Yet Another Cycling Forum

General Category => Freewheeling => The Dark Side => Topic started by: mrcharly-YHT on 15 February, 2017, 12:54:05 pm

Title: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 15 February, 2017, 12:54:05 pm
I can't quite see how this would be road-legal in europe
http://www.grantsinclair.com/en/e-bike/iris-extreme.html (http://www.grantsinclair.com/en/e-bike/iris-extreme.html)

750watt motor, advertised as having a speed of 30mph.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 15 February, 2017, 12:57:55 pm
Maybe they're seeking type approval as a moped?
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Auntie Helen on 15 February, 2017, 01:03:20 pm
Yes, there is a special type approval here for up to 45km/h but it has to have a number plate (narrow green one) and is not allowed on cycle paths. People do this to trikes sometimes, HP Velotechnik have their Skorpion type appproved.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 15 February, 2017, 01:12:27 pm
Anyway, we all know that anything transport-related with 'Sinclair' written on it is vaporware.

Doesn't seem to involve as much reinventing the wheel as usual, though, so maybe it will work.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 15 February, 2017, 01:18:59 pm
Is "road legal" necessarily the same as type approval? Or just in conformity with general CUR?

In any case it looks way too much like his uncle's ideas.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 15 February, 2017, 01:25:41 pm
I think it is utterly different to the c5. As different as it is possible to be, tbh. 2 wheels at front, fully enclosed, much, much bigger, etc.

Road legal is about being legal. There is a bbc vid with one in use, and the voice over indicates that sinclair the younger thinks of these things as e-bikes and their being used on cycle networks.

If they were used on road networks, I think they have a place, as a kind of velo-moped device.
The cheaper model at £3000 with a 250W motor seems competitive with other velomobiles.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 15 February, 2017, 01:27:10 pm
In any case it looks way too much like his uncle's ideas.

It's looking a lot more like a proven velomobile design than previous attempts.  Sinclair always seemed to design these things in a bubble where the lessons learned from building real recumbents were ignored.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 15 February, 2017, 01:28:17 pm
It might be very different from the C5 but it looks very similar in shape.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 15 February, 2017, 01:33:21 pm
The cheaper model at £3000 with a 250W motor seems competitive with other velomobiles.

*clicks around the site further*

There we go.  The 'Eco' model boasts "no licence required" and "no throttle required" where the 'Extreme' version doesn't, suggesting that the Extreme will be road legal as some form of motor vehicle, rather than as a pedelec.

I note that the Eco page talks about 25mph, but in the context of aerodynamics, rather than the motor (which presumably cuts out above 25kph as usual).  25mph sounds about right for a not-optimally-aerodynamic velomobile on the flat.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 15 February, 2017, 01:34:55 pm
It might be very different from the C5 but it looks very similar in shape.

It looks more like a Versatile than a C5 in shape.

There are definitely similarities in some of the styling.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: sojournermike on 15 February, 2017, 01:36:10 pm
Perfectly useable commuter vehicle I would hope
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: LittleWheelsandBig on 15 February, 2017, 01:36:22 pm
Hopefully it'll be better quality/ more durable/ practical than previous Sinclair cycles but I'll wait for a while for that to be proven. Or not.

http://www.abikecentral.com
http://www.c5owners.com
http://www.davidlenton.co.uk/2013/11/10/sinclair-transportation/
https://www.camcycle.org.uk/newsletters/14/article20.html
http://spectrum-zx.chat.ru/zike.htm
https://www.wired.com/2010/11/sinclair-x-1-sir-clive-tries-another-electric-bike/
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Auntie Helen on 15 February, 2017, 01:51:29 pm
It is quite high - I would worry a bit about rolling it!
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 15 February, 2017, 01:54:59 pm
It is quite high - I would worry a bit about rolling it!

Better than the Sinclair X-1
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 15 February, 2017, 01:58:09 pm
And because nobody's posted it yet, I've just discovered the BBC video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38960275
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Torslanda on 15 February, 2017, 02:04:24 pm
Interesting claims for range.

