Esta é talvez a bicicleta eléctrica mais rápida do planeta, com mais tecnologia, e também a mais leve entre as da mesma categoria. Esta maravilha tecnológica tem nada menos que 70 baterias de iões lítio, com uma potência total de 1300 watts, que são capazes de produzir energia suficiente para se percorrer de 15 a 30km apenas com potência eléctrica.
Esta bicicleta pode atingir facilmente velocidades acima de 70km/h, dependendo do modelo escolhido. A tecnologia utilizada nesta, vai desde os conectores de carga eléctrica tipo Mac, até conectores eléctricos circulares similares aos usados em veículos da formula 1. Tem micro computador de bordo que informa a quantidade de energia disponível nas células, carga eléctrica usada por quilometro, e velocidade actual.
A segurança também não foi posta de parte. Este veículo também está munido de travões de disco de excelente qualidade, estabilizador no guiador, e um limitador de velocidade que impede grandes acelerações acidentais, que possam por em causa a estabilidade do veículo.
O quadro parece o ponto fraco de todo este sistema, mas a verdade é que por 350€, este pode ser totalmente modificado, conforme o pedido do cliente.

O preço desta máquina de fitness, chega aos 5877€, um preço que impede muito boa gente de adquirir esta feia maravilha tecnológica.

fonte Engadget
Site Oficial da Grace.de

02. – 05. September 2009 Friedrichshafen

Alles rund ums Rad!  Unter diesem Motto besuchten wir die EUROBIKE in Friedrichshafen. Unser Moderator Florian Wagner zeigt die aktuellsten Bike-Neuheiten und führte Interviews mit Herstellern und Radsportprofis wie Eddy Merckx und Jens Voigt.

Klicken Sie auf das unten stehende Bild um direkt auf unseren YOTTA Player zu gelangen.

Wir sehen uns auf der EUROBIKE 2010

01. – 04. September 2010 in Friedrichshafen

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Posted by TheLCster

Keith and Mary Felch have cut their driving in half by using e-bikes.

CNN —Keith Felch is admittedly a big guy, but more than a few super-fit cyclists in Southern California have been left wondering how that dude just went flying by. And then his wife, Mary, comes motoring past.

“They stare, like how can a girl go past me,” she says, laughing. It takes the other riders a few seconds but then they figure it out.

They have electric motors.

The Felches, who live in Aliso Viejo, California, used to drive everywhere, except when they used their bikes for recreation.

That changed when they got their new e-bikes, made by a company called Optibike. Now, they ride to go shopping and to go to breakfast — but mostly they ride to work.

Keith Felch says the couple has cut 50 percent of their car-use since they started electric biking.

And there are other benefits. Keith Felch dropped 30 pounds and his blood pressure fell 10 points in the first six months he owned the bike, he says.

The Felches don’t exactly classify themselves as “environmentalists,” although Mary said it is important to have a positive effect on the planet.

“I learned that the worst amount of smog that you put out [in an automobile] is in the first mile, so if we can make even some of those shorter trips on our bicycles, it makes a big difference,” she says.

What’s an ‘e-bike’?

E-bikes run on 1 horsepower motors, or good old-fashioned pedal-power.

By law, electric bikes must have no more than 1 horsepower and go no faster than 20 mph (on motor power alone).

Basically they are much like traditional bicycles with small motors that power the bike or assist a rider with pedaling. Many have gears like a regular bike.

“It’s just adding the throttle aspect, other than that it handles like a regular bicycle,” Keith Felch said. He says he uses the throttle all the time, choosing one of two modes — eco [half power] or fast [full power].

He says he once tried a regular bike for his 4 ½-mile ride to one of his music studios where he teaches jazz improvisation.

But the hills nearly got him. He calls his electric bike a “hill eraser.”

It also makes the ride to his farthest studio — 22 miles away — seem much closer. He says he gets about 35 miles on his primary battery and has an additional one for long rides.

More @

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More Going Green from GeoT

This story has personal significance to me

Watsonville solar project to power thousands of homes

WATSONVILLE — A plan to install solar panels at the city dump to provide enough power for 4,700 homes (10% of the city population) is moving forward with the blessing of the City Council.

