ES Meetup and Project Showcase at SF Maker Faire, May 18-19

justin_le

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
2,299
Location
Vancouver
Hey, this might be some minor abuse of the global announcement but a registration deadline is approaching and I want to get word out because I think this could be fun for a lot of people here. The last day to apply as a maker for the 2013 Bay Area Maker Faire has been extended to this coming Friday, Mar 22nd:
http://makerfaire.com/bayarea-2013-callformakers/

In the past, there have always been a few familiar faces from Endless-Sphere and other players in the ebike/EV scene having a presence. But what I'm thinking is that in 2013 we could make this the year of the ebike, and make a concerted effort for an awesome turnout from the DIY electric bike crowd. For those who aren't familiar, the maker faire is a chance for those doing any kind of hands-on and handmade projects (be it with electronics, clothing, fire, metal etc.) to exhibit what they've made and inspire the many people who browsing around to make things too. What we do making our own personal EV's from all kinds of eclectic parts fits into this so well, and is usually under-represented for how cool it is.

So here's the thing, if you have a have a totally homebrew and interesting ebike build and you want to get in for free, then fill out the application form above as an exhibitor along with a link to your build thread etc. and odds are you should be granted a space. They usually lump all the bike and EV stuff in the same general area outdoors so that there is room for giving demo rides. If you don't want to exhibit (which can be a bit stressful in it's own way) then just come out as a spectator, it's a pile of fun and neat stuff.

Over the coming few weeks I'm going to be posting details on some of the projects that I've been working on for this year's show. There's about a half dozen of them on the go,,, so lots of garage time in the month ahead ;)

-Justin
 
Lebowski said:
Oh man I'd love to go and show off my motor and stuff, it's an expensive 11 hrs flight away though :(

Not to mention flying out here with your lithium batteries is quite nightmare in shipping logistics too! However, for those on the continent at least, it's not too bad to get there by train and bring your project along without all the baggage restrictions. The only limit is that on Amtrak the bike boxes are limited to 50lb, so if you have a big ebike you'll likely need to have it partly disassembled and loaded in a couple boxes (learned that one the hard way).

Anyways, for sure this is a lot easier for people nearby in California, or at least on the west coast, but hopefully a number of people even further out will find it worth the trip. -Justin
 
Is anyone else interested in coming to the faire with a homebrew ebike? I should be able to get a couple spare tickets for people who want to just piggy back in with our application rather than fill out the whole submission as a maker. If so send me an email to info@ebikes.ca with some details. Otherwise the last day to register is coming up fairly soon.
 
Thanks for the offer, Justin 8)

There will be a small race track set up for the power wheel races ..

[youtube]emHiFJdnUwk[/youtube]

Maybe we can slip in a few eBike exhibition runs while they recharge?

I got a pair of Greyborgs :twisted: :twisted:

..or unicycle races :lol:
 
Stevil_Knevil said:
Thanks for the offer, Justin 8)

There will be a small race track set up for the power wheel races ..
Maybe we can slip in a few eBike exhibition runs while they recharge?

Yeeuuss!! One of the challenges normally is that there are so many people around it's hard to get any kind of stretch or speed going without causing pedestrian casualties, so if we can either legitimately or surreptitiously sneak on to use the race track course at some point that would be a real hoot.

I got a pair of Greyborgs :twisted: :twisted:
..or unicycle races :lol:

I propose a completely open PEV category without restriction on vehicle form or wheel count, a real ragtag collection. Here's the one of the projects for the fair I've been working on the past few weeks:
Rotor and Shell.jpg
Stator Support.jpg
Truck with Motor.jpg

Seems like I'll need to get onboard making another 3 of these and have all 4 wheels driving to stand a chance racing against your Greyborgs!

Will you be coming for sure Stevil? I think the last time we met was Maker Faire 2007. I like to hope that ebike tech has moved forwards at least a little since then.

-Justin
 
sk8norcal said:
whoa! making a skateboard there? :D

Hopefully a couple all told :D They're a lot easier to travel with than ebike after all.

went to maker's last 2 years,
didn't see too many ebikes there last year...

