quadracycle

Next-generation, ultra-light electric vehicle - ULV : DigInfo

2010-06-26T06:34:00.000-07:00

Directly into the Wind

2010-02-04T20:36:00.001-08:00

A wind turbine powered vehicle builds speed going upwind

The Greenbird

2009-06-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

The Greenbird - the fastest wind powered vehicle on Earth!: "The Ecotricity Greenbird smashes world speed record.

On the morning of March 26th, 2009 on the 'dry' Lake Ivanpah, The Greenbird - driven by British engineer Richard Jenkins - smashed the world land speed record for wind powered vehicles.

The Greenbird clocked 126.1 mph (202.9 km/h) , eclipsing the old, American held, record of 116 mph, set by Bob Schumacher in the Iron Duck in March 1999 at the same location."

Russian ultra efficient magnet motor (Dutch Tee Vee)

2009-05-04T20:22:00.001-07:00

Russian electronic ultra efficient magnet motor; a solution for the energy-wasting internal combustion engine. 10 times as efficient as a fossil fuel engine and much more eff. than any other electr. motor. According to the designer returns energy back to the battery, even uphill; if pedalled 1 km, returns energy for another km.(For those who don't believe in free energy: where does the rest of the power come from?). Works on alternating current triggered from a battery. Tested on bicycles at speeds up to 140 kmh=90 mph.

The company is called ultramotors, the inventor Vasily Skondin and Ian Woodcock is the company Chairman.

Greenbird Smashes the Sail Land Speed Record - 126 mph

2009-04-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

Greenbird Smashes the Sail Land Speed Record - 126 mph under sail !!! : Old Salt Blog - a virtual port of call for all those who love the sea: "On the morning of March 26th, on the ‘dry’ Lake Ivanpah, The Ecotricity Greenbird driven by British engineer, Richard Jenkins smashed the world land speed record for wind powered vehicles. The Greenbird clocked 126.1 mph (202.9 km/h) , eclipsing the old, American held, record of 116 mph , set by Bob Schumacher in the Iron Duck in March 1999 at the same location."

Bicycle Design

2009-04-15T00:07:00.000-07:00

Bicycle Design: "I am a product designer, but I do not work in the bicycle industry. I design home decor products, which is generally a fun job. That said, you might be wondering, why am I starting a blog about bike design? The simple answer is because I like bikes. I like to ride them, work on them, look at them, think about them, and occasionally sketch them when I need a mental design break. This is a place to share some of my ideas with others who love bicycles and to talk about current trends in the field of bicycle design."

ThisWay - Torkel Dohmers

2009-04-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

ThisWay - �Torkel Dohmers: "There are roofed bikes out there on the market already such as rickshaws, recumbents, HPVs (Human Powered Vehicles)/velomobiles etc., so covered bikes do exist since a long time but the challenge is to design a functional and desirable bicycle that even appeals to non-previous cyclists.

It makes sense for a commuter bike here in Central and Northern Europe to offer some degree of weather protection for improved comfort. Instead of creating a totally enclosed design similar to other HPVs/velomobiles risking the user to feel isolated, a more open design will allow a higher degree of interaction with the surroundings.

The bike should have 'attitude' with high visual impact giving the user a feel of 'owning the street'."

Windsource Finder Two

2009-04-10T17:09:00.001-07:00

Moves against it using natures force

Hyperbole

2009-04-10T17:08:00.001-07:00

RC boat rotor sailing up the wind.