Solar Panels in Watsonville, CA

Construction of more than 6,500 panels could start at the end of March and be generating 2.3 megawatts of power before the end of 2010, according to Steve Schumer of San Jose-based Cupertino Electric Inc.

The city would lease the land to Cupertino Electric at a price yet to be negotiated. The council, which approved the project Tuesday in a 6-0 vote with Councilman Greg Caput absent, must still approve the lease agreement.

Schumer said a third party, whose name he declined to disclose, has signed a letter of intent to buy the electricity if the price is right.

“We’re close,” Schumer said.

The city also is working with Cupertino Electric to install solar panels at the Watsonville Municipal Airport to produce another megawatt of power. Don French, general manager of the airport, said the deal will go before the City Council after engineering studies are completed. He supports the project.

“I like the idea of solar panels, and if the airport can make a few bucks, I’m all for it,” French said.

A third project in the works would put solar panels on rooftops of city buildings.

Full Story Here:

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An E-bike we built in 2 weeks.
Top speed is 60 MPH.
The acceleration is unmatched.
I am often challenged by cars for a race and never been beat.
15 horsepower max Briggs and Stratton motor running at 48V.
In this video we compare it to a performance moped.
We can not use it to its full potential, for risks of another broken chain.
We have been through 5 chains, and 2 derailleurs. …

Shopping store: buy cheap NECA & discount

Fastest E-Bike on the planet

by ragonamuffin (Category: Autos & Vehicles)

Via ehrensenf gefunden elektrisches Faltrad aus Neuseeland – toll.
Hier ein Video von der pre launch party.

Dieses Jahr zum Testen, haben wir 2 “swiss Flyer” – 2 elektro Räder zum verleihen, bereitgestellt.

Diese neue Generation von e-bikes ist einfach fantastisch. Man hört den Motor nicht. Der Akku gibt immer 100% Kraft zu dem was Sie treten. Es funktioniert also nur wenn sie mit helfen – der Sport kommt nicht zu kurz (es ist also anregend und Herz und Kreislauf schonend, ideal um wieder in Schwung zu kommen).

Der Akku hält bis zu 5 Stunden und macht es so möglich dass Sie in entlegene Täler (Rormoostal mit Pisenalpe, Oytal mit Käseralp, Birgsau mit Einödsbach, Rappenalptal mit Buchraineralpe, Trettachtal mit Gerstruben,…) zu kommen. Jeder kann sich so eine Tour zutrauen!

Mehr zu den e.bikes: Movelo

Movelo - e-bike

Partnerbetriebe bei denen Sie die Räder bekommen:

Gästehaus zur Färbe

Gästehaus Geiger

Landhaus Bergtold

Landhaus Dobler

Gästehaus Sinz

The 2 Talybont Energy electric bikes have now done 1700 miles between them and roughly 800 of these have replaced miles which would have otherwise been driven by car. Around 90 people have now been on the bikes (at the various demo events) and 28 people have booked them out for the day and completed the research surveys.

The bikes were hosted by BBNP during National Bike week in June and were demo’d to some local businesses. Unfortunately, none of the businesses followed up this contact. Perhaps this is fortunate, as we now have no free weeks left for the bikes until October.

The trial has now changed flavour with other Green Valleys’ communities volunteering to host them. Following a demo at Llangynidr market, the bikes were hosted there for two weeks. This week Pip Woolf is using them for an art project in Llangynidr which involves visiting different homes in the area. They are then going to Cymdu (1 wk), Llanfihangel Crucorney (1 wk). Abergavenny (2 wks), Llangattock (2 wks), Hay (2 wks) and Monmouth (2 wks). We eventually get them back in Talybont on October 3rd! At Hay and Monmouth, they are being used at special Green Transport events in the town.

Peter and Alison, who have been running the trial, are so resenting having to return to using their car for frequent runs into Talybont and Brecon, that they have decided to purchase their own electric bikes. The enjoyment of hills without sweat along with the considerable carbon savings on short journeys have convinced them at least.

