Alright you've probably heard of ebikes but have you seen Sterling Bikes?

Original Video Title:
Building a Stirling Engine Bike

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The ol' Thighburner 1500!
- maybe the heat source is actually from thigh friction.. hmmm
  
  It also has an innovative AIO hybrid cooling system that uses both air, and blood, to keep the outer chassis cool.

Pretty cool to think that I could... make my bicycle ride marginally easier by carrying a propane torch with me and blowing fire between my legs?

Makes me wonder where you draw the line between a powerful e-bike and a low power motorcycle.
- That's usually legally defined somewhere depending on your location. Wher I am it's defined based on rated power output of the motor.
- Personally, if it's capable of slow highway speeds (45 and up), has more than 30 miles of range, and full safety lighting, then it's a low power motorcycle. Anything less is a bike.
  Legally speaking though, it's actually pretty diverse by area. For instance, California requires pedal assist integration, eg if it can accelerate with no pedal movement it's a motorcycle, and then the bikes have 3 levels of classification (why though? Not sure), with max output regulated to 1600W (afaik since I don't live there). In other places they're more lax with regulation, just depends.
  
  Yeah in Canada we have e-bike classes, the kind that require pedal pressure to engage motor are allowed in same places as bicycles ( like walking trails etc). When they have a throttle the class changes, because more can go wrong
- Probably at the MoPed
- I feel like having the horsepower of an entry level motorcycle is a decent benchmark.
  
  Torque should also be part of it. Plenty of 250W e bikes that make 80+ Nm.
  That's similar torque to a 750 - 800cc motorbike.
  
  An e-bike might only weight 25 kg where a low powered motorcycle is at more than 100 kg.
  More power by weight is faster and can be more dangerous
- It ain't a motorcycle if the engine isn't bigger than 50 cc, taps head.
  
  Ok I think I understand. You need something more than an easy level Mario Kart.

Great work by Tom Stanton here, thanks

I saw the video, and I have to say it was amazing!

18 comments