No, I was there last year on a last minute trip just as a spectator and was surprised too at how few there were given the uptake in ebikes especially on the west coast. That's why I think we should have an effort to make a bit of a splash for 2013.

i will ask the boostedboard guys if they want to demo their stuff...
Hey that would be awesome if you could. They've got a super clean design going on, and while I'll challenge them to a drag race but don't think I'll be able to compete in the weight category. That thing is TRIM.
 
justin_le said:
I propose a completely open PEV category without restriction on vehicle form or wheel count, a real ragtag collection..



Will you be coming for sure Stevil? I think the last time we met was Maker Faire 2007. I like to hope that ebike tech has moved forwards at least a little since then.

-Justin

Busyness at work conspired to keep me from going the last two years :roll:
It was pretty neat to be able to take your balancing skateboard for a little ride around back then.
I admire your proposal, your contraptions and yourself in general, so that would be a solid YES!

MF attendance has grown exponentially, and it might prove incredibly difficult to navigate between fairegoers anymore. Considering 'Make:' HQ is literally two blocks away from my home, and we have several friends there that appreciate what we are doing, I will ask if they could schedule some race track time for a ragtag collection of PEVs ..for safety's sake :wink:
 
Just put in an application to exhibit with you guys. Seems like great fun and, since I am only an hour away, it would be ashame to miss it. I'll be showing off my first build that I just got on the road a few days ago. I'm calling it the Electric Jeepster:
image.jpg
image.jpg

Few more upgrades to make but it will be an 18s3p, 16aH, dual-suspension, Fat Bike with 3" wide tires. Here is the build thread:
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=46942. Hope to meet as many endless sphericles as possible. Tim O'Brien
 
Obiwan007 said:
Just put in an application to exhibit with you guys. Seems like great fun and, since I am only an hour away, it would be ashame to miss it. I'll be showing off my first build that I just got on the road a few days ago. I'm calling it the Electric Jeepster:
View attachment 1

Hey Tim, right on! It doesn't look like there will be a crazy number of fellow exhibitors from ES in this space, so I probably should have posted this suggestion about a month ago rather than just before the deadline :| But it will still be a good hangout even as a small group. The great thing about showing an ebike is that you can ride it right into the show, zipping with a huge grin past the cluster muck of traffic congestion that crawls at snails pace into the fairgrounds.

Stevil_Knevil said:
MF attendance has grown exponentially, and it might prove incredibly difficult to navigate between fairegoers anymore. Considering 'Make:' HQ is literally two blocks away from my home, and we have several friends there that appreciate what we are doing, I will ask if they could schedule some race track time for a ragtag collection of PEVs ..for safety's sake

That would super. Lets see over the next few days first just how many people will be planning to show up though. I'm sending out emails to folks in the area who really have no excuse not to partake :wink:

-Justin
 
Obiwan007 said:
Just put in an application to exhibit with you guys. Seems like great fun and, since I am only an hour away, it would be ashame to miss it. I'll be showing off my first build that I just got on the road a few days ago. I'm calling it the Electric Jeepster:
View attachment 1


Few more upgrades to make but it will be an 18s2p, 16aH, dual-suspension, Fat Bike with 3" wide tires. Here is the build thread:
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=46942. Hope to meet as many endless sphericles as possible. Tim O'Brien

NICE machine :D Look forward to meeting you, Tim!

Once justin has run out of the special exhibitor badges, I will be more than happy to provide a FREE pass to 5 Spherites that can/will bring a suitable electric contraption to Maker Faire 2013.

That would make 8 ..enough to field a racing class :lol:
 
Stevil_Knevil said:
Once justin has run out of the special exhibitor badges, I will be more than happy to provide a FREE pass to 5 Spherites that can/will bring a suitable electric contraption to Maker Faire 2013.
That would make 8 ..enough to field a racing class :lol:

Yay, waita go Steve!

I've taken this thread off the global announcements for now, but hope we'll be able to stir up a lot of interest in the fair as the date starts to approach.
 
Electric skateboard? Reminds me of the Motorized Shoes I bought.
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4076&p=60391&hilit=Motorized+shoes#p60391
ishoes2.jpg
Get - helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, shoulder pads, gloves, and health insurance.
 
