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RadTrike Electric Tricycle
- throwaway1777 4y agoAt some point the line between electric car and bike gets very blurry.
- CharlesW 4y agoThe pre-order price of the e-bike is $2,500. Which electric car makes that line blurry?
- austinbeer 4y agohttps://www.wired.com/story/review-wuling-hongguang-mini-ev/ https://www.wired.com/story/review-wuling-hongguang-mini-ev/ https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Hot-Sale-2022-New-Cheap-Electric_1600068013262.html https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Hot-Sale-2022-New-Che... Like $2-$8k electric car / golf cart-sih cars are already happening!
- cwoolfe 4y agoWhoa! +1 for https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Hot-Sale-2022-New-Cheap-Electric_1600068013262.html https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Hot-Sale-2022-New-Che... Is that legal to drive on US roads?!
- sbierwagen 4y agoDepends on the state and municipality. Check your local laws regarding golf carts.
- rmahan 4y agoDefinitely not. Electrek bought a LEV (Light Electric Vehicle) truck like this and it wasn’t. They’re unsafe for roads due to lack of many safety features
- cwoolfe 4y agoIt doesn't surprise me that they are not street legal...but it's interesting to me that in all practicality, they are probably safer than riding a bike; and yet bikes are legal.
- bityard 4y agoWe need AgingWheels to buy one of these
- sbierwagen 4y agohttps://jalopnik.com/the-worlds-cheapest-ev-is-genuinely-good-1847048450 https://jalopnik.com/the-worlds-cheapest-ev-is-genuinely-goo... Basically a fully enclosed golf cart, lead acid batteries and all. Was $1,200 a year ago. Can it go on the highway? No. Is it crashworthy? No. But neither is an ebike, and this at least keeps the rain off you.
- undersuit 4y agoJust like the line between an ICE car and a bike with a two-stroke strapped on.
- gorgoiler 4y agoMy 2021 radrunner plus has some serious defects. The charging port is prone to weather corrosion. Charging is a risky action that may or may not blow some very sensitive fuses. The mechanical disc brakes suck and are very hard to balance. The discs were supplied warped. I pretty much had to suck that up because of the misery of returning a faulty machine to an online bike company. The seat is a notorious bum numbing pain. The shifters are plastic crap. It rusts. Fixing a rear puncture was a slow but pleasing experience that seems to be one thing where they’ve optimised for: maintenance. I’m resigned to it hitting the scrap heap after 3000km. It’s only a matter of time. It’s such a shame that at their price points these devices are basically disposable. Spend 2x the money on something not bought online and you’ll probably enjoy 5x the lifetime. Thanks for trying though, Rad. I get your passion. It just didn’t work out but maybe you’ll level out into something cool soon. Maybe this trike is it? Heavier, clunkier, even more fixable, and with more bulletproof electronics on the drivetrain and you could win out against the clones, especially if you had a fully fleshed out service partnership in the EU.
- simfree 4y agoReplacing the discs on each wheel is straightforward, and the warping your noticing might be due to pressure from the mounting screws that tie it to the rim of the bike. Have you tried loosening these, applying the brakes fully, and tightening the screws hand tight to center the brake disc and let it relax to flat? I think the future is dual hub motors with Regen braking. Having tried this on a brakeless bike and a modified scooter, the performance is very good.
- germinalphrase 4y agoBrakeless bike? Are you able to emergency stop?
- jandrese 4y agoI assume "brakeless" means it energizes the motors in reverse when you pull the brake lever. Just no friction brakes. Not a system I would personally use, I don't trust electronics that much.
- sf4lifer 4y agoWhy hasn't anyone slapped on a gyroscope and just made an electric bike self balancing?
- FpUser 4y agoWould be fun on sharp turns.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Gys 4y agohttps://www.designboom.com/technology/self-driving-bicycle-huawei-engineers-operate-unmanned-06-14-2021/ https://www.designboom.com/technology/self-driving-bicycle-h...
- dmix 4y agoThat's amazing, I never thought of self-driving ebikes. This has to be the future in urban cities right? Especially in Asia... Assuming LIDAR eventually becomes cheap enough or cameras become sufficient for the job.
- kennywinker 4y agoIn order for it to self-balance, it'd need full control of the front wheel position. Source: I can almost do a track stand.
- stingrae 4y agohttps://weel.bike/ https://weel.bike/ It's complicated and expensive for something that most people don't want.
