2023 Battery Pack Balancing

As every year, when the first warm days of pre-summer beckon, I feel the itch of taking TW560 on a long one-day-trip. Part of such an one-day-trip is typically charging the pack to the maximum 4.22V per cell, unlike the usual 3.8V for everyday use, and then drive the pack to the self-imposed minimum cell cut-off voltage of 3.0V. This works very well and is no issue if the pack’s many cells are all well balanced and at the same voltage. Since my TWIKE does not have any active cell balancing or thermal management (for weight and full-pack cut off […]

Hello 2023

As every year, this entry is a longer retro for 2022 with more than just TWIKE-related topics. It has taken long to create this entry as I’ve been mostly living and working in Singapore since October 2022 and at times only travelling back to Switzerland for a few days before returning to Asia again. My days are unfortunately are quite busy and I’ve nothing TWIKE-related to report as my TWIKE and I are separated by continents and the tragedy going on in Ukraine. The good news is that TW560 didn’t have any major technical issues throughout 2022. Following maintenance was […]

emissionslos/emissionless – all new!

A new theme! More focus on photos – plus: finally, a responsive site for mobile devices! This blog has been on the internet for nearly 11 years now. All the details how and why this blog exists can be found here. Even though I had been already blogging in the mid-nineties (!), starting the blog in 2011 meant a full new start, complete with choosing the blog software, which in the 90’s didn’t exist and discovering which features were important to me. The choice fell on WordPress due to its configurability, extensibility and ease of use. After 2 months, I […]

2022 Pack capacity update

As every year, it is time to check the total capacity of TW560’s battery pack. After carefully balancing the pack, which took me the better part of a weekend, I was ready for a full day’s worth of TWIKEing. The pack health is excellent. Most cells are in-sync down to the millivolt – only 3 cells were a fraction off, which was easily fixed with balancing. My trip took me to Basel, the French Jura – all the way to La Chaux de Fonds…and back. The topography in the Jura is very hilly – this will have an impact on […]

Hello 2022

What a year 2021 has been! TWIKE 560 and I have had a great time. Thankful to have been in good health all along. Besides TW560 turning 20 this year and emissionless.ch as a blog existing 10 years, the main event this year was my multi-month trip to Portugal (TDP2021). If you haven’t read about it yet, you can start here. Traveling as a digital nomad, working from wherever, mixing vacation with my traveling life was a revelation. It turned out to be not only doable but very relaxing, productive and just plain liberating. I consider myself to be very […]

Backlog of entries: GONE!

Just 2 months ago, celebrating emissionless.ch’s 10 year anniversary and also here, mid-year, I promised to post all missing TWIKE adventure entries by the end of 2021. A herculean task: 25 entries in total. I am happy to report that this mission has been accomplished today! TDI2020 and TDI2019, my two summer holidays in Italy with my family and TDST2020, plus our recurring yearly trip to Southern Styria now are on the site and I’m looking forward to my readers enjoying the entries and the feedback I’m going to get. I’m listing the entries I’ve just published below: Trip to […]

10 years emissionless.ch

Wow, time flies when you’re having fun! emissionless.ch: 10 years of blogging fun keeping track of adventures documenting how life with one of the world’s most efficient vehicles is like being a go-to resource for TWIKE owners and would-be owners tips for every-day use and care being the go-tp address for people who’ve seen TW560 on the road somewhere far away and want to know more about the weird little spaceship they’ve just seen How did everything get started? By me discovering that traveling with a TWIKE was possible and enjoyable! …and this began even before I had purchased TW560! […]

Post-TDP2021 TWIKE TLC

A few days after arriving back from TDP2021, I brought TW560 to Andi from Ksenotek for some post-TDP2021 TLC. I know that there are some things that need urgent attention, such as the breaking system, the tyres and the main axle on the right hand side. Plus, whatever else Portugal’s cobblestone streets haven’t broken yet… Another few days later, Andi sent me following video – (activate subtitles if necessary) Ah. that was the vibration I felt on the motorway! I always want to learn more – this is why I usually take the time to set up my office at […]

3 days to go…Portugal, here I come! (maybe)

Driving across international borders 2021 has its own challenges. I was made aware of some requirements. PCR tests are required in France for hotels – because I will not be able to cross France in 24 hours. Ah. Then, entering Spain, PCR tests are required – also for Portugal – this means that I will have to get a test somewhere in Spain. Ah. Thankfully, a PCR test centre with 5-hour results is very close-by – I’ll be taking the test Tuesday afternoon. This will give me freedom of movement and hotel-occupancy until Friday afternoon. I will be fully vaccinated […]

Happy 20th Birthday, TW560!

Two decades, 280,000+km – countless hours of driving bliss and a persistent attribute of my life – Thank you, TW560! Built in Switzerland mid-2000 by the nascent TWIKE AG, it was put into service one month before my eldest daughter was born. My wife and I had just returned from 3+ years of living abroad in Asia and southern Europe in June 2000 and had just begun to restart our life in Switzerland. My TWIKE was the 560th in the line, but due to some administrative miscommunication, more than one TW560 exists – my TWIKE’s twin lives close to Munich. […]