I think my wife is going to come too. She will bring her vintage (for e-bikes), reconditioned Beach cruiser originally made by the now defunct Santa Cruz Electric Bike Company. It is SLA technology and we tricked it out with massive amounts of bling:
image.jpg

This way we can both cruise into the fair after parking some place easier. Hey Stevil, any recommendations on where would be a good place to park with a pretty big truck that's relatively safe? We plan to spend the night rather than commute. Do you have any suggestions for a decent place to stay that is close?
 
Justin! I just saw this. Is it too late to add me with my made-all-from-scratch deathbike?

It currently needs its rear wheel re-laced again at the moment, but my wheel guy owes me a favor again. Even though Im extremely busy, I should be able to make this, and its a likely month for me to stay in country around that time.

You could do deathbike and my lightweight roadbike build of you think the contrast of ebike ranges would be cool.
 
I missed the "maker" registration deadline but I'd like to come the event and hang out if I can make it given the challenges that week in school... I will bring my crumby e-bike, or maybe something less crumby if I get it built in time...

IMG_20130323_170456.jpg


I met up with Bob Schneeveis on Thursday night and mentioned the Faire to him- upon hearing that there might be some EV turnout he indicated interest in going- he's just finishing up an awesome build that I'm sure he will enjoy showing off:

IMG_20130310_151144.jpg


I will park far far away and use the e-bike to actually approach the venue... that has definitely been the biggest hassle every time I've gone in the past!
 
Obiwan007 said:
This way we can both cruise into the fair after parking some place easier. Hey Stevil, any recommendations on where would be a good place to park with a pretty big truck that's relatively safe? We plan to spend the night rather than commute. Do you have any suggestions for a decent place to stay that is close?

Good plan. Not sure if you are planning to sleep in that truck :?: , there is RV parking at the fairgrounds..

Oh wait - I see the confusion - I live in Sonoma County (near O'Reilly & Associates, publisher for Make: magazine) and my knowledge of San Mateo is limited to a mile radius of the fairgrounds.

LFP & Acuteaero, glad you guys found this thread!

IMG_20130310_151144.jpg


There is no 'OFF' on Bob's genius switch, his machines are always stunningly impressive.

Plenty of time to get something awesome sorted ..right? Look forward to seeing Y'all there!
 
acuteaero said:
... I will bring my crumby e-bike, or maybe something less crumby if I get it built in time...

Awesome, crumby or crumbly or slick it will be great to see, and Luke and Obiwan it will be rad to see guys too! I'm going to get in touch with the registration people and see if it will be possible to get some larger number of entries available under the "endless-sphere" banner or just what the process would be if we have some yet indeterminate number of homebrew ebikers wanting to show stuff at the faire.

I met up with Bob Schneeveis on Thursday night and mentioned the Faire to him

Bob's a LEGEND! Tell him he has to come. This was totally my highlight of the 2008 show:
Walking EV.jpg
 
I'm a local guy, live in San Mateo about 4 miles from Makers Faire venue (San Mateo Fair Grounds).

I'm far from expert on e-bikes, but I've built two (one based on Adrian's Commuter Booster, other based on Cell_man's MAC setup). Both great in their own ways.
Learned a lot in the process. And would not have know where to start without a year of soaking up E.S. info.

I live in normal S.F. bay area digs -- that is to say, small -- but could provide space if anyone working on a budget needs a spot for sleeping bag, morning shower and free coffee thrown in.

Maybe more useful, have 2-car garage that could be used for setup, overnight storage, etc etc.

Let me know if this would be helpful.

Steve
 
Hadn't really thought about it, but yes, I'd be happy to.
Commuter Booster is kind of an exotic, not too many around.
Love it for flats and mild hills, feels like wind at your back.
Steeper hills, not so much.
 
Thank you, much appreciated!
How does admittance system at M.F. work?
Will the pass let me bring the bike into the fairgrounds?
(For other events there like San Mateo County Fair... they make ticket holders leave bikes outside the fence.)
 
Back
Top