- letmeinhere 4y ago> A bike without traditional components, defined entirely by its software… {shudder}
- topkai22 4y ago
- stillbourne 4y agoI've got a recumbent bike that I added electric to. I had to redo the setup though because I initially built it with a hub motor which made hill climbing still be a bit of a bitch so I rebuilt it with a middrive motor.
- UI_at_80x24 4y agoI ride a LongBikes SlipStream and have been considering getting a mid-drive myself. Are you on a LWB or a SWB bike? Any tips/suggestions? As a nice bonus, the wheelbase of my bike gives me a TONNE of space under the frame and within the frame for battery packs. So it's a whole project that I'm going to get started on after I move.
- stillbourne 4y agoOh, nice I've been eyeballing that slipstream. Suggestions? Build you own battery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3eRv_FZjBc&list=PLPqn8bOJKP_nYD-BAKxJHOYovjickM3wD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3eRv_FZjBc&list=PLPqn8bOJKP... And get a Bafang motor: https://www.utahtrikes.com/PROD-11620438.html https://www.utahtrikes.com/PROD-11620438.html Also I've got a catrike villager
- newaccount2021 4y ago
- fudged71 4y ago[flagged]
- kennywinker 4y agoCan you imagine how many fewer car crash injuries/fatalities we'll have if boomers turn to these kinds of vehicles as they age instead of driving long past their ability to do it safely? Your reaction time to safely drive one of these can be so much slower, and the damage you do when you mess up is going to be much much smaller. I really hope this catches on.
- CharlesW 4y agoSeems great! E-trikes are also more accessible for those with special needs, and are great for hauling stuff.
- uoaei 4y agoCan't wait to watch them turn at speed with that wheelbase and design.
- jeffbee 4y agoWhat? Ebike owners by age: 18-29: 46%; 30-44: 38%; 45-64: 14%; 65+: 3%. Boomers are 58-76 years old. https://business.yougov.com/content/44110-tracing-demographics-e-bike-owners-us https://business.yougov.com/content/44110-tracing-demographi...
- dang 4y agoNo generational flamewar on HN, please. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- bryanlarsen 4y agoThis is in response to the troll who you can see with showdead. The average electric bike owner gets more exercise than the average cyclist or the average driver: https://electrek.co/2019/08/11/electric-bike-riders-more-exercise-than-cyclists/ https://electrek.co/2019/08/11/electric-bike-riders-more-exe... In retrospect it's not that surprising since the average cyclist doesn't use their bike...
- algoatecorn 4y agoYea but you don't become a cyclist until you start pedaling.
- beebmam 4y agoMy best friend was just hit by a car on a 40mph road and had to be hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury and seizures that he's still not recovered from (and maybe never will). I'm not cycling again in my city until we start protecting cyclists here. The roads where I live are absurdly unsafe for cyclists to be on. It's a fucking joke to put a bike lane without a physical divider a few inches next to cars on a 40mph road.
- bluGill 4y agoI'll bet your city has a bike advocacy group. Find them and get involved. Even if it just write letters, they need people to put pressure on to get things to happen. They also need people to vote against someone who doesn't help their goals.
- TaylorAlexander 4y agoI have always been a cyclist. Heck I even competed in the Sea Otter Classic mountain bike race when I was 15, where I got to ride my bike on Laguna Seca racetrack, which I think is neat. I am a cyclist even when I am not on my bike. In recent years I haven't been riding much. A couple months ago I put an electric motor on my bike, and now I am riding it all the time. And I am still a cyclist!
- 4y ago
- paulpauper 4y agoThe big advantage of a bike is it's faster and can be used for sidewalks and roads easier. A trike is too wide and heavy. You cannot use it for commuting
- dylan604 4y agoI doubt this trike is any wider than some of the big ass baby strollers out and about
- kasey_junk 4y agoVery few jurisdictions in the US allow you to ride bikes on sidewalks as an adult.
- UncleOxidant 4y agoMy dad is 82. He can't ride a 2 wheel bike anymore as he's a bit shaky, but he can ride a trike.
- endisneigh 4y agoTrikes are dangerous at high speed. Anyone seriously considering this should understand how to properly turn with this style of trike. I'm surprised they didn't do the inverted triangle style. I understand the market for not DIY, but someone considering this should also consider buying a Schwinn Meridian and a conversion kit (front wheel hub) and saving $1500. Speaking of which, it would be interesting to see someone bend some copper to use as a frame and use some plexiglass to create a roof to keep rain off you.