Windmill Driven Boat

2009-04-10T17:04:00.001-07:00

This boat can sail in any direction, including directly into the wind. Has been patented. The project was shelved, but has now been revived as an ideal low emission answer to climate change concerns. Contact me for more information. www.sailwings.net

Richard Jenkins sail car

2009-03-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS Wind-powered car breaks record: "A British engineer from Hampshire has broken the world land speed record for a wind-powered vehicle. Richard Jenkins reached 126.1mph (202.9km/h) in his Greenbird car on the dry plains of Ivanpah Lake in Nevada. Mr Jenkins told the BBC that it had taken him 10 years of 'hard work' to break the record and that, on the day, 'things couldn't have been better'. American Bob Schumacher set the previous record of 116 mph in 1999, driving his Iron Duck vehicle. 'It's great, it's one of those things that you spend so long trying to do and when it actually happens, it's almost too easy,' Mr Jenkins told the BBC. The Greenbird is a carbon fibre composite vehicle that uses wind (and nothing else) for power. The only metalwork used is for the wing bearings and the wheel unit."

Flying Car Unveiled in London

2009-03-12T02:58:00.001-07:00

Brits set off on an extraordinary journey from London to Timbuktu in the world's first road legal bio-fuelled flying car.

Electric Bike Recumbent Trike

2009-03-07T15:44:00.001-08:00

Here's a Video of the wildnaturesolutions 80 mph Solar Electric Tandem Recumbent Trike. It can charge it on 48v solar array, or plug into 110v. goes 30 miles on power alone ( cruise at 30mph ) or about 40 miles if you pedal some..FUN They save 300 bucks a month on gas.
http://www.wildnaturesolutions.com
wildnaturesolutions@gmail.com

History of Autogiros

2009-02-05T04:53:00.001-08:00

The history of autogiros with Spanish inventor Juan De La Cierva.

Bricycles.com

2009-01-29T07:10:00.000-08:00

Bricycles.com: "'Americans are addicted to oil.' The popular solution to our present increased demand for oil is to drill for more wells, and when the cask is empty?

A greater investment in public transportation will help relieve much of the strain and inefficiency on our current transportation grid. Smaller and far more efficient automobiles will also help. The Bricycle can be one of many first steps toward a small, environmentally friendly commuting vehicle for use in cities and urban areas, but the Bricycle and similar types of transportation must prove to be reasonably safe and reliable before gaining acceptance."

Club of Pioneers - The Ventomobil

2009-01-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

Club of Pioneers - The Ventomobil Wins the Aeolus Race! - Aeolus Race Inventus Ventomobil - Blogs - Digging into environmental topics that matter.: "Date: August 26, 2008
The Ventomobil Wins the Aeolus Race!
It was tough, it was hard-fought but in the end WE DID IT! At the end of the racing days in Den Helder, our Ventomobil turned out to be the fastest wind racer at the Aeolus Race! In a competition of each against all, we reached 65% of the wind speed straight into the wind and came out on top. Our big advantage was the lightweight construction of the Ventomobil: Our baby weighs only 130 kg, the racer of the second placed team weighs almost 400 kg. And there is even more to it than that! We have also won the prizes for the best PR work and the best design!! We are really enthusiastic about that, you’ll hear more about the race later… we gotta party a little now! Here are some pictures as an appetizer!"

Wind energy events - photos

2009-01-18T16:13:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from the Wind Energy Events 2008.:

Very pretty designs. Adding a motor, some batteries, a bit of solar and most of all some pedals would turn them into dangerous racing monsters. :-)

Stuttgart University - Ventomobil

2009-01-18T15:53:00.000-08:00

YouTube - InVentus - Ventomobil: "Die erste Fahrt auf dem Deich mit dem Windfahrzeug der Universit�t Stuttgart"

InVentus - Mit Windenergie gegen den Wind: "Mit dem Wind gegen den Wind!" Studierende der Universität Stuttgart ent ein Fahr zeug, das Ventomobil welches nur durch Wind kraft ange trieben wird und direkt gegen den Wind fahren kann. Im August 2008 beim Aeolus Race ließ das Ventomobil die euro päische Konkur renz weit hinter sich und erhielt neben dem Preis für das schnellste Fahr zeug, Aus zeich nun gen für das innovativste Design und die beste Öffentlich keits arbeit.InVentus soll Studierenden die Möglichkeit bieten ein ange wandtes Projekt in ihr Stu dium einzu binden. Dies kann über frei willige Mitarbeit, studien beglei tende Leistun gen oder Studien- und Diplom arbeiten gesche hen. Auf dieser Homepage erhalten Sie nähere Informationen zur Tech und zu den Hinter gründen von InVentus."

