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Twike
- Hackbraten 5y agoI want one of those!
- frereubu 5y agoI love this in principle, but the one thing I always wonder about recumbent bicycles is how visible they are to lorries / trucks. I've seen some with a tall aerial-like stem and a flag on top of it, but knowing how bicycles can be pretty invisible to cars even when wearing a reflective top at their eye height, I think I'd always be anxious about being crushed from behind. I suppose that says a lot about cycling infrastructure in the UK in terms of being forced to ride on the same road as massive lorries. Edit: Actually, looking at the official site - https://twike.com/en/home/ https://twike.com/en/home/ - it's bigger than it seemed to me at first, so perhaps not as bad as recumbent bikes. Edit 2: Blimey, they're expensive - "The new vehicle price for a TWIKE 5 shall be between 39.900 € and 49.900 € (sales price in Germany, incl. 19% VAT, depending on the battery equipment)."
- RalfWausE 5y agoThe twike is not much smaller than a small car, and perhaps even a bit bigger than a Smart ForTwo... so, no real problem here... and i can asure you: If there is one of those around, they HAVE the attention of any driver around them ;-)
- InitialLastName 5y agoThe wheelbase might not be smaller than a small car, but it definitely looks like its height is much smaller. One could still imagine it being invisible to a person in an SUV staring at their phone. The benefit for safety for this is that it is large enough fast enough to move with traffic on most city streets, so won't be getting sideswiped into the gutter by passing cars regularly.
- shusson 5y ago> one thing I always wonder about recumbent bicycles is how visible they are to lorries / trucks I'd be worried about any vehicle that isn't a Twike. These would not fair well in accident.
- dbrgn 5y agoWow. For that price, you can easily buy an electric car.
- Cthulhu_ 5y agoOr ten used ICE's. Or 50 good e-bikes. Or 100 good regular bikes. Or 500 cheap secondhand bikes.
- jtwaleson 5y agoGood ebikes for 1k? I think "good" starts at 2k.
- phwitti 5y agoWell i would say with a speed of about 120km/h and the range of 150km in the most basic configuration (max with 190km/h and 500km range) the Twike more or less IS an electric car^^.
- dbrgn 5y agoYeah, but for less than 30k € you can already get a Renault Zoe with a speed of 145 km/h and a range of almost 400 km (52 kWh battery). At the price of 50k €, you're in the Tesla Model 3 range.
- jtwaleson 5y agoWow, that is expensive for such a simple design. I live in the Netherlands and these are too fast for bicycle paths and too unsafe for regular roads. Love the idea, but we would need much cheaper mass production and a completely different road infrastructure.
- theodric 5y agoI used to live in NL, so I know the paths you mean, and the same applies here in Switzerland. But in Switzerland they instead plate them as cars and drive them on regular roads, keeping up/competing with automobile traffic. These are not uncommon here despite their cost and moderate practicality, probably because their cost relative to salary is lower than elsewhere in Europe.
- bserge 5y agoAh, so they just multiplied the ridiculous cost of bicycles by the ridiculous cost of electric cars. Brilliant.
- Y_Y 5y agoThat would have units of money^2 and wouldn't type-check. You'd have to do something like a geometric mean or choose a money-valued scale, like the price of a smug bumper sticker, to divide by.
- bruce343434 5y agodivide it by 1€
- acover 5y agoI've wondered how feasible it is to add an automated detection system to a bike that makes a loud noise/light show when it detects a vehicle is driving towards you. Is radar enough? Would it take too much power?
- nabilhat 5y agoGarmin's Varia product line does this. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/sports-fitness/cycling-bike-computers-bike-radar-power-meter-headlights/?series=BRAND10561 https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/sports-fitness/cycling-bike-c... I do prefer a decent mirror though. Radar can't tell me what a car is doing, what it is, if a bicyclist is approaching, if my friend stopped to fix a flat, etc.
- wiether 5y agoI was about to post that same link :)
- jascii 5y agoFor all practical purposes bicycles and motorcycles are invisible to drivers. FortNine has an amusing video on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x94PGgYKHQ0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x94PGgYKHQ0 My personal experience, after years as a courier on both upright, recumbent, and motorcycles is that I am more "visible" on a recumbent then the other options because I'm "weird" enough to make it into a drivers consciousness... None of this is ofcourse scientifically relevant data.