With the great advances in the design of motorized cycles, the desire has gone right up. Powered cycles are no longer simply cycles with an electrical motor stuck to the front wheel, but are directly made and designed from the bottom up. As battery development has advanced, an electric cycle can now travel 20 miles before needing a recharge and can attain speeds as high as 40mph. Certain models go much faster, but the compensation has to be the range available. Before purchasing an powered cycle, you really need to decide why you need one and what kind of journeys you are going to make with it. This preparation will automatically remove a lot of options so you will find the choice reduced to a few models of powered cycle. The electric Cycle Blog provides a huge resource about electric cycles.

L’Alpe d’Huez auf Französisch

Da  staunt der Autor des Artikels nicht schlecht, als ihn in Kehre 7 des Anstiegs nach l’Alpe d’Huez ein ca. 50 jähriger Mountainbiker mit geschätzten 30km/h überholt. Was war denn das? Schon einige Kehren zuvor, konnte man in ziemlicher Läutstärke französischen Elektropop vernehmen. Wird bestimmt irgendeine Veranstaltung in l’Alpe d’Huez sein, war der erste Gedanke. Von wegen, das ist das Begleifahrzeug der führenden e-Biker. Die veranstalten heute ein Bergzeitfahren nach l’Alpe d’Huez – La montée electrique.

Von nun an kommen immer mehr den Berg herauf und überholen mich. Die Geschwindigkeit ist atemberaubend. Der Sieger ist nach 31 min in l’Alpe d’Huez. Das sind ganze 6min weniger als der Rekord von Pantani. Die e-Biker haben zwar nicht gedopt,  verwenden aber auch Hilfsmittel, die im konventionellen Radsport nicht erlaubt sind. Da ist es für mich nur eine große Genugtuung, dass ich kurz vor dem Ziel einen e-Biker überhole. Der schiebt sein e-Bike gerade mit hochrotem Kopf den Berg hinauf und muss immer wieder stehen bleiben und nach Luft japsen. Die Akkus (seiner und der seines Bikes) sind leer. Er wird sogar noch von einem Jogger überholt, der die 21 Kehren nach l’Alpe d’Huez ebenfalls in einer beachtlichen Zeit schafft (in Frankreich scheint es eine Menge komischer Hobbies zu geben). Da hat der Kollege mit dem Solardach schon ein wenig weiter gedacht. Ihm geht so schnell nicht der Saft aus. Und die gnadenlose Sonne, wir haben heute 32°C, kann ihm auch nichts anhaben.

Ich jedenfalls habe beschlossen, weiter selber zu strampeln. Ein hoch auf mein Rennrad !!! Und mit einer Zeit von 1h11 für den Anstieg nach l’Alpe d’Huez bin ich ganz zufrieden.

Midday solar stir fry, seedlings, experimental worm bin in the greenhouse – like being in Nevada (Photo: Sunny Lam)

Sunny gives a quick overview of the greenhouse, the farm field, the visitor and how you can offer some warm spirited assistance to the movement at this stage of the game.

Read the rest of the post at FoodCycles.org.

If you are looking for an easy, inexpensive, eco-friendly way to get around (especially if you live in a downtown core) I just heard about a product called an e-bike on the radio yesterday.

The e-bike looks like a scooter and acts like a scooter except it has a rechargeable electric motor in it, rather than a gas engine and also has options to put pedals in it if you want to kick it old school and move your legs for a little… what do you call it?… oh yeah, Exercise!  Also using the pedals will recharge your battery so you can slack off later.  Not only is it better for the environment than a regular scooter would be but get this, in Canada and the US you don’t have to register it, have a license to drive it, or purchase insurance for it… which makes it probably the cheapest vehicle you will ever be able to own.  You just plug it in to any electrical outlet and recharge at night.  And with more and more downtown condos like Concord Pacific’s Cosmo coming with recharge stations it will be even more convenient for the downtown e-biker, or electric car owner.