750w - 48v 13.5ah up to 80km.

250w - 48v 20ah up to 75km.

So 50% more capacity with 10% LESS range. So can we assume the 750w mid-drive is almost 50% more efficient? Or am I missing something blindingly obvious . . . ?
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 15 February, 2017, 02:40:01 pm
And takes 2.5hrs to recharge, whereas the other one takes one hour?

Those figures don't add up unless the batteries are of different types or something.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 15 February, 2017, 04:39:58 pm
Occam's razor would suggest that they've got the battery specs the wrong way round.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Torslanda on 15 February, 2017, 08:15:08 pm
Y'know, I'm kind of tempted . . .
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 15 February, 2017, 08:20:45 pm
If it's not awful, the price really isn't bad.  Sort of thing that would work for commuting.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: sojournermike on 15 February, 2017, 09:07:34 pm
If it's not awful, the price really isn't bad.  Sort of thing that would work for commuting.


Exactly, it's much less expensive than the other velomobiles appear to be.

Building one has been a lose intention for over 40 years. I really need to win the lottery to liberate some time. Do worry about weight up here in t'Yorkshire Dales mind

Mike
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 15 February, 2017, 09:19:04 pm
Weight's only really an issue when you have to lug the thing about, or if you allow the battery to run out.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Mr Larrington on 16 February, 2017, 03:03:16 am
No suspension, I've heard, and the expensive version has solid tyres.  Colossal greenhouse to melt you when it's sunny and steam up when it rains.  And so on.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 16 February, 2017, 08:13:14 am
He's going to have to produce some demo models and take them to the cycle shows.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 16 February, 2017, 12:09:20 pm
No suspension, I've heard, and the expensive version has solid tyres.  Colossal greenhouse to melt you when it's sunny and steam up when it rains.  And so on.

I was wondering about ventilation.  There's something about filters, but not fans, from which I conclude it'll be okay in the right sort of mediocre weather, as long as you let the electrickery do most of the work.  The absence of the traditional hole in the floor also makes me wonder how you're supposed to reverse it.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 16 February, 2017, 12:19:58 pm
He's going to have to produce some demo models and take them to the cycle shows.
Gary the mechanic who was running our club auction last night has been involved in building one up. He said he received a "curious" phone call from Grant Sinclair. I don't know any more.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: alexb on 16 February, 2017, 06:00:14 pm
I'm just curious how you would use something like this on a day to day basis. It's not the sort of thing I'd want to leave locked up and it wouldn't fit in any of the bike storage spaces at work, although it could be left in the motorbike parking spaces I suppose.
However, for shopping or anything that you might use a day to day runabout for, it would be a bit of a liability I would have thought.

Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 16 February, 2017, 06:03:05 pm
I'm just curious how you would use something like this on a day to day basis. It's not the sort of thing I'd want to leave locked up and it wouldn't fit in any of the bike storage spaces at work, although it could be left in the motorbike parking spaces I suppose.
However, for shopping or anything that you might use a day to day runabout for, it would be a bit of a liability I would have thought.

Paging Auntie Helen.  Auntie Helen to the purple courtesy phone, please...


Actually, I'm inclined to agree.  Much as I enjoy riding my recumbents, I use a boring hybrid for the day-to-day stuff, not least because it's easier to park, less likely to be fiddled with, and ultimately much cheaper to maintain or indeed replace.  Of course, I'm fortunate in that do actually have the option.  If you have to use a trike anyway, then a velomobile becomes relatively practical.

Not that I haven't used funny bikes to do the shopping when circumstances dictate (typically when touring), and it's been fine.  But those do tend to be places that are a bit more bike-friendly than central Birmingham.  I think the practicality is mostly going to come down to where you live.

Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Auntie Helen on 16 February, 2017, 06:15:21 pm
In Germany there is an abundance of cycle parking so no problems there, except I just dump my Velomobile anywhere really. You don't need to lean it against anything, it's just free standing. I don't bother locking either of my velomobiles either, but Germany is a bit better in terms of bike theft (particularly where I live).