YouTube - The Construction of the Ventomobil: "The first steps of the Construction of the Ventomobil, developed by the Team Inventus of the University in Stuttgart, Germany"

Energy research Centre of the Netherlands

2009-01-18T15:47:00.000-08:00

Energy research Centre of the Netherlands: News: "Though ECN was the first subscriber to the race, real design activities for the wind driven car only started by mid February 2008. So only a very short time rested for the realization. For this reasons the decision making in the project was dominated by rough instead of sophisticated analysis, simple modeling and conservatism and priority to short realization paths for design, production and assembly."

Wind energy events - The race

2009-01-18T15:44:00.000-08:00

The Race: "The Race will start in the former fishing village of Huisduinen (founded aroud the year 1500)and still part of Den Helder. The teams will gather in front of Fort Kijkduin, a fortress originally built by the French in the Napoleonic era and subsequently altered by the Dutch and by the Germans in the second world war. After a good job of renovating it now houses a sea aquarium and a museum showing it's history.

The race is conducted on the Den Helder seawall. During all three days the seawall won't be opened to the public or public traffic between 8 am and 5 pm, however all participating teams have to obey traffic signs.
All team manoeuvres on the track will be observed by an observation team during trial & testing, qualifying race and finals. The observation team consists of 1 or 2 arbitrators and a full inspection team.
At 6 pm, each night, we will make camp."

Første testkørsel af DTU’s vindmøllebil i modvind

2009-01-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

Video: Første testkørsel af DTU’s vindmøllebil i modvind: "Ingeniøren var med, da et hold fra DTU onsdag testede en bil, som skal køre alene på vindkraft. Bilen, som skal deltage i racet Racing Aeolus i Holland fra 20. til 23. august, kan i teorien nå op på 140 procent af vindhastigheden, men så godt gik det ikke under prøvekørslen."

Wind Powered Racing

2009-01-16T01:13:00.000-08:00

Wing Powered Racing: DTU All Set For The Windy Race! - Ecofriend: "Wind powered racing is getting to be a big thing and there are many young enthusiasts that are taking up the green concept of racing. The Technical University of Denmark - DTU - has a long tradition in education within sustainable energy in particular wind energy. The two departments; Department of Mechanical Engineering (MEK) and National laboratory for sustainable energy (Riso) have through the last three decades been involved in highly innovative project in the field of wind energy. Now they are all set to test their wind energy development in a race against the best.

Students from DTU are developing a wind turbine car for the “wind car” competition in Den Helder (The Netherlands). A total of nine teams around the world will be racing against each other on a track 5.3 kilometers long since August 20th to 23rd. The team will try to win the challenge."

tricart

2009-01-15T09:21:00.001-08:00

Designs like this have been around since early 1800. There use to be more electric cars than steam or combustion engines. Sibrandus Stratingh was born in 1785.

In 1934 the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) ruled that the recumbent was not a bicycle and could not be raced in UCI events or for UCI records.

But now we have internet so they cant hide the truth any longer. You just don't need 5 tons of steel to go places and doing so is not faster or cheaper.