Phantom 3000 - E-Bike Town

The other great thing about it is you wont have to pay big bucks for parking anymore, because of its size and status as a “bicycle” you can pull it up onto the curb and park it in a regular bike rack (you are probably going to want to lock this one up though).  So for you downtowner’s this is a great option for a quick commute to work, or up to the store to get some groceries (they do come with containers to carry stuff in), they also come in handy if you are in a Len music video… oh did I mention they do 50km/hour on a full charge? Hold onto your hat!

Now there are a couple of drawbacks.  First off the battery will only last for about 3 years (a replacement batter will run you around $300, but weigh that against not paying for gas or insurance and it’s still a no brainer).  They also don’t do to well in a torrential downpour because of all the exposed electronic components… however you wouldn’t really want to be out on the road on a bike in the rain anyways.  You also do need to wear a helmet as it is the law (at least in Canada) and you have to be over 16 to drive one, but like I said earlier you do not require a license.

So if you are looking for an alternative option for your daily commute an e-bike may be the smart way to go and they will run you anywhere from $1,100 – $2,500!

Ol Skool - E-Bike Town

If you are in the Vancouver area you can purchase them through E-Bike Town or from E-Ride.  If you check out their websites you can see some of the different models available…  some resemble motorcycles some look like old school European bikes… and if you visit their showrooms (or hunt around online for any other e-bike retailer) you’ll find that the styles and colours are endless.

Cheers!

jordenf

Local trial bookings have slowed down a bit. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve had 3 new triallists plus two repeats (serious potential buyers). So, we have now had 22 triallists in total who have (between them) done 391 miles – 234 of these have been car replacement miles. It is enjoyable greeting the returning cyclists who are usually smiling from ear to ear and reluctant to return the bikes. The main complaint we get is about the heaviness of the bikes when getting on and off etc. We continue to get positive quotes on the post-trial survey (“you don’t groan at the hills on the way home from work”, “great way to exercise and promote green travel”). Most of the triallists are people who have bikes and regret they don’t use them more. Some of them are considering ways to get rid of a 2nd car. Some live up a steep hill only a couple of miles from shops or work and are frustrated that they get the car out for such a short run.

The B&R article (see attached) generated a number of phone calls – all of which came from way outside Brecon! We passed them on to OnBike in Presteigne. The B&R have asked to follow it up with an article (which they will write) in their free newspaper. They plan to come and take photos etc this week.

We demo’d the bikes at Crickhowell market on Saturday (inbetween torrential downpours). The turn out was disappointing (given posters and flyers in Cric etc) and the handful of people who came and chatted all seemed to live elsewhere (London, Basingstoke, Bristol, Exeter…) – we got the impression that Crickhowell is wealthy 2nd home country! People were intrigued and impressed though that a community hydro scheme would mount such a trial! Anyway, we did encounter two local women who were delightfully enthusiastic and both cycled both bikes round the block and loved the ease with which they made the hill up from the bridge. They have signed up for the Llangattock phase of the trial as did a guy who lives on a canal boat at Llangattock.

The bikes will be hosted in Llangattock for the first two weeks in June.

After that, the bikes will be at BBNP (c/o Ceri and Helen) for National Bike Week (15-19th June) and they are hoping to promote the trial to Brecon businesses during that week.

The bikes will be hosted then in Llangynidr for 3 weeks including a demo/promotional session at the Llangynidr Farmers Market on Sunday 28th June. We currently have no bookings from mid July but Abergavenny GV-ers think they have found a host for them for 2 weeks around then.

We shall see whether anything comes out of the Brecon business contacts in Bike Week before taking that agenda forward.

Meanwhile, the technophile in this household has calculated that our ToUE turbine could generate 16 million miles of e-biking in a year but, alas, only 250,000 electric car miles…. still a nice sound byte for when ToUE make it onto the Radio 4 Today programme. Peter is working on a tag line “Go to work on a waterfall”….

• Automobiles – Elektrobikes

JAJA ist nich ganz die passende Kategorie aber mit etwas gutem Willen kann man auch Motoräder unter “auto” und “mobil” summieren. Die Elektrisierung des Individualverkehrs lässt sich auch wohl im Feld der Zweiräder nicht mehr so ganz lange aufhalten. Die Reihe ernstzunehmender Prototypen oder Kleinserien wird auch da immer länger.