- medstrom 5y agoIt's strange that this is a meme, because my experience is the opposite: as a motorist, bicycles are the most visible things around. As a cyclist, I see cars react to me every time I'm close enough to them that it's relevant. They're clearly aware of me. My theory is that cyclists become invisible in areas where the roads force them to mix with cars. Where I live, they rarely mix, so when they do, it's an unusual event that promotes itself to your attention. Either way, it backs up the idea that weirdness counts for a lot.
- jascii 5y agoIn areas with separated bike lanes traffic mixing usually happens in slower speed areas. This greatly reduces the chance that a small vehicle like a bicycle gets lost in the saccades.
- sunshineforever 5y ago40 thousand euro? That's insane and offensive. There is an actual car in India that retails for 1/8th the price. For 20k you could pay someone to build you a custom of the same vehicle and have money left over. It almost seems like a conspiracy to make eco friendly transportation seem expensive.
- RalfWausE 5y agoYup, they are built roughly 5 km from where i live, and you can see one or two on a daily basis. They have this '80s eco design' charme and after a testdrive a few years ago i can say: If i had the money, i would buy one anytime.
- paraiuspau 5y agoI used to see these occasionally on the road in Switzerland and often would drive behind them, as they were naturally a lot slower on the open road than most cars.
- Kichererbsen 5y agoThere are still a few around in Zurich. They're quite expensive, though, so I guess that's why they didn't really take off. I might consider buying one for say... twice the price of a good electric bicycle.
- Faaak 5y agoI had something similar, although simpler: it's called a velomobile (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velomobile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velomobile). It's a bike but with some added aerodynamics. You can easily ride at 40km/hour (~24mi) only with your muscles. It was very nice to drive: very stable and rather fast and i did 2x20km/day to work. However its bigger weight compared to a simple bicycle makes it not suitable to mountains
- simonebrunozzi 5y agoI would love to buy one and do some nice trips in the Italian back country. Problem is, it's very hard to understand which model(s) are well designed, and also hard to understand where to buy it to get the best price. Is there any recommendation you could provide?
- Faaak 5y agoI had a rotovelo, which is the only one who is "plastic only". It's heavier than the NL ones (Quest, Strada, Mango) but it was a bit cheaper. In EU (FR/CH/DE) there are specialized forums about them and I bought mine second hand. You'll love it !
- dasKrokodil 5y agoThere is a very good forum: velomobilforum.de It's in German, but you can ask questions in English and they will usually be answered in English as well. As for your question about which models are well designed, I'd say that if you're looking for speed, the fast ones are the Milan SL, the Alpha 7 and the upcoming Snoek, but those are not suitable for tall and/or wide riders. If you don't fit into those, your best options for speed would be the Milan GT, the DFXL or the upcoming Alpha 9. If you're rather looking for something more practical, the Quattrovelo is the way to go; it has four wheels and therefore a bigger and more usable luggage space, which can even be used to transport a small child.
- nmehner 5y agoAlmost all modern velomobiles are build by Velomobile World in Romania. There is a italian dealer for them: https://www.velomobileworld.com/dealers/ https://www.velomobileworld.com/dealers/ It is probably a good idea to do one or more test drives first, so you know what you are getting into and what is important to you.
- thcleaner999 5y agoJust look at this danish icon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CityEl?wprov=sfti1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CityEl?wprov=sfti1
- jay_kyburz 5y agoThese are awesome, but they are too small (and too slow) for the road and too big for the bike path or sidewalk. I ride a scooter to work everyday. (Inokim Ox). Its legal on the sidewalk where I live. I really think scooters are the future.
- alexisread 5y agoIn the UK, many of these solutions are held back by regulation - electric scooters aren't legal yet, despite a significant fraction of the population using them. Similarly for electric velomobiles and bicycles, limited to 15mph is limiting given that many cities have large 20mph zones. Once the regulation has caught up, I can see the price dropping for many of these vehicles. There are gaps in the market for (weatherproof!) city transport for 1+1/luggage eg. for shopping, school runs, work commute, mobility etc. As far as scooters go, with such small wheels, they put you at risk every pothole. Hire scooters should really be using 12" or larger to be safe. They're also not weatherproof so not ideal for many demographics and locations. Agreed that we need more innovative transportation though!
- MrBuddyCasino 5y agoAgree, Twikes combine the disadvantages of both. Its more the expression of an identity instead of a rational decision.
- bipson 5y agoThank god they swiftly banned scooters from the sidewalk in Austria. And enforced reasonable speed limits as well. Right after Lyft, Lime and whatnot started to literally litter the sidewalks of Vienna with their (almost free) electric scooters (mind you, these sidewalks are almost always full of people), you were constantly almost run over by some Schmuck with headphones on and an arrogant look on their face, screaming "This is the future you peasants, now get out of my way..."