RORMaxx Formula AE

2009-01-14T10:45:00.000-08:00

RORMaxx Formula AE looks good on paper - AutoblogGreen: "What do 18-year-old high school students dream of these days? Superslick eco-friendly sports cars, apparently. The RORMaxx Formula AE is the alternative energy vehicle created by two seniors at Harvard‐Westlake High School in California, Rory Handel and Maxx Bricklin, who wanted to create a wind-assisted car. The concept Formula AE uses (well, would use, if it were ever made) ultracapacitors, solar panels, and airflow recovery to reduce its impact on the environment. All that makes the Formula AE look great on paper: a 0-60 time of less than 4 seconds, a top speed of 155 mph and covered with some flexible photovoltaic panels. Oh, and this thing would have a range of more than 200 miles per 1.5 hour charge. While there are no plans produce the Formula AE for sale - that's pretty much a given at this stage - Handel and Bricklin say that the projected retail price would be somewhere between $80k and 150k (USD). The current plans call for the prototype Formula AE to be completed by August of this year"

Moonbeam, a Micro Car that gets over 100 miles per gallon

2008-12-19T17:12:00.001-08:00

good enough :)

100 miles per gallon Car

2008-12-19T17:11:00.001-08:00

another one...

Pterosail Trike Systems

2008-09-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

Pterosail Trike Systems: Home: "# Feel the Wind, Sail the Roads: Harness the power of Wind!
# Safe, Stable, Street Legal: Designed and rigorously tested for safety and stability.
# Environmental Transportation: 100% Green. Tired of gas prices? We are too.
# Easy to Learn: No sailing experience required!"

windbike

2008-09-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

Wind Powered Recumbent

2008-09-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Wind Powered Recumbent: "Wind Powered Recumbent"

ESA - Science on Stage

2008-09-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

ESA - Science on Stage - The Windcar Project: "Building and optimising the speed and efficiency of a vehicle which is driven solely by wind energy and drives straight against the wind is a fascinating thoeretical and experimental challenge for students."

3 wheeled Velomobile

2008-06-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

human powered lean-steer trike.
Rocket Velomobile - a human powered vehicle

It's interesting how low it is.

Waterauto

2008-05-17T19:46:00.001-07:00

The power of water as shown by Stanley Meyer, Dennis Klein, Graeme Jenkins, Steve Ryan, Bill Williams, Daniel Dingle, Yull Brown, Paul Pantone and John Kanzius

George Fortins electric car

2008-05-16T00:04:00.001-07:00

Amazing 48 volt electric car designed and hand built by George Fortin.
Top speed: 40 miles an hour,
range per charge: 15 miles,
excelleration: 0 to 30 in 5 seconds.

quadracycle video

2008-01-28T22:10:00.000-08:00

I've created a youtube play list with some interesting 4 wheelers.

http://wind-car.go-here.nl/video

YouTube - WIKE Wicycle Electric Car

2008-01-27T16:50:00.000-08:00

YouTube - WIKE Wicycle Electric Car: "A very small electric vehicle built by WIKE (makers of bicycle trailers). I am not sure if this is the 'Electric Sun' model as profiled on the 'Weird Wheels' TV program, but it certainly looks like it."

YouTube - Solar-Powered-Car

2008-01-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

YouTube - Solar-Powered-Car: "Solar electric vehicels by Cruise Car are here now! I can't beleive how fast this goes for a golf cart! Solar panel puts out 180 watts, 60 volts and 3 amps of charge! Amazing!"

First posting!

2008-01-25T10:45:00.000-08:00

A whole new blog :-)

The quadracycle is a 4 wheeled bicycle. In the old days bicycles looked exactly like cars. Luxury and speed would go into one and the same package. Later bicycles got reduced to their bare minimum number of parts. The intention of this blog is to reverse engineer the bicycle and to apply this same enhancement to the modern day car.

I don't know about you but paying for 2000 kg of ballast doesn't sound like it will ever be worthy of the label "efficient". The weight of a human is roughly 50-200 kg. And this is what we are transportating.

Can you imagine another vessel that is 20 times the weight of it's cargo? Would a bicycle like that go very fast you think?

Does safety apply to the passengers alone? Perhaps a 2000 kg blob of metal moving at 120 km/hr is extremely dangerous? Is there anything else in the urban jungle that is this dangerous?