Dieses sportliche Modell ist auch vom designerischen Standpunkt sehr interessant. Mit den Reiskochern und Yoghurtbechern aus ostasiatischer Produktion hat dieser Elektrorenner Gott sei Dank wenig zu tun. Einzig der Bürzel am Ende der Sitzbank stört mich etwas, aber Geschmäcker sin nu ma verschieden. Wenn alles klappt soll es mal das schnellste E-Motorad der Welt werden.

LINK1 , Hersteller , Designer (Eintrag vom 4.2. ka wie man da ordentlich verlinkt)

Aus der  gleichen Quelle wie Link numero uno, hier ein etwas konservativ gestalteteres Enduromodell mit E-Motor

LINK

• Automobiles – Lamborestyling

Dieses Modell ist nur vom Gestalterischen Standpunkt interessant, da bisher nur eine rein virtuelle Fingerübung. Die Form gefällt dafür um so mehr. Der Designer hat versucht dem aktuellen, sehr geometrischen Lamborghini-Desing einen deutlich organischeren Touch zu geben. Hat in meinen  Augen gut geklappt, das Fahrzeig ist immer noch klar als Lambo zu erkennen.

Warum sich der Schreiberling bei Yanko aber so über die Farbgebung echaufiert ist mir ein Rätsel. 1. Die Farbe sieht doch garnet mal so schlecht aus und 2. Gerade solche organischen und leicht spacigen Formen erlauben es dem Designer doch mal auch solche eher ungewöhnlichen Farben zu verwenden. Auf nem 190D aus den 80ern hätte sowas natürlich nicht gepasst.

LINK

A few weeks ago, I met up with some friends at a dive bar up the street from my place. It was a typical evening of talking smack, drinking $5 Pabst/Old Crow combos, and catching up. Come last call, I settled up my tab and stumbled home only to find my car had been sideswiped as it stood parked outside my building. I’d been drinking so I thought, perhaps, I was imagining things. The next morning, much to my chagrin, what I thought may have been a dream, my automobile had indeed been hit. No note left. Damn. It’s almost enough to make me not want a car at all.

Speedy Go Karts and Osiris Electric Bicycles offer a practical alternative to public transportation by providing unbelievably reliable hybrid powered bicycles. The purpose of a hybrid bicycle, or EBike, is to have the convenience of a car without the frustration of parking, traffic, and the costs of insurance, fuel and maintenance.
With gas prices rising higher every day, it will pay for itself in no time at all. Ride it to work, run errands or just to have fun on the bike trail. Everyone benefits when you ride a bike. You are not polluting while you are commuting on these electric powered bicycles.

Speedy Go Karts and Bicycles offers affordable mini go-karts, off-road go karts, electric bicycles, electric scooters, gas scooters, pocket bikes, and more. Layaway Available. For more information, call 888-348-2588 or visit http://www.SpeedyGoKartShop.com.

Speedy Go Karts and Bicycles build Electric Bicycles under the brand name, Osiris Electric Bicycles. They offer a complete line of electric bicycles ranging from entry-level models to high-end, high-performance units. Their unique mix of products and price points allows them to reach the broadest base of customers through various distribution channels.

Pittsburgh, PA (1888PressRelease) May 06, 2009 – Speedy Go Karts and Osiris Electric Bicycles offer a practical alternative to public transportation by providing unbelievably reliable hybrid powered bicycles. The purpose of a hybrid bicycle, or E Bike, is to have the convenience of a car without the frustration of parking, traffic, and the costs of insurance, fuel and maintenance. With gas prices rising higher every day, it will pay for itself in no time at all. Electric bicycles can be used to ride to work, run errands or just to have fun on the bike trail.

The company was established by previously successful entrepreneurs looking for the next best product that will reach critical mass worldwide. The electric bicycle business was chosen because of the opportunity to offer a line of innovative and high quality products that offer cost effective, emissions free alternatives to other forms of transportation for Commuting, Sporting and Recreation. The goal is to bring the best product with the best service to customers.

