Do off grid motors exist?

[tierracast]

I'm a newbie to the idea of riding a motorized bicycle, let alone attempting to build one. Especially since I have zero knowledge on engines of any type, but as a semi-competent older woman I am determined to give it a go.
I have both 2 stroke and 4 stroke engines and if the batteries weren't so costly I would have gone with an electric, but it's still within consideration and maybe the best option for what I have in mind.
After watching a lot of builds on yt putting one together seems doable on a woman's older beach cruiser. The trouble is, the one thing I'd like to add doesn't seem to exist.
What I have in mind is a bike that doesn't need to be plugged in for a charge or filled up with oil to run, but still uses a motor when wanted or needed. I see a few generators self sufficient enough to power lights, electronic ignitions, etc., but nothing where peddling, even if the motors running, can get stored in some sort of a rechargable battery as future power. Or is that only viable by using solar?
I'm thinking if this were possible it would have already been done. Or maybe I'm just not looking in the right places?
I'm in California where having power is now dependent on the whim of the controllers.
What say ye? Thoughts and ideas, please!

 

[The_Aleman]

Humans used to the vigors of bicycling can pedal roughly 100-150 watts indefinitely, with bursts over 400 watts being possible. You would either need to set up an electric motor that could double as a generator and a motor (ie: it will generate electricity when you pedal, and then drive the pedals when you're not) or have both a generator and an electric motor on the bike. The biggest hurdle with it would be that you'd end up with a bicycle that takes much more energy to get anywhere, since a significant portion of your pedal force would be allocated to charging the battery. Not to mention, the bike itself would be considerably heavy.

This guy here seems to have done it, but details aren't readily available:


Like you, I've bounced the idea around in my head over the years, but I neither know if it's possible to get a motor to do both, nor have the electrical know-how to rig such a thing up. I've seen a few people use electric hub wheels on their gas-powered bike to make a "tribrid", and many of those electric wheels have a regen mode, which theoretically could make running the gas engine to charge the batteries possible. Of course, that means extra front tire wear and load on the engine to compensate while charging the battery slowly.

All these power outages in Cali have me worried as well - after all, gas pumps don't work when there is no power, either. At least we can go farther on a few gallons of gas than most people!

 

[Frogslayer]

Robot or human?

100 Watt Amorphous Solar Panel Kit

Amazing deals on this 100 Watt Solar Panel Kit at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Add some 12 volt batteries and an e bike and throw the middle finger right up to the old grid!

 

[FurryOnTheInside]

You can distill your own turpentine from pine trees, or maybe marijuana.
However, the same area filled with photovoltaic panels would provide you with more energy.. and its clean, just a plug. You could power your whole house from PV panels.

 

[Frogslayer]

Very easily especially if you make your house energy efficient as well.

 

[MotorBicycleRacing]

I have both 2 stroke and 4 stroke engines and if the batteries weren't so costly I would have gone with an electric, but it's still within consideration and maybe the best option for what I have in mind.

What I have in mind is a bike that doesn't need to be plugged in for a charge or filled up with oil to run, but still uses a motor when wanted or needed. I see a few generators self sufficient enough to power lights, electronic ignitions, etc., but nothing where peddling, even if the motors running, can get stored in some sort of a rechargable battery as future power. Or is that only viable by using solar?
I'm thinking if this were possible it would have already been done.

Perpetual motion is never going to work.
Those few generators self sufficient enough to power lights need to be charged with electricity or gas.
eBike is your best answer right now.
Depending on your daily mileage needs you could spend under $500 for a reliable ebike.

 

[tierracast]

Humans used to the vigors of bicycling can pedal roughly 100-150 watts indefinitely, with bursts over 400 watts being possible. You would either need to set up an electric motor that could double as a generator and a motor (ie: it will generate electricity when you pedal, and then drive the pedals when you're not) or have both a generator and an electric motor on the bike. The biggest hurdle with it would be that you'd end up with a bicycle that takes much more energy to get anywhere, since a significant portion of your pedal force would be allocated to charging the battery. Not to mention, the bike itself would be considerably heavy.

This guy here seems to have done it, but details aren't readily available:


Like you, I've bounced the idea around in my head over the years, but I neither know if it's possible to get a motor to do both, nor have the electrical know-how to rig such a thing up. I've seen a few people use electric hub wheels on their gas-powered bike to make a "tribrid", and many of those electric wheels have a regen mode, which theoretically could make running the gas engine to charge the batteries possible. Of course, that means extra front tire wear and load on the engine to compensate while charging the battery slowly.

All these power outages in Cali have me worried as well - after all, gas pumps don't work when there is no power, either. At least we can go farther on a few gallons of gas than most people!

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, maybe I need to give moving out of the state some more consideration.

 

[tierracast]

Robot or human?

100 Watt Amorphous Solar Panel Kit

Amazing deals on this 100 Watt Solar Panel Kit at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Add some 12 volt batteries and an e bike and throw the middle finger right up to the old grid!

I like the idea of the wind turbine, seems kind of Mad Max-ish!

 

[Frogslayer]

They are popular with sail boats, that's how I found out about them. As long as it's windy, (I'm not sure how California it's but Minnesota is windy most days, especially western Minnesota) the wind generators can generate like 10 to 15 times the electricity of solar panels. The solar kit from harbor freight is mostly for the charger controller and the other goodies it comes with. The 100w solar panel is a bonus.

 

[tierracast]

Perpetual motion is never going to work.
Those few generators self sufficient enough to power lights need to be charged with electricity or gas.
eBike is your best answer right now.
Depending on your daily mileage needs you could spend under $500 for a reliable ebike.

The DIY cost is pretty reasonable. But the cost would be even better if there was an alternative to the expensive lithium-ion, which in my opinion is dangerous due to the strong emf field they give off and their propensity for exploding unexpectedly. Of course I suppose that last down-side, compared to the volume of them in circulation, is low. Still, I don't carry a cell phone around for those reasons and wouldn't like to be sitting on top of one for even short periods if I can avoid it.
Guess there's nothing that doesn't have a downside to it.