I love using Penelope for shopping as there are loads of places I can secrete the shopping. I don't really have to worry about putting too much in my shopping basket, it all fits somewhere. But I don't go shopping in my Milan because it's not too easy to get in and out and storage space isn't ideal.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 16 February, 2017, 06:20:12 pm
Anyway, we're comparing the practicalities to those of a bicycle.  We ought to be comparing them to those of a car.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Joe.B on 16 February, 2017, 06:23:12 pm
I incorporated a shopping trip into a lengthy evening ride on the bent last week and discovered once stopped in town that I’d forgotten my lock.  I decided to test the theory that bents aren’t going to be taken by the opportunist thief as the opportunist thief won’t be able to ride the blessed thing.

It worked out fine last week but I have no plans to establish any meaningful data to test the theory further. 
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Auntie Helen on 16 February, 2017, 06:26:18 pm
I haven't locked any of my bikes for about 2 years.

Currently Penelope and Alfie (my ICE Sprint) are in an unlocked garage in a relatively derelict farm building 600 metres away from my house (lack of space in my garage now my friend's Strada is also there). I am not worried...
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 16 February, 2017, 06:31:38 pm
I incorporated a shopping trip into a lengthy evening ride on the bent last week and discovered once stopped in town that I’d forgotten my lock.  I decided to test the theory that bents aren’t going to be taken by the opportunist thief as the opportunist thief won’t be able to ride the blessed thing.

My experience of letting random people with no recumbent experience have a go on my 'bent is that a small but significant minority can ride it reasonably well within the first couple of pedal strokes.  A slightly more significant minority fail to ride it in a way that would result in an expensive drop if they were concentrating on escaping the scene of the crime or were generally unconcerned about damaging the bike.

So they might not have a clean getaway, but you probably don't want them to try.


Of course, this only applies to two-wheelers.  Hijacking a trike is mostly going to be a case of working out how to release the parking brake.  (Though I note that a hub motor may be able to function as a secure brake if the electronics are configured to support it:  Typically, you'd engage a lock-out mode then take the console with you; the motor magnetically opposes all rotation until released by the console.)  A lockable canopy would be a reasonable deterrent to opportunist fiddling and/or shopping theft, too.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 16 February, 2017, 07:06:14 pm
Anyway, we're comparing the practicalities to those of a bicycle.  We ought to be comparing them to those of a car.
Why? What sense of 'ought'? In practice, anyone who gets a velomobile (or other recumbent) is likely to already have or at least have experience of upright bikes and cars, so they both seem valid comparisons to me. A electric velomobile is probably (I'm guessing) more likely to appeal to people who have never been able to ride a bike or drive a car than other sorts of cycle, but they'll still be a small minority of velomobilists. And other means of going shopping and getting to work, such as bus, taxi and walking, are just as valid comparisons. 

(But if we are going to compare it to a car for shopping, then in most places a car loses to everything in terms of parking.)
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 16 February, 2017, 07:45:50 pm
Anyway, we're comparing the practicalities to those of a bicycle.  We ought to be comparing them to those of a car.
Why? What sense of 'ought'?

Sir Clive's.  He was all about revolutionising transport.  Not that I agree that this is the way to do it (I think the revolution will take care of itself if we break the stranglehold that private motoring has on road/public space design).

Grant's objective might be a more modest "selling some shiny things with Sinclair written on them", or something.  I don't really know, but that might be achievable.


Quote
In practice, anyone who gets a velomobile (or other recumbent) is likely to already have or at least have experience of upright bikes and cars, so they both seem valid comparisons to me.

Indeed, though the average's Brit's experience of upright bikes is as a toy or piece of sports equipment, rather than as a form of transport.  While they may be adept at turning pedals, they might not have an appreciation of utility cycling things like parking, luggage, coping with weather when you're not just out for a bike ride, how likely they are to get nicked, etc.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 16 February, 2017, 08:18:16 pm
I don't think that sort of Brit (or any other nationality) is about to spend three grand on any sort of vehicle without a motor!