There are many electric bicycle manufacturers who offer inferior products and Speedy Go Karts and Bicycles knew the time was perfect for a high quality product to be created and entered into the market and this is why Osiris Electric Bicycles is now available. All Osiris Electric Bicycles are made in the USA.

Speedy Go Karts & Bicycles offers portable transportation products including go karts, electric bicycles, electric and gas scooters and ATV’s.

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We’ve now had 17 triallists (9 men and 8 women) who (between them) have done 290 miles about 50% of which (150 miles) was replacing car journeys. If you add in our own use then car replacement miles are now topping 300.

Uses of the bikes by triallists include: 8 work commutes, 8 leisure trips, 5 shopping trips and 2 meetings. Nearly everyone says they “loved it” and 7 people have reported that they would seriously consider buying one based on their experience. One Talybont couple is borrowing them for a 2nd commute to Brecon next week as they are considering buying one and getting rid of their 2nd car. So far, the people who have expressed the strongest interest in actually buying tend to be those who have a 4-5 mile work commute – often involving an offputting hill.

The attached photo shows the most challenging ‘commute’ the bikes have tackled yet (leaving aside Mike’s epic trip)! And the Monark did fine. This guy, Rob, works in a barn up a remote 1:5 hill about 5 miles North of Abergavenny – ordinary cycling is grueling work but he really liked the fact that the electric bike made his trips up and down the hill doable. He felt less comfortable with the bike’s downhill performance (a bit unstable). A number of people have also complained about the weight of the bikes when getting on and off them or holding them whilst opening a gate.

We’ve had our first technical hitch – a chain which came off and proved tricky to replace on the Monark given that the manual doesn’t have any relevant diagrams! Still, the intrepid triallist managed with some email help from Peter.

Here are a couple post-trial reactions:-

“I thought they were a fab bike to use considering the hills in Wales. it felt like you could ride the bike for hours and not feel completely knackered”

“Fantastic fun. Very enjoyable and a real possibility to replace second car with an electric bike. I am totally sold on the idea and want one of my own.”

“Very positive – a 12-mile bike ride without breaking into a sweat is ideal for commuting purposes”

“Ideal for my current commute (4 miles) and also for leisure use for those less keen or able to tackle the hills in this area”

“I think the e bike would be very good for local trips (up to 10 miles) and I would most definitely think about swapping some of my car journeys to work and back”

People have different reactions to the 2 bikes – the Ezee (with throttle) is probably the slight favourite – particularly with women.

“I really enjoyed using the bikes and found the eZee best but quite hard to keep the throttle held all the time. The Monark didn’t seem to have quite as much kick as the other one but the controls were easier.”

“Very good fun. I think I prefer the model with a throttle. Going up hills was a dream. Without it I would have had to have done a fair bit of pushing”.

We have 6 more local individuals booked in over the next week or so. On Saturday 16th May, we will be demoing the bikes at Crickhowell market and the bikes will be hosted in Llangattock/Crickhowell for the first 2 weeks in June following that promotion. For National Bike Week (15-19th June), Ceri and Helen will have the bikes at BBNP and have all sorts of publicity and events planned which is fantastic. They are also going to visit a selection of Brecon businesses to demo the bikes and (hopefully) generate some interest in taking part. The bikes might visit Hay festival on May 28th (any news on that, Gren?). We plan to demo the bikes at Llangynidr market on Sunday 28th June and we have a volunteer to host them in Llangynidr for the first 2 weeks in July.

On Tuesday, one of our triallists cycled the bike to Llanfihangel Crucorney so it could be demo’d at a public meeting there. Peter and I were asked if we would demo the bikes to different Abergavenny environmental groups in Waitrose car park last night. We did that – 10 people showed up and had rides but, unfortunately, none of the Abergavenny based folks were able or interested to host the bikes there – they just wanted to try them for themselves! Anyway, they enjoyed themselves and may change their minds about hosting them for others to try. Two enthusiastic women from FoE Monmouth came along and they would like to host the bikes over their Green Transport weekend in September.

