Overcome Inertia, Read About Enertia

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants Leave a Comment

David Bettencourt, an eagle-eyed legal eagle in Hawaii, prompted me to pick up a copy of the April, 2010 Cycle World magazine, in which two articles advance the cause of electric transport.  The first,”Brammo Enertia”, is a critique of the electric cycle that you can buy at Best Buy.  It details the long-term interest of company founder Craig Bramscher in electric vehicles, and his analysis that a vehicle with sufficient range for today’s suburbanite, based on normal commuting needs and available technology, would have two wheels – hence the Enertia.  Matthew Miles, author of the piece, does a good job of comparing performance with a 250-cc Kawasaki Ninja.  Although the Enertia is no match for the IC-powered machine in off-the-line sprints or top speed, it wins the economy-of-operation cup. (Cycle World’s web site has the added bonus of an interview with Craig Bramscher.) The second article, “Batteries Heat Up” is by Bettencourt’s favorite technical writer, Kevin Cameron.  It’s easy to see why Bettencourt collects Cameron’s articles, since …