Oh yeah, this does have a motor. But (that sort of Brit says) it's hardly a practical vehicle is it? For that money you could get a decent car! It looks more like a... souped-up mobility scooter. Or a Bond Bug or something.

I reckon Grant's objectives might be more easily achievable than Sir Clive's. But by achieving Grant's we might take one step closer to his uncle's (or even yours, or mine... )
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: CAMRAMan on 16 February, 2017, 08:28:08 pm
Don't tell plod, but my standard 250W MTB ebike could do 30MPH if I wanted it to.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: cycleman on 16 February, 2017, 10:44:42 pm
i use a trailer behind my trice to get the weekly shopping . anyuthing that does not fit in the trailer gets hung on either side of the seat  :)
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: nextSibling on 17 February, 2017, 03:45:05 am
"Rider can pedal or use the powerful mid-drive motor (controlled by twist grip throttle on handlebars) or a combination of both."

At 55kg I don't think this is going anywhere but downhill without the motor running.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: yoav on 17 February, 2017, 08:14:28 am
I believe somebody else already had the idea of taking a bicycle, adding an extra wheel, some extra bodywork and a power source. His name was Carl Benz. Not sure how that worked out.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Mr Larrington on 17 February, 2017, 08:47:31 am
My chum Chairman Al has a Quest but says he daren't use it for utility riding in Hemel Hempstead "coz the pikeys would smash it up".
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 17 February, 2017, 12:20:21 pm
"Rider can pedal or use the powerful mid-drive motor (controlled by twist grip throttle on handlebars) or a combination of both."

At 55kg I don't think this is going anywhere but downhill without the motor running.

It's just extra weight.  It'll need the motor for climbs and half-decent acceleration, but that's normal for electric assist cycles.  With the fairing it should cruise on the flat with less power than a bicycle, unless they make some really bad tyre decisions.

People like to make a fuss about how much effort it is to propel electric assist cycles when the battery runs out, yet they never seem to consider how much effort it is to propel a motorcycle or car when the fuel runs out.  Which is strange really, as the solution is the same.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: nextSibling on 17 February, 2017, 12:40:05 pm
It's just extra weight.  It'll need the motor for climbs and half-decent acceleration, but that's normal for electric assist cycles.  With the fairing it should cruise on the flat with less power than a bicycle, unless they make some really bad tyre decisions.

People like to make a fuss about how much effort it is to propel electric assist cycles when the battery runs out, yet they never seem to consider how much effort it is to propel a motorcycle or car when the fuel runs out.  Which is strange really, as the solution is the same.

I don't disagree, I just think their marketing is disingenuous. I know from when I used to haul a heavy trailer behind a regular bike that you quickly discover how most roads are rarely truly flat. The motor is going to be running more often than not on anything but noticeable downhills, especially if the target market is people who aren't already regular cyclists.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 17 February, 2017, 01:08:52 pm
A motorcycle or car isn't designed or ever claimed to be meaningfully mobile without its engine though. Electric bicycles are; or at least some of them are, maybe this is part of the difference between e-bike, pedelec and whatever (I never remember which one is which).
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 17 February, 2017, 01:28:18 pm
A motorcycle or car isn't designed or ever claimed to be meaningfully mobile without its engine though. Electric bicycles are; or at least some of them are, maybe this is part of the difference between e-bike, pedelec and whatever (I never remember which one is which).

I dispute that.  While their legal status is pedal-cycle-with-a-motor-that-meets-these-restrictions, in practice they're usually designed to be ridden using either pure electric power, or a mixture of human and electric power.  Because, like mopeds, people don't buy electric bikes in order to pedal them around on human power alone.  (Yes, there are now some super lightweight systems for giving cycling enthusiasts on nice road bikes a power boost on climbs, but that's a niche market.)


