A123 Is a Go

This is the type of battery I have been using in my hybrid electric bike since 2006. Each battery is good for 0.23 amp hours. I string forty together in a series/parallel configuration for a total of 4.6 amp hours.



Above is a picture of their new automotive class 20 amp hour battery.

I know first hand how well these batteries perform and it is nothing short of amazing. I'm still using the same ones and they still work like new (see here, and here).

A123 just launched their initial public offering and it was a huge success, raising $378 million. This is the real deal. Unlike corn ethanol refineries, which are just moonshine stills writ large, these batteries are a radical new technology and have been powering Dewalt's top-end power tools for about three years now. Back in 2006 investors thought they couldn't lose with the government guaranteeing a market for corn ethanol. According to Hybridcars.com:

Pacific Ethanol soared to $42 per share in May 2006 and now are worth about 57 cents. VeraSun, an ethanol maker thought to have huge potential a few years ago, is now bankrupt.

However, nothing is for sure. They may have a killer technology, but that does not mean somebody won't come along with an even better battery. One misstep like a giant battery recall due to a manufacturing flaw could end it all. There may be health concerns about the nano particles used, patent infringement claims, or even lithium shortages. It's a complicated world.

Our government seems to think they have potential, having just awarded them a $250 million DOE grant. But that same government still backs corn ethanol so maybe this is a bad sign.

I called this shot way back in 2006. As I always say, the secret is to call lots of shots, highlighting only the ones that pan out.

Corn Ethanol--Big Power and Big Savings!

Jo Borras posted what is essentially an infomercial in sheep's clothing over on gas2.0 biofuels, oil, a revolution, about a company that soups up cars to get more horsepower. It's just another pro-corn ethanol blog article but it's also an example of what is becoming more and more obvious. People can be amazingly impervious to evidence, not that Obama was actually born in the United States or that global warming is real. I parse out his post below.

We’ve covered the numerous benefits of ethanol-based fuels over and over on this blog,…

I'm hard pressed to find anything that does not have some kind of benefit. Corn ethanol is like deciding to never wear clothes. The negatives overwhelm the benefits (whatever they might be).

If you’ve spoken to this bunch [ignorant, shallow-minded, self-absorbed, NASCAR enthusiasts?], you already [know] that most talk of climate change and Peak Oil concerns fall on deaf ears. What matters is power, everything else is irrelevant.

The irony in the above statement is that corn ethanol is worse than gasoline in almost every respect so it's actually a good thing that these gear heads have been ignoring Jo.

Of course, it’s easier to simply ignore this group, but the (sad?) truth …this group, more than any other, is a group that must be reached for the “green car” movement to really take hold.

Actually, it would probably be best if we did ignore this group. Very few people buy cars based on their drag racing potential. And the sad truth is that a car burning corn ethanol is anything but "green" making this whole article a reality twisting exercise.

In a nutshell, this hot rod shop has, like every other company in the world, jumped on the green wash bandwagon to hawk their products. Their gimmick is to tune turbo-charged car engines to take advantage of the higher octane rating of corn ethanol. This isn't anything new. This isn't rocket science. A higher octane rating simply means that the fuel can be compressed harder before it explodes. By monkeying around with the engine timing and turbocharger boost pressure, you can increase a car's power output by staving off the ignition spark until later in the compression cycle, allowing more fuel and air to get jammed in above the cylinder. Big whoop. But now try to put regular gas into this tuned engine and watch what happens. The fuel will pre-ignite (knock) to beat hell.

Rich cites another benefit to the E85:

100 octane race gas costs about $7.99 a gallon here. Even 91 octane costs over $3.00, easily, while the E85 averages about $2.79. Over time, this is a huge savings…

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that we can also safely ignore all of the people out there paying $7.99 a gallon for racing fuel when looking for alternative fuels and solutions to global warming. And look, he forgot to add 84 cents to the cost of that ethanol to account for the lower mileage and the 45 cent blending subsidy as well, making the real cost per gallon of the ethanol about $3.90 equivalent.

You won't get better mileage than gasoline with this tune up kit, but that fact is glossed over as well. You should get more miles out of your E85 however, not that these guys give a hoot about mileage.

