c iom tt Wrote:

desmophile Wrote:

veefour Wrote:Alison, is there any chance of you answering my question !!!!!!!!!!!!

Just look on iomtt.com

I know this is my first post on this forum,but i think it is important that ALL TT fans are aware of as much information ref the TTXGP so they can make there own minds up as to the running of this event.
There has been some straight forward questions asked of Alison on the iomtt.com.It would appear that her interest has moved to this site.Please read the TTXGP thread on iomtt.com and make your own mind up.

There's been a very interesting and thought provoking post over on the other side. I hope the poster doesn't mind me repeating it here:

Just to prove that I have a life outside riding my bike and surfing this forum:

There is an interesting article in Time Magazine of 2 Feb that may have an impact on the rise of the electric bike:

It makes some interesting points, including:-

* Excitement surrounding the announcements from the Big Three American car makers that they are beginning the shift from gasoline to electricity was tempered by another realisation: most of the lithium needed to make the batteries for those cars is found in Bolivia.
* Small, impoverished Bolivia is the Saudi Arabia of Lithium. It is home to approximately half the world's lithium supply.
* The Bolivian Mining Minister sees this as a unique opportunity: "The days of US car companies buying cheap raw materials to sell expensive cars are over".
* Many foreign car makers have already discovered just that. Mining analysts estimate that demand for lithium could exceed supply in a decade.
* The key question for car companies is whether Bolivia's new leverage will drive up the price of batteries, which already add about $10,000 to the cost of a new car. (my emphasis - presumably the full cost is not being passed onto the customer of electric cars yet)
* With regard to the environmental aspect of producing lithium: "Lithium could be one of the least contaminating mining processes ... but some workers have developed nervous-system disorders after prolonged exposure".

My overall impression from this is that producers of electric bikes are likely to be at the bottom of the food chain when the Big car manufacturers are at after limited resources. The costs are likely to be prohibitive. There are still plenty of oil reserves to support ICE's when everyone has moved onto something else.