- jay_kyburz 5y agoI'm going to get a monocle and a top hat and ride with my nose in the air to enhance my arrogant look!
- quicon 5y agoThere is a similar four wheeled HEHV being produced in Norway: https://www.podbike.com https://www.podbike.com
- bipson 5y agoWow, the hoops you have to jump through to find a price! 5k or 5.5k, depending on variant. Although to be practicable (not a hobby), you will have to add quite a few "extras". But not that bad actually! Makes me wonder how it is built.
- Aachen 5y agoFor me (on mobile) it said right on the homepage. And then after loading a few megabytes of data a cookie wall popped up so I guess they need consent for stuff I don't want...
- jablan 5y ago> With +3100 pre-orders, expected delivery for new pre-orders is 2023.
- medstrom 5y ago5k?! That's seriously low. Other velomobiles (going by velomobiel.nl) aren't even ebikes and still go for at least 8k (or 6.6k without VAT to be fair). That's an exciting development, hopefully it's not vaporware.
- 1-more 5y agoIt has a serial hybrid drivetrain: you charge the battery with your pedals. This is inefficient, naturally, but they claim it's far easier to make, which I tend to believe. But the idea of all of my hard-won watts getting wasted by the second law of thermodynamics is just too much to bear. If I'm dropping 5K on a bike it had better have a drivetrain that just sings when you step on it.
- nabilhat 5y agoVelomobiles are a fascinating example of a domain which keeps getting reinvented over and over! The 'glass ceiling' cab has been a feature that keeps showing up on independently developed velomobiles, despite the prior experiences of models like the Go-One and Twike. If the interior is reflective or a light color that doesn't absorb sunlight, it reflects back in the screen, creating glare. If the interior is dark enough not to cause glare, it becomes a solar oven. When it's cool and cloudy enough that the sunlight exposure isn't a problem, condensation sets in.
- el_nahual 5y agoAnother example of how, if you had to design a vehicle for passenger city/suburban use, you would never ever ever come up with an ICE sedan, or to be honest even an electrical vehicle of "normal" proportions. Pretty sure the car is the most harmful invention of the 20th century. The damage it has done to the environment, our health, and social fabric is hard to grok. A couple edits for clarification: - I'm talking about using cars to transport individuals to work, school, lunch, errands, etc - Cars are very harmful to health. Most obviously, they kill a lot of people. There's over one million road deaths worldwide per year[0]. (Covid killed 4M). Less obviously, they are terrible for health. Living next to busy roadways is linked to increased dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. This has nothing to do with CO2--it's the rubber and metal and not addressed by Teslas or whatever. - Cars make people dumber. Students who move to schools downwind of busy roads have lower test scores [1]. - Less obvious is the damage to social fabric. It's not just a distance thing: it's an estrangement thing. People in cars skip the places they move through as opposed to inhabiting them. Think about some busy thoroughfare at night near your home. Does it feel safe? - Think about Houston. Think about Mumbai. Think about Lagos. - Getting rid of cars does not mean everyone has to use public transport. In fact that was my point. You can design a vehicle that takes you quickly from a -> b that doesn't weigh 2 tons and uses 18m^2 at rest. - Getting rid of cars does not mean getting rid of ambulances ffs. But my main issue isn't how bad this all is: it's how unnecessary it is. As a species we are more than capable (as evidenced by the OP!) of building a variety of modes of transport that are better in most every way (utility, externalities, price) to cars. [0]: https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/global-road-safety/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/global-road-safety/index... [1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-04/pollution-from-traffic-harms-kids-academic-performance https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-04/pollution...
- Lukas_Skywalker 5y agoThe german Wikipedia page has pictures of some more recent versions: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twike https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twike
- cstuder 5y agoDriving them feels like sitting in a space ship. Source: I've driven one for a couple of minutes once a couple of years ago. In Switzerland they are kept alive and running by a number of enthusiasts.
- xunn0026 5y agoInteresting but extraordinarily expensive. I assume current battery tech, etc. should provide a much lower price.
- tromp 5y agoThe Dutch manufacturer velomobiel.nl has developed a two person version of its popular Quest velomobile: https://www.velomobiel.nl/duoquest/ https://www.velomobiel.nl/duoquest/ Smaller English version: https://en.velomobiel.nl/duoquest/ https://en.velomobiel.nl/duoquest/ Its lack of electric support makes it rather cheaper than the trike.
