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Elf Electric Pedal Car: When 1 Horsepower Is Enough
- trothamel 13y agoA top speed of 20 mph seems dangerously slow for public roads.
- gensym 13y agoI think that's why the article mentions "bike-lane legal". It sounds like it's trying to be a bike with a big cage attached and an electric assist. Personally, without the maneuverability of a bicycle, I can't imagine how it can be at all practical on US streets.
- ChuckMcM 13y agoMore of an enclosed recumbent bike than it is a 'car' so you could say "dangerously fast for a 3 wheel bike" :-) (tricycles are notoriously prone to flipping over because of the way they convert angular momentum.) I suspect it is a bit more fun than a golf cart though.
- jholman 13y agoMy understanding is that it's single-wheel-in-front trikes that are dangerous when cornering at speed. This vehicle has the single wheel in the back.
- lambdasquirrel 13y ago20mph is slow even for a bike. That figure was "top assisted speed."
- HaloZero 13y agoI guess the main benefit of a motor on a bike would be to get up hills quickly so you don't have to pedal as much, flat pedaling would be fine. I wonder where you would park it though? Would you need to have a parking spot for it? That's expensive in a city like San Francisco and finding a parking spot sucks going anywhere.
- josephlord 13y agoAn expanded one of these with room for a couple of children would probably be useful. I know one person who cycles the school run with a 5 year old in a seat at the back of the bike and two younger children in a bike trailer.
- schmrz 13y agoThe first thing that crossed my mind when I read this is that it would be a huge and tragic disaster if that person would get hit by a car. It just doesn't seem safe enough.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- brent_noorda 13y agoYou're right. Those things are death traps, accidents just waiting to happen. And by "those things" I mean "cars".
- radiowave 13y agoA latter day Sinclair C5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5
- IvyMike 13y agoAs a rule of thumb, if you need to move a horse-like weight at horse-like speeds, one horsepower will do.
- kamakazizuru 13y agoFor the price they're offering it - I feel like it might end up going down the same road as a Segway. For 5000$ - why not buy a used car if you really cant get around those distances on foot? I just feel like the speed vs price vs safety vs existence of other much cheaper options - will make this thing a lot less attractive.