The electric assist pedal cycle vs pedalec distinction is a technical one pertaining to which set of regulations are met, and is mostly about power limits and whether the pedals need to be turning[1] for the motor to be active.  Pretty much any cycle-with-electrickery currently manufactured for sale in Europe is either a pedelec or effectively a motorcycle, and all other terms are generic.


[1] Note that this doesn't mean they have to be delivering power to the wheels.  You can ride a pedalec by turning the pedals too slowly to engage the freewheel.  (The speed of pedalling isn't usually sensed - motor power is normally determined by hand controls.)
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 17 February, 2017, 01:35:01 pm
Well the term I've seen most commonly in marketing is "electric assist" which implies an electric motor helping you pedal. If it's actually pedals providing a boost to the motor, and you can't realistically ride without the motor, that's a different thing.

I have been overtaken (on a railway path) by a bloke on a electric bike with a knackered motor. Overtaking me doesn't make anyone fast(!) but he was quite able to ride his bike with pedals alone. Don't know quite what system he had though.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 17 February, 2017, 01:57:03 pm
Well the term I've seen most commonly in marketing is "electric assist" which implies an electric motor helping you pedal.

That's derived from a legal term.


Quote
If it's actually pedals providing a boost to the motor, and you can't realistically ride without the motor, that's a different thing.

Not in law.

The it's-not-about-the-bike rule applies.  *I* can ride barakta's trike (37kg) with the motor switched off.  It's like carrying a touring load on a bike with under-inflated Marathon Pluses.  She (being smaller and less fit) can ride it at modest speed on the flat, but needs the motor (or at least the extra weight of the electric system removed) for climbs.  Downhill it runs primarily on gravity power like most cycles, as the motor cuts out above 25kph.  If it was my trike, it wouldn't have a motor on it in the first place, because the benefit to me is marginal.  But when I do ride it[1], I tend to leave the motor at the lowest power setting and enjoy it handling like a lightweight trike, rather than switching it off.


Quote
I have been overtaken (on a railway path) by a bloke on a electric bike with a knackered motor. Overtaking me doesn't make anyone fast(!) but he was quite able to ride his bike with pedals alone. Don't know quite what system he had though.

Yes, that's normal.  It's easy for a fit cyclist to exceed the limiter on the flat.  But fit cyclists don't generally ride electric cycles, unless they're hauling cargo or trying to arrive at their destination sweat-free (in which case avoiding sweatiness precludes using much human power).


[1] This isn't entirely fair, as since it was electrified I only really ride it for post-fettle testing, or with the motor turned up to full power to haul a heavy trailer.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: CAMRAMan on 17 February, 2017, 02:06:17 pm
My eMTB is easily capable of being ridden without the motor switched on. However, it's a 20Kg lump of a bike, possibly 18 without the battery. My unpowered MTB weighs 13Kg and is more adept off road. The ebike however, powers me to work, relatively unsweaty, at an average speed of 19MPH*. That's with Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro tyres on and with an undulating route. If I want off-road fun, I'll take the Carrera; if I want speed with comfort, I'll use the ebike.

*That's with the power setting on 6 out of 18. The higher settings would be much faster, but would exceed the margins of safety I'd be happy with regarding brakes, lights and other road users' perceptions.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: firedfromthecircus on 21 February, 2017, 02:36:31 pm
This news item kind of passed me by, but when I realised what it was all about I thought I'd better have a look. So I have.

Not convinced. Steel chassis. Monocoque ski helmet shell? How can it be a monocoque if it's on a chassis? And ski helmets? That worked well for Schumacher!
55kg!
I realise that £3k doesn't buy much of a proper velomobile nowadays, let alone an electric assisted one but even so, I'm not raiding my piggybank for this one just yet.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 21 February, 2017, 03:14:11 pm
I think the monocoque shell bit means that the shell is formed in one piece, rather than from panels.

Steel chassis is not that strange, if using the right tubing.

55kg is similar to other velomobiles. A quest without a motor or drive battery is 32Kg.