- bipson 5y agoI think after all this falls under the super-category Velomobile [1] - there are plenty of other examples for two-seater, electric assisted Velomobiles. Also, Velomobiles are way more popular. My unkle (used to?) drives one every day to work, in every weather, 40+ km one way (without electric assist, at least a few years ago). And no, he was never cold, he rather had problems with ventilation ;) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velomobile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velomobile
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- FriedrichN 5y agoThe problem with these kind of vehicles is that they exist somewhere between cars and bicycles, which means they won't be welcome on either bike paths or car roads. Hell, people even complain about people on race bicycles on bicycle paths. But then again, people wouldn't be people if they didn't complain (about traffic).
- thom 5y agoThis thread is of course tragically incomplete without tagging the Sinclair C5: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5
- samcheng 5y agoThese things are still a bit far outside the mainstream, but if anyone hasn't tried an ebike yet, I highly encourage it! It really is magic mobility, with the free feeling of being on a bike, without the sweat or the necessary fitness to travel at 20 or even 25 mph. I don't think Twikes (or other recumbent bikes / velomobiles) will gain popularity in the near term, but I'm very confident that ebikes will continue to grow.
- hkt 5y agoIn the UK they're limited to 15mph and only operate in assist mode (as opposed to full drive). Where are you that allows that kind of speed?
- samcheng 5y agoIn the US they are limited to 20mph, unless you get the 'speed' version, in which case they are limited to 28mph and technically forbidden from most bike trails. 20mph is a pretty decent clip for a (manual) bicyclist, but 28mph is really moving!
- pornel 5y agoThe limit is a bit annoying, but in practice cars in city traffic aren't moving much faster than this anyway[1]. During rush hours even a limited bike is faster than the cars. [1] https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2019/19767 https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2019/19767
- hkt 5y agoNo doubt, I just had misgivings about the speed. I can't find anything on how much safer 15mph is vs 28mph (sibling comment) but imagine the difference is considerable.
- gambiting 5y agoI mean, you can absolutely go faster than 15mph on an electric bike in the UK, it's just that it has to stop providing any boost past that point.
- albertgoeswoof 5y ago> Pedaling warms the user, making electric heating in winter unnecessary Well that's one way to spin a missing feature ;)
- Hamuko 5y agoToo bad it doesn't really work. Winter biking is still cold as shit and breathing in -20°C air is not fun.
- hkt 5y agoI hope this link is from a clever would-be startup founder so they can show our positive responses as they pitch basically the same idea to YC. More seriously, pedal power is great, better for the environment and better for its users. I expect obesity rates would drop dramatically if we had better cycle infrastructure (I'm in the UK, statement works in most places) and especially if we had family friendly power assisted cycles.
- tomthe 5y agoI had friends who had 2 Twikes. They were really great, my friends used them every day to commute for more than 10 years. But they have two disadvantages: * Savety if you share the road with 2000kg blobs of steel. * Price. Cheap once you have them, but they are not mass-manufactured and come with a heafty price for what they offer.
- ourcat 5y agoAre these like those things I've seen tourists riding around in San Francisco?
- mgreb 5y agoIt seems to me, that this thing combines disadvantages both from car and a bicycle. Also: only one wheel on the front? Imagine what will happen if you decide to apply brakes while cornering at a reasonable speed.
- gillesjacobs 5y agoMy father has had his Twike for seven years now. I wouldn't recommend it, the suspension is not up to snuff, even just for daily commute. Getting repairs done is a major difficulty as there are very little parts or mechanics readily available. He also had to sue the Twike company when they tried to defraud us w.r.t. warranty and insure documents. The legal issues have been on-going and they stalled the repair of the Twike for about a year. My father now commutes by electric bicycle.
- AutumnCurtain 5y agoSimply the cost of it (25.000 euros debut price?) seems to defeat the purpose. The weight being closer by far to a small car than an electric bike doesn't help either. I suppose people who need specifically that much room in their vehicle and/or live somewhere very cold could see utility but given the maintenance issues you mention I'm not surprised it isn't a big seller.
