up to 30% more power and torque. Want to quickly pass other cars and motorcycles on the road? Now you can.
According to Engadget , prices for the new 2018 models are the same as the 2017 models, with the cheapest Zero FX starting at $8,495. If you’re eyeing the base model Zero S, it starts at $10,995, though the Charge Tank will cost you another $2,295 — a high price to pay if you want to get back on the road quickly after a battery-depleting ride.
Motivate, the company behind the San Francisco Yay (Bay) Area’s bike-share system, is adding pedal-assist e-bikes to its fleets this April. The one-year pilot will launch with 250 of these e-bikes in San Francisco, the company announced today.
The bikes, created by startup GenZe, are designed to assist riders as they’re pedaling, therefore reducing the need for much energy while biking — especially uphill. The pilot program will be part of the existing Ford GoBike network. GenZe is also the scooter provider for Scoot Networks, the scooter-sharing startup that operates in San Francisco.
“E-Bikes will give Bay Area residents and visitors one more option when traveling around San Francisco, which will help to make San Francisco more livable and reduce congestion and household transportation costs,” Metropolitan Transportation Commission Deputy Executive Director Alix Bockelman said in a statement. “We look forward to the expansion of the Ford GoBike e-Bike pilot to the other Ford GoBike cities.”
Beginning in April, riders will be able to locate the e-bikes using the standard Ford GoBike app. The bikes can go a top speed of 18 mph, which means it’s legal to ride in bicycle lanes. The idea with the pilot program is to gather feedback and work with Bay Area cities to make e-bikes permanently part of the Ford GoBike system.
[img]http://tctechcrunch2011.files./2018/01/ford-go-bike.png[/img] Currently, there are 262 Ford GoBike stations with 2,600+ bikes across the San Francisco Bay Area. And, in news that may be upsetting to residents who argue the bike stations are taking up too many parking spots, the bike system is not done expanding. By the end of this year, there will be 546 stations featuring 7,000 Ford GoBikes, which will make it the second-largest bike-sharing system in North America.
When these bikes first launched, there was a fair amount of controversy and outcry from Bay Area residents about the amount of space these bikes take up and its effects on gentrification. In protest, people have done everything from toss a bike into Lake Merritt in Oakland, flatten all the tires at a stand in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco, strip them of their parts, hang one from a tree and vandalize them with graffiti.
[img]http://tctechcrunch2011.files./2018/01/ford-gobike-lake-e1515436861733.jpg[/img] Bike-sharing has become a hot space for founders and VCs alike. In San Francisco, there are a number of bike-sharing startups, including one that already operates electric, pedal-assist bikes. That startup is Social Bicycles, which recently conducted a pilot program in the Bayview neighborhood, which has historically not been served by the tech industry.
Over in China, companies Ofo and Mobike have both achieved unicorn status for their respective bike-sharing startups. In the U.S., investors have poured in $62 million to LimeBike and $8 million into Spin as both startups aim to compete against Motivate, which also operates CitiBikes in New York City.
For more on bike-sharing, be sure to check out the latest episode of CTRL+T, where I chat with Social Bicycles founder Ryan Rzepecki.
I am a biker and enthusiast but the standard of living in Nigeria makes this a pipe dream for an average citizen.... Don't my best to escape this though