- bityard 4y agoSome years ago, I followed a YouTuber who did exactly this and it turned out he had no end of reliability issues with the bearings, wheels, and frame because it turns out pedal-powered trikes just aren't built for the significantly higher speeds and weight of a motor-powered trike, especially when used for multi-mile trips as a daily commuter. Range was not great either, due to the extra weight of the wooden box he made to hold everything but the rest probably applies to many lower-end two-wheeled bikes too. I suspect this is the reason that most higher-end electric bikes more closely resemble electric motorcycles than bikes, in terms of wheel size and frame build.
- cialowicz 4y agoI recently learned about The Villages, FL, which is a sprawling retirement community, and was the fastest growing metro area in the US over the past decade [0]. This feels like the perfect bike for an aging demographic living in that sort of community. This sort of e-bike will be less intimidating to use for older people, and ultimately it feels like a good move for the company. It's hard to argue with getting more people outdoors and active on bicycles. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/us/the-villages-census-florida-population.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/us/the-villages-census-fl...
- blamazon 4y agoSmaller than The Villages, is Peachtree City outside of Atlanta, which is notable for making off-street micromobility pathways a priority in city planning: (relative to the rest of the suburban US) https://www.peachtree-city.org/DocumentCenter/View/17110/Path-Map-Dec-2020 https://www.peachtree-city.org/DocumentCenter/View/17110/Pat... (If the map looks a little weird, it's because there's a zillion unofficial paths to connect the dots) They've rallied around golf carts historically but it's a great place to bike. I use an E-bike and see a lot of recumbent bicycles using the pathways.
- lesuorac 4y ago> They've rallied around golf carts historically but it's a great place to bike. Yeah. Having spent a decent amount of time in Florida gated communities, I just don't see electric bikes replacing electric golf carts. You already have a golf cart and the only thing the bike can do is use a bike lane. Sure somebody who likes to bike might get one just like somebody who likes tennis might get a pickleball set but the average person is just going to get an electric golf cart.
- blamazon 4y agoOne crucial detail in my eyes - e-bikes are almost always going to be cheaper. That is meaningful, to some, and may become meaningful to more. Also, parking and storage. As cost of housing goes up, so too does the cost/size of parking/storage.
- beau_g 4y agoThis is the perfect combination we've been waiting for: safety of a 1980s Honda 3 wheeler ATC, design language of a Rascal Scooter
- mgrthrow 4y agoElectric bikes are an order of magnitude more efficient than cars and several times more efficient than bikes. (Measured as calories/electrical power). People who ride electric bikes still get the benefits of exercise (elevated heart rate, muscle use) though obviously less than regular biking. I ride mine year round in Seattle, it's incredible. I deliver cargo, go grocery shopping, visit the library. This should be the default mode.
- nomel 4y agoWhere I am, it's illegal for bicyclists to ride on the sidewalk, so you're left with a couple of feet of space beyond the white line, in the unprotected shoulder, with a speed difference of around 30mph, and often a curb to make sure you eat it if you're pushed beyond. With the number of people I've seen weave into the shoulder, biking being the default would be a blood bath.
- mgrthrow 4y agoIf the city won't provide infrastructure, take the whole lane.
- steelframe 4y ago> biking being the default would be a blood bath The theory I've heard is that cyclists being on the road is only a problem when it's the exception. When it's rare, motorists aren't expecting it and are driving in a way that doesn't accommodate it. If cycling were "the default," motorist behavior would be very different because everyone would be expecting it.
- anonporridge 4y agoThe problem is that the main way to change this is for a critical mass of self sacrificing individuals to choose to put themselves in harms way in order to shift the expectations of drivers.
- hackmiester 4y agoPersonally, I just illegally ride on the sidewalk. It's unenforced, and it's easy to stop and walk the bike when you see a pedestrian. (Which is even more rare than another cyclist.)
- loufe 4y agoIf anyone here is from RadPower, please fix the Canadian site redirect. It's SO frustrating having sites recommend we use their Canadian version, only to get redirected to the Canadian home page or be told that that product doesn't exist (yet in Canada, I presume).
