2010 Native S Review

[mscuddy]

Originally Posted by seruzawa

A small diesel engine with, say 10hp, will only give you about 10hp of continuous performance. The battery will give short spurts of increased performance but your average power available will be only what the donkey engine provides minus line losses. That's one of the problems with hybrids. Great for commuting but not so good for performance.

I thought this whole electric bike deal was about saving the environment, green technology and alternative fuel economy?

You want performance, forget electric. Go with steam! Yeah, steam power baby...whooo whooo....

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by mscuddy

I thought this whole electric bike deal was about saving the environment, green technology and alternative fuel economy?

You want performance, forget electric. Go with steam! Yeah, steam power baby...whooo whooo....

BTW. Those small deep cycle batteries you see at auto supply places aren't really deep cycle. They are marine batteries and are hybrids with both deep cycle and starting features. Real deep cycle batteries are more expensive. I just bought a big 12V real deep cycle battery for my cabin, Weighs about 120lbs and costs $175.

[Kenneth_Moore]

I had deep cycle batteries on my sailboat. It didn't have a generator, but the diesel had a high-output charging system that could charge the two "house" batteries in a couple of hours run time. Those batteries could run the stereo, tv, cabin lights and fans, and small electronics for days without recharge. I never really missed not having a noisy, smelly generator; the only "luxury" missing under way or at anchor was A/C, which I only really needed at dock where there was 110vac anyway.

[seruzawa]

Here's a nice discussion on batteries and their uses.

Deep Cycle Battery FAQ