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111 comments on DrumBeat: October 25, 2008

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totoneila on October 25, 2008 - 10:37am Permalink | Subthread | Comments top

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10442223/1/pedal-powered-delivery-methods...
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Pedal-Powered Delivery Methods Save Big Bucks

..Equipped with flatbeds, baskets or cargo lockers, the new generation of delivery bikes can haul just about anything. At New Amsterdam Project, a "human-powered delivery service" in Boston, trikes outfitted with bright red cargo bins can deliver up to 800 pounds of goods in all kinds of weather.

That kind of flexibility, along with rising gas prices, has helped push the 1-year-old company to $100,000 in sales, according to general manager Wenzday Jane.
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Consider that a horse cannot carry 800 lbs on it back. I think many people underestimate the leverage generated by selectable gearsets on modern multispeed bikes. Then add a small batt/motor for assist on the steeper grades.

SpiderWebRiding 800 lbs of I-NPK many miles out to the countryside or permaculture area might result in 8 tons of food that can be later harvested and pedaled back to the city or a nearby RR & TOD depot.

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OMGlikeWTF on October 25, 2008 - 11:09am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hi Bob, have you seen this?
http://www.shweeb.com/

I'd be tempted to put a couple of square metres of PV above the capsule to provide a couple of hundred Watts of motive power.

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totoneila on October 25, 2008 - 7:17pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hello OMGlikeWTF,

Thxs for responding--seen it before. Looks like great fun, but too expensive per installed mile compared to how I envision postPeak SpiderWebRiding being mostly used to move essential cargoes over a dual-purpose pipeline and narrow gauge rail network.

We can postPeak move large loads very comfortably and smoothly for many rail miles [30 miles max for a 500 lb load?] on gear-selectable railbikes at moderate speed [5-15mph], or we can be like the poor Zimbabwean worker transporting a 10 foot long, 100+ lb load of firewood on our head for a very short max distance [5 miles?] at a very slow and exhausting pace [1-3 mph, with lots of resting stops]. See earlier link for photo.

If you were a farmer who needed to get 200 fresh eggs to market, wouldn't you prefer a very smooth railbike ride into town? Or would you rather take the chance on some worker's head-balancing skills over potholed roads and through slippery sewage overflows?

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enemy of state on October 25, 2008 - 9:26pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

How much more efficient is a railbike versus a standard tirebike on pavement? For single person, no cargo most of the energy is consumed fighting air resistance. Of course as speeds lower, and loads increase, I would expect that the proportion of dissapative losses due to rolling resistance will increase. At what point do the rails become important?

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totoneila on October 26, 2008 - 4:26am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Hello Enemy of state,

Thxs for responding. I am not an engineer, so I don't know the specifics of frictional loadings and rolling resistance.

But if everyone needs tires postPeak--IMO, the price will go to Unobtainium. Even bicycle and wheelbarrow tubes & tires will be prized possessions. But by going to steel-wheel on steel-rail as much as possible: you could have one set of wheels that last a lifetime if the bearings are regularly replaced before the bearing race gets damaged. Compare with 100 or more tires for the same mileage.

Also, if the asphalt roads can't be maintained--riding a bicycle will be a pounding experience. A smooth railtrack should be preferred, and will be much less costly to install and maintain for all seasons [mud, snow, ice, flooding].

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111 comments on DrumBeat: October 25, 2008

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