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The bearded guy raised the point of needing to trust the vehicle to not fall over, and there was a lot of talk about how it looked and what kind of cool feature

by redcap 14y ago

The bearded guy raised the point of needing to trust the vehicle to not fall over, and there was a lot of talk about how it looked and what kind of cool features were included. But before I purchased it, I'd definitely want to have a test ride to see how it went, and perhaps some decent feedback from Top Gear - how does it really handle in a variety of situations?

breakyerself 14y ago
I'd go for a motor trend review. Top gear has been caught sandbagging electric vehicles in the past. I love the show for it's entertainment value, but they aren't always a neutral party.
- Shish2k 14y ago
  > they aren't always a neutral party. They are sometimes a neutral party? I always thought Top Gear was a car-themed sitcom...
- freehunter 14y ago
  I agree here. Top Gear gives entertaining reviews, and they touch on the good or bad parts of the car, but not in an incredibly well-rounded way. They have a tendency to home in on one or two positives or negatives and ride that for the laughs. I really would love to see what they say, but I wouldn't use it as my only or even my main review source. Especially considering their history of deceptive entertainment when it comes to electric cars.
simias 14y ago
I expect that even if the gyros stop while you're driving you wouldn't fall over because... well because that's how bikes work. It might change the way it handles though. So I would only be worried about it falling over while stopped, which is not as bad I guess. Here in Paris I see a lot of those motor tricycles that don't require motorbike license, so I think there's definitely a market for a not-so dangerous and simpler motorbike in congested urban areas. By the way I hate it when the hostess introduces gyros like "space age technology". Yeah, my bike has bits of steel soldered together, you know, like the International Space Station!
- duggan 14y ago
  > I expect that even if the gyros stop while you're driving you wouldn't fall over because... well because that's how bikes work. I don't imagine the dynamics would be the same, after all, you're the gyro on a normal bike. If the vehicle was unloaded and you were going straight, you'd probably be able to keep enough manual balance control to come to a relatively controlled halt deploying the parking struts. However, I imagine the gyros are going to be compensating for internal imbalance (shopping, baggage) in everyday scenarios, or be travelling around a corner, or in traffic, etc, so you might have less time than you think to regain control before toppling.
  - simias 14y ago
    Don't the wheels themselves act like gyros at medium speed? But I get your point, losing the gyros out of the blue on the highway might create a very dangerous situation.
    - barrkel 14y ago
      Yes they do, but the primary reason bicycles (as well as motorbikes) have stability is because of trail - the contact point of the front wheel is behind the steering axis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_and_motorcycle_geometry#Trail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_and_motorcycle_geometry... A banked-over bicycle naturally tends to turn into the corner because of trail, and that turning-in torques the bike back towards upright - turning the handlebars towards the centre of the curve moves the bottom of the bike towards the centre of the curve, and that pulls the bike upright. The larger the trail, the more stable the bike is. Sportsbikes tend to have shorter trail so that they turn in faster, cruisers tend to have longer trails so they are more stable on long straight roads. Loss of gyros would be far more noticeable at low speeds (less than 20mph) than high speeds IMO.
      - jdbernard 14y ago
        While trail and gyroscopic forces both influence steering and stability, neither are required. It has been shown that a bike can still be self-balancing even without trail or gyroscopic forces, though positive trail and gyroscopic forces do make it easier to balance and more stable (see http://bicycle.tudelft.nl/stablebicycle/StableBicyclev34Revised.pdf http://bicycle.tudelft.nl/stablebicycle/StableBicyclev34Revi...). ithkuil's comment is the more accurate description of what is going on.
kybernetyk 14y ago
> The bearded guy raised the point of needing to trust the vehicle to not fall over I guess this will be only an issue to people who own a motorcycle already. I on the other hand as someone who never rode a motorcycle would have no problem with the C1. (But maybe that's because I know how reliable gyros are?)

by redcap 14y ago

breakyerself 14y ago

I'd go for a motor trend review. Top gear has been caught sandbagging electric vehicles in the past. I love the show for it's entertainment value, but they aren't always a neutral party.

Shish2k 14y ago
> they aren't always a neutral party. They are sometimes a neutral party? I always thought Top Gear was a car-themed sitcom...
freehunter 14y ago
I agree here. Top Gear gives entertaining reviews, and they touch on the good or bad parts of the car, but not in an incredibly well-rounded way. They have a tendency to home in on one or two positives or negatives and ride that for the laughs. I really would love to see what they say, but I wouldn't use it as my only or even my main review source. Especially considering their history of deceptive entertainment when it comes to electric cars.

simias 14y ago

I expect that even if the gyros stop while you're driving you wouldn't fall over because... well because that's how bikes work. It might change the way it handles though. So I would only be worried about it falling over while stopped, which is not as bad I guess. Here in Paris I see a lot of those motor tricycles that don't require motorbike license, so I think there's definitely a market for a not-so dangerous and simpler motorbike in congested urban areas. By the way I hate it when the hostess introduces gyros like "space age technology". Yeah, my bike has bits of steel soldered together, you know, like the International Space Station!

duggan 14y ago
> I expect that even if the gyros stop while you're driving you wouldn't fall over because... well because that's how bikes work. I don't imagine the dynamics would be the same, after all, you're the gyro on a normal bike. If the vehicle was unloaded and you were going straight, you'd probably be able to keep enough manual balance control to come to a relatively controlled halt deploying the parking struts. However, I imagine the gyros are going to be compensating for internal imbalance (shopping, baggage) in everyday scenarios, or be travelling around a corner, or in traffic, etc, so you might have less time than you think to regain control before toppling.
- simias 14y ago
  Don't the wheels themselves act like gyros at medium speed? But I get your point, losing the gyros out of the blue on the highway might create a very dangerous situation.
  - barrkel 14y ago
    Yes they do, but the primary reason bicycles (as well as motorbikes) have stability is because of trail - the contact point of the front wheel is behind the steering axis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_and_motorcycle_geometry#Trail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_and_motorcycle_geometry... A banked-over bicycle naturally tends to turn into the corner because of trail, and that turning-in torques the bike back towards upright - turning the handlebars towards the centre of the curve moves the bottom of the bike towards the centre of the curve, and that pulls the bike upright. The larger the trail, the more stable the bike is. Sportsbikes tend to have shorter trail so that they turn in faster, cruisers tend to have longer trails so they are more stable on long straight roads. Loss of gyros would be far more noticeable at low speeds (less than 20mph) than high speeds IMO.
    - jdbernard 14y ago
      While trail and gyroscopic forces both influence steering and stability, neither are required. It has been shown that a bike can still be self-balancing even without trail or gyroscopic forces, though positive trail and gyroscopic forces do make it easier to balance and more stable (see http://bicycle.tudelft.nl/stablebicycle/StableBicyclev34Revised.pdf http://bicycle.tudelft.nl/stablebicycle/StableBicyclev34Revi...). ithkuil's comment is the more accurate description of what is going on.

kybernetyk 14y ago

> The bearded guy raised the point of needing to trust the vehicle to not fall over I guess this will be only an issue to people who own a motorcycle already. I on the other hand as someone who never rode a motorcycle would have no problem with the C1. (But maybe that's because I know how reliable gyros are?)