Environmental issues have sent everybody from dabblers to heavily funded corporations in search of more efficient bikes, and the results include oddball DIY projects, a slick electric dirtbike, an ambitious hydrogen and electric number, and even a teenager-built electric unicycle.
The next two-wheeled dream for the eco-conscious appears to be compressed air power. An MCN story cites two Taiwanese researchers, among others, who have built a compressed air motorcycle that produces zero emissions. Though energy is required to compress the air, the bike makes an honest attempt at cleaning up Taiwan's air pollution, 20% of which reportedly comes from motorcycles.
Is this a viable future technology? Maybe if and when the bikes' cruising range extends significantly beyond their current figure of less than a mile; until then, I'm not quite holding my breath for compressed air-powered bikes.
Photo © MCN
Probably get better mileage with a bath tub and a shower curtain for a sail. Face facts, once the pumps go dry, we’ll be back to riding horses, most of us…
“Energy can neither be created or destroyed” If all the millions of bikes, cars and other vehicles, were charged up in some fashion, the same power that is consumed per day would have to come from electicity. Can you imagine the size of the grid we’d have to make to fulfill that requirement on top of our already heavy loads. We’d have to build nuclear reactors, coal and oil burning power stations up the hoop. Lifestyle change and mass transportation is the proper way. If we use our personal transportation, we must consolidate errands and cut down on capricious driving and riding. Amen
Laziness is the enemy here. Far more people could & should be bicycling for short distances. The benefits are two-fold: a healthier body & a healthier environment.