- dohdhdaa 4y agoI am a decently experienced NYC cyclist. Not Terry Barentsen or anything, but pretty decent at biking both in fitness terms and in practical urban NYC riding. The biggest problem with e-bikers, and general e-thing riders, as a population, is that they haven’t built the bike skills equivalent to the speed that they can go at. I can ride 20mph if I want to, but it took a long time for me to be able to do that. I had to ride a lot. In doing so, I got a lot of practice. E-bikes allow you to do that with basically no practice. The resulting behavior is not good. They ride erratically. They ride with AirPods. They salmon. They salmon at night with no lights. They salmon on roads that aren’t even one way! They shoal at every intersection. So this thing will make them double wide as they salmon… I don’t want to be opposed to e-bikes but the practical effects on cycling, for those of us that were already doing it, since the pandemic explosion, haven’t been great.
- UncleOxidant 4y agoWhat does 'salmon' mean here? The first time I read it above, I thought you meant 'slalom' but then you repeated 'salmon' several times so it seems deliberate.
- BoorishBears 4y agoGo the wrong way up a one way street. Dangerous because people are generally not expecting things to come from the wrong way. (Technically going on the wrong side of the road is also salmoning, but in NYC it was almost always wrong way on a one-way
- bityard 4y agoI want to know what it means to "shoal" on a bike. There are just too many marine references here.
- winphone1974 4y agoThe bunching at a red light, typically moving to the front of the line because everyone assumes they're faster then the people already waiting
- throwayyy479087 4y agoI truly hate these things because I can JUST BARELY convince myself not to buy one. EBikes are so much fun, and in this format are so practical.... Maybe i'll wait for the second gen
- tgorgolione 4y agoI tried to learn how to drive a 200cc gas scooter so I could save money versus buying a new car, with disastrous effect (broke my leg and arm). So now, what I really want is something in tricycle form, but at a $3k price point. Maybe an electric trike that can go on a town road lane (maybe with a top speed of 40-50mph), and has a roof attachment to protect the driver from rain, etc. Getting the exercise from pedaling would be an added benefit.
- hnav 4y agoIf you broke your limbs riding a 200cc scooter, a 40mph tricycle would kill you. There's a reason this thing is limited to 15mph, it's extremely likely to flip and land on top of you.
- smileysteve 4y agoI'm looking for a tricycle that has a differential for the rear wheels.
- stevehawk 4y agoThis seems like a horrible idea. Three wheelers were outlawed for a reason, motorcycle trikes/sidecars aren't super stable either. I'm surprised someone would opt for this instead of a two wheels up front design.
- pnathan 4y agoYes, that's an interesting choice. I remember when trikes were pulled in the late 80s- very risky. Two wheels up front made a return in the last decade. I'm going to be following this. I think a Trike will be enormously popular because of the stability, but it has to be stable. Rad tends to design for low cost... I hope this wasn't a terrible choice.....
- kqr2 4y agoThe three wheeler (adult tricycle): an unstable, dangerous machine https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3723640/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3723640/
- flatiron 4y agoI’m unsure why nobody releases a compact electric 4 seater car with a 60 mile range for running the kids to school and grabbing some random groceries. Basically a beefed up golf cart. That’s all I need to drop my kids off at school each day which is 95% of my weekday driving.
- justinator 4y agoPlenty of Moms moving around town with a few kiddos in the back of their long trail eBikes. They seem to fit two rugrats on those things.
- pnathan 4y agolong tail bikes fit 2-3 kids. its easier when it's an E-bike. But they were geared for and used before the electric assist became popular.
- bagels 4y agoNissan leaf? BMW i3?
- ketralnis 4y agoFiat 500e, Smart Fourtwo (both discontinued in the US, sadly)
- zemvpferreira 4y agoBecause people won't buy it. This is just like the "smaller iPhone" conversation. Even in Europe compacts are disappearing because everyone would rather buy 100% more car for 50% more money. It's that simple. EDIT: that said we now have the Dacia Spring which is approximately what you're asking for. Even that is on the chopping block two years after being introduced and selling like hotcakes.
- winphone1974 4y agoYou can't build a compact electric car with 4 seats that meets safety laws. As soon as it's classified as an automobile you're stepping into a new game. That's why existing solutions are essentially mopeds with 4 wheels.
- mewse 4y ago@dang: This submission links to a PR site written by the company producing the product. As per the new policy introduced here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33884441 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33884441, should this url be replaced by a third-party site we just googled? For example, here's one I just googled which provides useful extra context about the company and the safety record of their previous products: https://www.geekwire.com/2022/rad-power-bikes-launches-radtrike-a-three-wheeled-model-of-its-e-bike/ https://www.geekwire.com/2022/rad-power-bikes-launches-radtr...
