CycleCharge Project - Announcements & Discussions

[morphix]

I managed to retrieve our Wikipedia page from the cache files on my hard drive and I have restored it. If Wikipedia won't give us a page, we'll just host it ourselves!

CycleCharge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Let's see what Google makes of it when their robot next visits

 

[morphix]

Kudos Cycles new sponsor of CycleCharge

I'm pleased to say Kudos Cycles are our latest sponsor and have generously donated to the CycleCharge project.

 

[Old_Dave]

Its your round then morphix ... I'll have a pint

 

[morphix]

New plastic keyring membership cards

Hi all,

Things have been a bit quiet lately on the CycleCharge front due to my Uni studies and health probs, but I'm pleased to announce that we received our first batch of new membership cards last week.

These new cards are much more convenient for members to use. Basically they're the little plastic keyring style which each have a unique member id number on and a write-on strip on the back to put your name and contact number.

The idea with the cards is that you can attach them (with the accompanying) keyring loop onto your charger, so that way, you're instantly identifiable as a member when charging at Charge Points, and your equipment is tagged and so safer, if being left unattended on premises.

We'll be making the cards available free of charge to existing and new members, initially via the website (however we do ask members send a £1 PayPal micro donation to cover postage and costs if they want to help us keep our costs down, or 2x1st class stamps).

Lynda has a whole bunch of the new cards and will be handing them out to members at the next public event this summer. We're also experimenting with sending small batches of cards out to selected Charge Point "sign up hubs" i.e. electric bike sellers and rental businesses, where new members can just sign-up and get their free card onsite.

More info on the cards and some pics here:
CycleCharge - Announcements - New Membership Cards

103Alex1 sent us a good lead for a new Charge Point which I have contacted. If anyone has any other leads or suitable businesses in your area and don't feel able to contact themdirectly, feel free to post them here or e-mail them to me. I'm currently trying to get my main library in town to become a Charge Point, which would be a major one if I can persuade them of the benefits! It may open the door to other libaries around the country. They already allow charging of laptops and phones in study rooms, so it's maybe possible. There's even a bike rack outside! Will post further news as it comes...

Oh and finally, we'll shortly have some volunteer ID cards with green and white volunteer neck strap lanyards available for volunteers who want to go visiting local businesses or leafleting in their localities.Just contact us if you're interested and we'll send you one.

 

[103Alex1]

Sounds good Morphix. Just a thought - would it be possible to identify any of the points which have an on-bike charging option ?

I realize it doesn't affect everyone but my guess is that I won't be able to use many with my Trek because the battery is built-in and it's not straightforward to remove for charging. Basically the electric point needs to the length of your Ecitypower charger lead from a mains plug or adaptor. Preferably something to secure the bike to also. I guess that'll cut down the options quite a bit !

 

[hopper_rider]

This all sounds very promising. Just a thought. Many parks have cafe facilities these days. I believe they may in many cases be council owned. It may be worth approaching local councils to see if charge points could be made available near to the cafes.

It would likely bring extra business to the cafes which could be a win win all around.

As to funding, maybe something like kickstarter or crowdfunding could provide an extra boost to funds.

 

[Atmosphere]

Looking forward to seeing you at the Bristol festival on 23 June

 

[hopper_rider]

As to countryside charging locations, maybe campsites are the answer. In addition to the more usual hook up pitches?

It might be worth approaching the camping and caravanning club or similar.

 

[funkylyn]

As to countryside charging locations, maybe campsites are the answer. In addition to the more usual hook up pitches?

It might be worth approaching the camping and caravanning club or similar.

I have already tried that hopper and met with complete disinterest

Campsites tend to feel that their sockets are there for the use of their campers and that random bike riders are not going to bring any benefit to their business.......unless of course you are carrying a tent and intended paying to stay the night, in which case they would let you 'plug in' .

Farm shops, pubs, vineyards etc seem to be better bets for country chargepoints.

Lynda

 

[morphix]

Sounds good Morphix. Just a thought - would it be possible to identify any of the points which have an on-bike charging option ?

I realize it doesn't affect everyone but my guess is that I won't be able to use many with my Trek because the battery is built-in and it's not straightforward to remove for charging. Basically the electric point needs to the length of your Ecitypower charger lead from a mains plug or adaptor. Preferably something to secure the bike to also. I guess that'll cut down the options quite a bit !

Good point Alex, yes that's certainly something we can do easily. Our directory is very flexible and evolving so we can put more info about what CP's can offer on there in terms of charging and onsite facilities, including highlighting CP's that allow new members to sign-up and pick up a free membership card, which is something we're moving towards for all CP's eventually later on. It's more tricky on the mapping/mobile mapping side to distinguish what CP's offer, but we'll see what can be done as we're working with CycleStreets on that side of things who have more experience. Our own online map is fairly basic and we're looking to update that and make it easier to use.

