Getting around on a bicycle is already a green and healthy pursuit, but how do you make it greener? You can’t actually, but you can add more oomph to a bicycle with the help of an electric engine so that you can tackle those killer uphill slopes without breaking too much of a sweat. Terry Hope, a Canadian inventor has come up with the Solar Cross electric bicycle, receiving its juice from the sun (obviously) as well as the rider’s hard work.
Using a stock 18-speed Specialized FSR mountain bike, Hope mounted a couple of solar panels over the front wheel, while a 24-volt 1-horsepower motor, a 5000 mah (milli Ampere hour) lithium-ion polymer (LIPO) main battery, two 5000 mah LIPO booster packs wired in series, and a 24-volt controller are also packed into its body.
Hope actually churned out those solar panels himself, using eighth-inch polycarbonate sheeting, aluminum, and 18 x 6 x 6-inch (457 x 152 x 152-mm) mono crystalline cells. Thousands of holes have been drilled through the aluminum parts so that the weight can be kept down, and the cells are able to provide around 8.7 volts of electricity in total, which does its part in helping you overcome those super steep slopes. Folks living in San Francisco would know what we’re talking about, yeah?
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