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- petruil_p 5y agoHaving such cars in the city would solve the traffic problem. But why are not selected from the car industry holders? Does the customer not prefer them? Is the marketing that is missing? A good example of transition in the car industry is the massive use of the electric cars which I think that it began with Tesla cars. Tesla cars did the break through for the electric cars from my point of view. There is a need for another break through for using such cars.. or an evolutionary part of the community to start using and search such solutions
- dijit 5y agoReminds me of a Sinclar C5[0] (my grandfather worked for the company I believe, there are photos with him, my mum and a bunch of these C5's) It was mired in troubles; low visibility, low range (lead-acid batteries being... low density compared to li-ion), quite easy to break and being easy to steal. Still, I think the form factor is a wonderful idea and it's nice to see some alternative methods being explored for electric vehicles again.. I sometimes see little electric "Fatboys"[1] in operation around Malmo (a famously cycle friendly city); though sadly I think they're mainly used by drug dealers. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5 [1]: https://www.urbanscooters.com/products/mototec-fatboy-500w-electric-scooter https://www.urbanscooters.com/products/mototec-fatboy-500w-e...
- rswail 5y agoThose Fatboys look perfect for all sorts of local delivery, food, drugs, groceries in general. Not sure why it's particularly sad that drug dealers have adopted a practical delivery vehicle though.
- dijit 5y agoBecause if they’re associated with criminal behaviour then they’re likely to be avoided by ordinary folks.
- dylan604 5y agoDrug dealers are not necessarily dumb, and can be quite creative when figuring out how to go about their criminal enterprising. History is full of stigmatized industry leading change, especially porn. Porn legitimized VHS, the internet, streaming video on the internet, etc.
- jmrm 5y agoHere in Spain there are "fatboys" everywhere, Specially in rural areas as a substitute of mopeds.
- pg_bot 5y agoReminds me of the reliant robin.[0] [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQh56geU0X8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQh56geU0X8
- rswail 5y agoIsn't the reliant robin the ICE equivalent that was/is completely unstable around corners? It makes a good space shuttle replacement though.
- Tepix 5y agoI'm a sucker for these bicycles (or quadcycles) with roofs. There have been countless attempts to bring them to market but it seems they mostly end up being too expensive or not making it to production.
- chappi42 5y agoNice bike/attempt but not many of them in circulation (too expensive, too exposed). Fwiw, pedaling does not provide a large fraction of the needed energy and I don't think the mechanical complication was worth it. Twike is the past imo. Maybe Microlino, a wonderful, stylish, energy efficient vehicle, will be the future (certainly smarter than the crap suv tanks one sees driving around here (in the inner city)).
- chrismorgan 5y agoThis sort of electrical/pedalling hybrid is an interesting space, but one where legislation is often a real downer. I’m currently planning to build a velomobile that I can live out of while cycling round Australia for a year. A trailer too, designed around a digital piano and some sort of fridge (either a production model or one constructed manually from a compressor). It’ll end up heavy enough¹ that I’ll want to put a motor in it, so that for local journeys I can get from Point A to Point B more quickly and more confidently dispose of my car, and because otherwise when touring there will be some hills that I simply can’t climb, and that 200–250W² should make it possible (though probably still not easy). So then I figured, how about a fully electrical drivetrain? Even with the best components, it’ll still be a bit less efficient than a well-maintained chain³, but getting the chain and front chainrings out of the way would be great, making the decision of how to facilitate sleep much easier: go quadricycle (rather than tadpole trike, which is two wheels at the front and one at the back), then to sleep tilt the seat back flat, and shift the pedals/generator a bit out of the way, and there’s no chain to worry about so you’re ready to sleep in the vehicle.⁴ Unfortunately, the legislation is drafted in such a way as to forbid such vehicles. Excerpt from Victoria’s Road Safety Road Rules 2017 <https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-04/17-41sra011%20authorised.pdf#page=521 https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2...>: > bicycle means a vehicle with 2 or more wheels that is built to be propelled partly or wholly by human power through a belt, chain or gears (whether or not it has an auxiliary motor) The way they keep talking about power assistance as the use of an auxiliary motor is troublesome, and this potentially doesn’t even allow things like hydraulic, shaft or electrical drives. But then, what is an electrical wire but a belt for electrons? — ¹ Though nowhere near the the two-seater Twike’s unladen-save-batteries 246kg. I’m aiming for a this-is-my-home practical loaded long-term touring weight of 125kg, including things like 50kg of vehicle and trailer (including all vehicle electronics), 12kg of piano, 12kg of fridge, 12kg of battery and 5kg of solar panels. ² Broadly speaking, Australia currently has two classifications: 200W with no speed limit, and the pedelec 250W but limited to 25km/h. Finer details vary by state. Not sure if you could legally get away with producing 250W if pedalling and under 25km/h, or 200W if over 25km/h (and pedalling, in some states); “an auxiliary motor capable of generating a power output over 200 watts” hangs quite a bit on the interpretation of the word “capable”. ³ An electrical drivetrain could easily be better than a poorly-maintained chain. ⁴ The main alternatives I’m considering include making the vehicle expandable in a way vaguely reminiscent of a pop-top van, and a larger and/or expandable trailer and sleep in that. But I don’t want to be messing around with tents every day.