 

[jackhandy]

Paul - Have you considered doing away with the requirement of membership for ebikers & just retaining it for Chargepoint providers?

My thinking is that it would cut down on administration & I can't see a chargepoint refusing to charge someone's battery because they don't have a Cyclecharge membership card, particularly a pub or cafe wanting their business.

Would this create a more "open source" feel to the whole thing? As well as avoiding the potential Chargepoint provider's question "How many members have you got then?"

Just a thought...

 

[grldtnr]

Good point! a short top can't be a significant cost to a provider,as long as the beneficiary uses the services , i don't see why not.

Paul - Have you considered doing away with the requirement of membership for ebikers & just retaining it for Chargepoint providers?

My thinking is that it would cut down on administration & I can't see a chargepoint refusing to charge someone's battery because they don't have a Cyclecharge membership card, particularly a pub or cafe wanting their business.

Would this create a more "open source" feel to the whole thing? As well as avoiding the potential Chargepoint provider's question "How many members have you got then?"

Just a thought...

 

[funkylyn]

Paul - Have you considered doing away with the requirement of membership for ebikers & just retaining it for Chargepoint providers?

My thinking is that it would cut down on administration & I can't see a chargepoint refusing to charge someone's battery because they don't have a Cyclecharge membership card, particularly a pub or cafe wanting their business.

Would this create a more "open source" feel to the whole thing? As well as avoiding the potential Chargepoint provider's question "How many members have you got then?"

Just a thought...

Just a quickie reply as I have company at the moment......

Its a bit more complicated than that .....for example.....we have to have a way of assuring potential chargepoints that our members have agreed to be responsible for the safety of their batteries and that there would be no onus on them if anything went wrong .....there are other points, and legal responsibilities too, that maybe paul can answer more fully, my brain doesnt seem to be working too well tonight .....no change there then lol

It was something that was discussed at length when we started this scheme, believe me if we could simplify it any more we would as its a huge workload, especially for Paul who has so many other things on his plate at the moment.

Lynda

 

[hopper_rider]

Not strictly related but take a look at this
Biolite Stove AWESOME!! 2 of 2 - YouTube

Interesting idea if it could be adapted further

 

[jackhandy]

Looks like another project for Colin Furze...

Get one of these mounted on thre rack & charge on the move - you shouldn't even need the fan: just a bit of ducting to direct the airflow

I was going to put but it would probably get a tad warm for that...

 

[danielrlee]

Is this project still operational? What with all the recent discussion of e-bike touring and record breaking, I've been considering what it'd take to do my monthly return journey from Wiltshire to London by bike. I'm currently trying to decide whether I need more batteries or could manage the journey with a carefully planned charging schedule. I'm not sure if anyone is aware, but the Cyclecharge map doesn't seem to be displaying charge points in some regions. Is this a known problem, or has the scheme been abandoned?

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Daniel,

Both of the people who setup Cyclecharge have been seriously ill over the last year, therefore I assume that the project is on hold for the time being.

 

[VictoryV]

Good point Alex, yes that's certainly something we can do easily. Our directory is very flexible and evolving so we can put more info about what CP's can offer on there in terms of charging and onsite facilities, including highlighting CP's that allow new members to sign-up and pick up a free membership card, which is something we're moving towards for all CP's eventually later on. It's more tricky on the mapping/mobile mapping side to distinguish what CP's offer, but we'll see what can be done as we're working with CycleStreets on that side of things who have more experience. Our own online map is fairly basic and we're looking to update that and make it easier to use.

The Radio Amateurs in the UK have a "Worked all Britain" scheme where they attempt to establish radio links from all the 1km squares on the British Ordnance Survey map, You can either be the person in the square transmitting to the world, or the person at home logging in the transmitter. Each event ends up with a tick in the square for either user. So we could have a similar scheme whereby e-bikers could log in entries when they use each chargepoint and see who can "Work all ChargePoints"

 

[danielrlee]

Hi Daniel,

Both of the people who setup Cyclecharge have been seriously ill over the last year, therefore I assume that the project is on hold for the time being.

Thanks for the heads-up.

I think the Cyclecharge scheme is such a good idea and businesses are failing to see the potential benefits to their trade. Like everything else e-bike related in the UK, momentum builds at a snail-like pace, although this is in no way a dig at the schemes owners.

 

[danielrlee]

The Radio Amateurs in the UK have a "Worked all Britain" scheme where they attempt to establish radio links from all the 1km squares on the British Ordnance Survey map, You can either be the person in the square transmitting to the world, or the person at home logging in the transmitter. Each event ends up with a tick in the square for either user. So we could have a similar scheme whereby e-bikers could log in entries when they use each chargepoint and see who can "Work all ChargePoints"

Although not quite what you are describing, maybe a peer-to-peer approach would be the way to go. You can register a charge point as a private (residential) owner, but I imagine even the most enthusiastic e-bikers (including myself) remain cynical enough to dismiss the idea and that really is a shame......