We and the bikes were interviewed by an OnBike related journalist last week and Rob Yorke (who trialled a bike this week) is hoping to get an article about his experiences in the B&R leading up to the National Bike week.

Talybont Energy and the SDF are getting good press from the trial. Here’s a quote from a recent email “Your mission to encourage their use is inspirational. Congratulations on this and the Talybont project.”

Alison & Peter

Talybont-on-Usk Energy is continuing to spread the word.
Last month saw us talking to the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors, Mid Wales branch. This included a tour of the turbine house and a presentation about the history of the Talybont-on-Usk hydro project.
March also saw the start of the 2009 Borderlines film festival, the biggest film festival in the Midlands. Talybont-on-Usk Energy took part in the festival’s climate change day. The day included a showing of the new film “The Age of Stupid” (www.ageofstupid.net) – I cannot recommend this film enough! The day also included a presentation by Talybont-on-Usk Energy highlighting that it is possible for communities to make a difference.

April started with Talybont-on-Usk Energy talking to a school group that was taking part in the Brecon Beacons National Park education programmes that looks at the sustainability of Talybont-on-Usk and the generation of hydro energy.

This week Talybont-on-Usk Energy was interviewed by Iolo ap Dafydd (Environment Correspondent for BBC Wales) for a feature for the BBC Radio Wales programme: Country Focus. We don’t know yet when the interview will be broadcast so look out for it. The interview will be forming part of a wider feature looking at The Green Valley project (www.thegreenvalleys.org) which is the only Welsh finalist in The Big Green Challenge (www.biggreenchallenge.org.uk) – the project has the opportunity to win £1 million. This money would be used to improve the sustainability of communities within the Brecon Beacons National Park with a particular focus on community owned hydro projects.

So one way or another people are hearing about us and, hopefully, being inspired.

By the way it is not too late to take part in our electric bike trial. We are pretty booked up for the next few weeks but the bikes have more availability later into May and the summer months. For more information see previous blogs below.

Sunday saw the launch of the Talybont-on-Usk Energy Electric Bike Trial.

Over 50 people attended on Sunday and enjoyed a sunny day of trying out a wide range of electric bikes. People trying out bikes included our Roger Williams MP and our local County Councill Liam Fitzpatrick.

Our supplier of electric bikes OnBike (www.onbike.co.uk) brought a wide range of bikes down from Presteigne but even so there were times when people were having to wait for bikes to be returned so that they could have a go.

Fortunately there were plenty of cakes, scones and flapjacks (provided by ToUE Directors) as well as cups of tea and coffee to build up peoples energy reserves whilst waiting for bikes.

All donations for the refreshments were donated to Ty Hafan (www.tyhafen.org) – a chaildres hospice. Over £50 was raised so thank you to everyone who donated.

On the day 20 people signed up to take part in the trial.

If you were not able to make the launch it is not too late to take part in the trial. The trial is open to residents and employees in the Brecon Beacons area from April to October 2009.

The aim of the trial is to enable people to try commuting, shopping, etc by electric bike to see if it works for them. Both individuals and local businesses can take part – individuals (or couples!) can borrow our bikes for a day or two and local businesses can borrow our bikes for up to a week so that their employees can try commuting on them.

Taking part in the trial is free but we do ask for a nominal £5 to cover insurance. We also ask you to fill in two short surveys – one before you use the bike and one after.

You can also take part by volunteering to host the bikes in your community and help promote the trial.

To book your bike, or for more information, contact Alison and Peter on 01874 665401 or e-mail them at alison@prospectory.co.uk

After weeks (months?) of preparation the day has finally arrived to launch Talybont-on-Usk Energy’s Electric Bike Trial. It is a beautiful sunny day so we are hopeful that lots of people turn up. People will have the opportunity to try a wide range of 2-bikes as well as the two that Talybont Energy have purchased that will be trialled over this summer.
If you cannot make the launch but want to take part in the trial do get in touch by contacting Alison or Peter in 01874 665401 or e-mail them at alison@prospectory.co.uk.