- bjourne 4y agoIt's just commercial spam. Electric trikes are not news.
- johnfernow 4y agoThere are not many companies that make etrikes, especially none remotely as big as Rad. It is quite big news for one of the largest ebike manufacturers to start making one, as it up until now has been a tiny niche with only expensive models from small companies. Doesn't mean that the URL shouldn't be replaced by a third-party site, but I certainly consider this newsworthy.
- squarefoot 4y agoTrikes with upfront single wheel are dangerous; I would any day take a bigger one that has two wheels upfront and is street legal in the EU to use in place of the car for longer trips. Health issues, many steep hills and the need to take highways rule e-bikes out completely. I'm in love with the Arcimoto Roadster which, high costs aside, sadly isn't street legal here.
- scrose 4y agoHave you seen 3-wheelers like the Piaggio mp3? I think those are street legal with just a drivers license. The main downside being it’s not electric. I’ve looked at Arcimoto too, but being in NYC with something like that just seems like asking for a bad time
- squarefoot 4y agoThanks, I'm aware of those 3-wheelers like the Piaggio mp3 and others; they however are more akin to motorcycles due to the short distance between the two front wheels, while I was searching for something having better stability to avoid the risk of falling off having already suffered a bad motorcycle accident with lots of fractures and a backbone stabilization. Over here we have street legal CanAm 3-wheelers which are gorgeous, but they're not electric and cost a small fortune as well. Patiently waiting for a full electric alternative. https://can-am.brp.com/on-road/us/en/models.html https://can-am.brp.com/on-road/us/en/models.html
- analog31 4y agoIndeed, 3-wheeled all terrain vehicles were outlawed after there were a lot of injuries. An elderly gentleman in my locale made himself a trike with 3 wheels in front. He rode at less than a walking pace, but was out all the time. I made a mental note for if and when I can longer get around on two wheels.
- dsfyu404ed 4y ago>Indeed, 3-wheeled all terrain vehicles were outlawed after there were a lot of injuries. I believe you meant to say "after a few injuries and a moral panic originating among demographics that don't tend to expose themselves (moreso their kids) to risk of injury very much." Nobody cared when farmers had three wheelers. But at some point as they moves in from the rural areas to the exurbs and into the outer suburbs and a line was crossed and they went the way of lawn darts. I wouldn't want a three wheeler as transportation but as entertainment or a utility vehicle they're fine, not stupid proof but fine.
- slondr 4y ago14mph top speed? Aren't there plenty of e-trikes that reach Class 2 or Class 3 speeds?
- CubsFan1060 4y agoYes, including all of Rad's other bikes. I suspect they want to limit the speed with a trike due to rollover.
- ketralnis 4y agoI have a Rad City 4 and I love it. I commute on it often, it's powerful enough for San Francisco hills, the regen braking is excellent. I'm really happy with it. This tricycle isn't for me but I get it, I think the niches that ebikes can fill are much bigger than we think they are
- nuggin 4y agoBit of a thread jack but I've been wondering are trikes significantly easier to ride on sand than regular bikes? Specifically thinking of a Kiffy Flash.
- seventytwo 4y agoFYI - there’s another company called Liberty Trike which specializes in electric trikes for seniors. It’s a quality product for about half the price (and half the range).
- Tempest1981 4y agoUSB Ports: Optional, sold separately Couldn't find the price.
- ralusek 4y agoI have a Rad Mini 4. Would not recommend. The chain popped off on my first ride on flat ground, had to be fixed by a technician. More recently, the bike just turns off (pretty frequently) mid ride with nearly full battery.
- robotburrito 4y agoI imagine that in 5 to 10 years we will see more devices such as this on the roads if cars continue to get increasingly more expensive and public transit does not keep up with demand. Especially in more rural locations.
- colordrops 4y agoThese have been around for decades in China.
- pfundstein 4y agoHow is this not an outright advertisement?
- Timmi2000 4y agoOrdering Bikes online is something I wouldn’t recommend. My Ribble Hybrid was damaged in transit. The manufacturer agreed to pay for the repairs. No bikeshop was willing to repair it though, since they want to make the sale themselves and don’t want to deal with exotic hardware. As for trikes, do you really need one if you are not impaired? Bikes are awesome for the city because they are one lane wide. A trike instantly blocks the bikelane, is slow around corners and thus a hassle for anyone else who is trying to get somewhere!