Like it or not, the enthusiasts need to be reached for a universal change to happen (whether that change is to cleaner-burning bio-fuels, fuel cells, or full electric) and offering them more of what they want (power) in a more environmentally responsible package that doesn’t punish their pocketbooks is a great way to start

He made that all up. Enthusiasts are few and far between. They can safely be left out of the loop. They will compete with each other with whatever technology is handed to them, like these guys setting land speed records in a Prius and this guy with the 72 Datsun running A123 batteries (like the ones on my bike) thumping every high octane car that crosses its path. It's all relative, which is why there are so many classes of racing and types of fuel. Corn ethanol is not more environmentally responsible. This whole article is a fairy tale.

Down in the comments Jo praised some goofball a concerned commenter for parroting the standard Renewable Fuels Association talking points his unique insights on ethanol:

AWESOME stuff, Dan! Thanks for reading through and posting the thoughtful response - I’d love to read more!!

If you want to read what Dan said that Jo thought was so AWESOME go here

And if you want to see this AWESOME stuff debunked, go here, paying particular attention to myths 7, 12, and 13.

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Cool kids wear bike helmets

Got some more riding tips to share. I've learned that nothing catches people's attention like a hand wave. It has been hypothesized that our brains have literally evolved the ability to detect hand waves against a cluttered background. I always wave at drivers before crossing in front of them. Try it. They can't seem to ignore you no matter how much they would like to.

I have also discovered an excellent bike light. I use rechargeable batteries and mounted it on my helmet. I turn it on superflash mode night and day. It is amazingly bright. By mounting it on your helmet you can direct the beam away from oncoming bike traffic, or, ah, into the window of a car itching to pull out in front of you.

I finally started wearing a bike helmet about four years ago after riding my whole life without one. I just realized one day that not only may a bike helmet save my life, but they're pretty cool looking. They also keep the sun out of my eyes and the rain off my head. The above photo is with a rain cover over the helmet, and no, those are not my real eyes. The lights reflected in my sunglasses make me look like a terminator. You could say that when riding my hybrid electric bike I become a kind of cyborg (cue Schwarzenegger's accent), "Human flesh on an aluminum alloy frame."

It is appalling what guys will do to impress each other and especially the ladies. When I watch young men risk their precious spinal columns (especially the top part of it) doing bike, snow, and skateboard tricks or worst of all, cage fighting on television, I just have to cringe. Maybe this is nature's new way of weeding the garden.



Took the above picture with my cell phone the other day. I don't know how badly the biker was injured but she was taken away on a stretcher. Last month a Seattle woman had a fatal accident while riding an electric assist bike and no car was involved.

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Hybrid electric bike …with afterburners

In honor of national Bike to Work Week, I shot some helmet cam footage of my hybrid bike in action. Hills and cars are the bane of bikers everywhere. One problem at a time I always say.

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Pimp My Ride

That's a picture of my Hybrid Electric parked next to an especially stupid looking Hummer. Dark tinted windows make it impossible for cyclists to make eye contact with drivers. You're playing Russian roulette when you cross in front of a car that has them. I noticed that this particular Hummer would not move for days at a time when gas prices were high last summer.

A commenter wanted me to post an update on my Hybrid Electric bike. Specifically, he wanted to know how the cheap mountain bike frame was holding out. The answer is just fine. My only complaint is that that the cargo rack has to cantilever from the seat post because it can't connect to the rear wheel axle on a loose tail mountain bike. This minimizes shocks to the controller but puts a lot of stress at the base of the cantilever.



There isn't much to update. I have not made any improvements to the bike for some time, which is a sign that the design is pretty mature. I thought I'd include a picture of my charging station. It normally hangs on the garage wall but I occasionally take it with me on long trips. It is designed so two chargers can fit in each pannier bag. With the flip of a switch I can charge the batteries or draw power from them.

I rode too far on a trip last week and had to limp home without using my batteries. That's the beauty of a hybrid system. I'm not sure how the all-electric car thing will work out because people will over-extend now and then. I suspect companies will spring up to assist electric car drivers with quick charges or cheap tows--part of the new green economy.

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