- dorfsmay 5y agoA very modern version but for one adult: https://www.podbike.com/ https://www.podbike.com/
- medstrom 5y agoNot to mention 5,000 instead of 40,000 EUR...
- ofrzeta 5y agoThe price of the Twikes is absolutely ridiculous. You have to be an idiot or an absolute enthusiast to buy one because with every other vehicle you get a lot more for the money. I wonder how they got to that price. Obviously no economy of scale here but still, I can't create a business on the grounds that I will only sell like two vehicles per year, so I need to make them ridiculously expensive to make my company sustain. Even if I totally manufacture that machine it will never be so costly.
- yohannparis 5y agoMostly because it's made in an highly develop country with strong labour law and high quality of life. Sure, you could built it in Turkey or U.S.A. and lower significantly the cost, but not as much as you think.
- ofrzeta 5y agoFor comparison, the Renault Twizy starts at 7k Euro. Ok, that doesn't include the battery, and maybe it's assembled in Romania but still a much more reasonable price for a comparable product.
- MaxHoppersGhost 5y agoNice swipe at the U.S. but less is manufactured here on a per capita basis than some European countries (namely Germany).
- rsynnott 5y agoI mean, it's made in Germany. For the price, you could get _two_ VW e-ups (worst electric car name ever), also made in Germany, or a small herd of German-made e-bikes.
- sunshineforever 5y agoI actually seriously dream of starting some sort of company to build vehicles like this! Other than the car designs themselves, my idea is to decentralize the ownership and selling to circumvent the laws about auto manufacturing. Like, "the sharing economy" but we're sharing being auto manufacturers in an independent, collective way. Each member will be able to sell so many "custom cars" as a private individual. I want to see the USA with tiny little cars and empower people to be able to theoretically build/maintain their own, like a bicycle. I'm extremely passionate about small vehicles and I think that they will be more popular in the future, when we are facing the more severe effects of climate change and fuel shortage. I haven't even read the thread yet, and I've never brought this sort of thing up here before, but I'm slowly acquiring the knowledge and skills to make building one at least a personal reality some day. Now, on to the thread!
- jsjsbdkj 5y agoI love biking in the summmer, and I've avoided a moped or motorcycle because it would basically overlap with my bike in terms of usefulness around the city. I haven't done a ton of resarch but I haven't seen a good complementary vehicle for running errands / getting around when it's rainy/snowy and I wouldn't want to bike. A recumbent bike like this would be very hard to see in the rain, and it doesn't seem capable of dealing with canadian winter weather.
- soheil 5y ago> Pedaling warms the user, making electric heating in winter unnecessary. I don't know who edited this in the wiki, but this type of talking down to people is probably one of the top reasons the culture of biking in the US even in places like San Francisco never resonated with people. There are just too many condescending bike enthusiasts who think biking is the next best thing invented after sliced bread and everyone else is an idiot for not seeing the light.
- krysp 5y agoI'm not sure how this is talking down to anybody. It's generally true that if you're cycling in the winter (I do it in the UK) you'll be perfectly warm even wearing minimal clothing. The first 5 minutes might be a bit chilly if you're just in shorts, but after that you'll warm right up. If you find bike enthusiasts condescending that's a shame. It is a great way to travel - environmentally friendly, cost efficient, and actually often quicker than public transport (even cars) within major cities. Certainly more convenient, as you don't need to wait for a train or bus, and can generally lock it up just about anywhere. From my experience in the US, the main issue isn't an image problem, just that the road infrastructure has been designed with no thought for cyclists; and the distances (outside of places like NYC and San Fran) are just huge.
- jamilabreu 5y agoLove discovering random Wikipedia articles! Just this week I started a newsletter about the random articles I come across: https://randomwalk.substack.com/ https://randomwalk.substack.com/ Going to use this one :)
- cylinder714 5y agoI love the idea of velomobiles, but living in the American West, air conditioning is a necessity.
- fnord77 5y agohas the same problem as bicycles - if a pickup truck collides with you, you're going to be a grease stain on the road.