So it is a bit heavy, but not hugely so.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Torslanda on 21 February, 2017, 08:08:04 pm
Unfortunately for the builder he will forever be haunted by his surname. I hate the fact that the Beeb's report saw fit to take the piss 'Ho ho. Wasn't the first attempt at mass electric transport such a friggin' disaster?' instead of focusing on the advantage of enclosed personal powered transport over riding a bike in the rain.

Symptomatic to me that we will NEVER persuade Mr & Mrs Petrolhead to leave the car at home as long as what we are punting as an alternative looks like a bicycle that's had a motor stuck on it. I have concerns of my own with regard to the practicality of this machine but have to recognise and applaud the sentiment behind it. Personally I don't think he's after 'us' as a target market.

No. I'm not going to stump up the deposit and buy one (yet) but hopefully more than one or two will.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 22 February, 2017, 08:46:55 am
I agree it's a shame about the 'haunting surname' but I'm not sure I understand what you mean beyond that, as neither this nor the C5 look(ed) like a bicycle with a motor added on IMO.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Torslanda on 22 February, 2017, 09:02:11 am
As long as the alternative to cars is something that looks like a bicycle that's had a motor attached then the vast majority will stay with cars until the dinosaur juice runs out. We need people making stuff like this, bringing it to mass media, making people aware of alternatives.

Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 22 February, 2017, 10:00:04 am
Ah, you mean these e-bike velomobiles (there needs to be a snappier name: electromobiles? e-velos?) are good because they don't look like bikes. Ok!
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Kim on 22 February, 2017, 12:21:33 pm
Indeed.  I see this as converging on the same market as the Renault Twizy from the other direction.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Jayjay on 01 May, 2017, 09:08:53 am
I've just caught up with this post, and the website seems to have changed since early 2017 - no high power option, 30 mile range claimed. Interesting that the £1000 limit for C2W can be passed.
With some experience of winters in vehicles having feeble demisting, and with riding motorcycles, I expect this tricycle to have visibility problems in cool damp conditions. And no wipers? Rapid road-salt blindness.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Torslanda on 19 March, 2018, 11:18:21 pm
Idle curiosity led me to revisit the website.

The price is now an eyewatering four-anna-quarter, deliveries scheduled for '2nd quarter 2018'.

So they should be flooding onto the roads in a fortnight or so. Or not...
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Torslanda on 19 March, 2018, 11:27:43 pm
Also now described as powered by a 'geared hub motor'. I'm almost certain the original blurb I read mentioned a mid drive.

It still looks like it fell out of the ugly tree hitting every branch on the way down.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Torslanda on 17 February, 2019, 11:48:49 pm
Resurrection. It's back.

Now suggesting delivery in 2nd quarter 2019. Price hike to four 'n a quarter.
Anybody know if they actually exist...?
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Phil W on 18 February, 2019, 12:00:11 am
I've just caught up with this post, and the website seems to have changed since early 2017 - no high power option, 30 mile range claimed. Interesting that the £1000 limit for C2W can be passed.
With some experience of winters in vehicles having feeble demisting, and with riding motorcycles, I expect this tricycle to have visibility problems in cool damp conditions. And no wipers? Rapid road-salt blindness.

C2W does not have a £1000 limit.  Many schemes may set that but it is not an intrinsic feature if C2W. My company set a limit if £5,000 when they first introduced it a number of years back.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: DuncanM on 18 February, 2019, 09:01:58 am
I've just caught up with this post, and the website seems to have changed since early 2017 - no high power option, 30 mile range claimed. Interesting that the £1000 limit for C2W can be passed.
With some experience of winters in vehicles having feeble demisting, and with riding motorcycles, I expect this tricycle to have visibility problems in cool damp conditions. And no wipers? Rapid road-salt blindness.

C2W does not have a £1000 limit.  Many schemes may set that but it is not an intrinsic feature if C2W. My company set a limit if £5,000 when they first introduced it a number of years back.
I'm not sure if this is still true, but a few years ago, if the employer wants to go above £1000 then they needed a consumer credit licence. That's a lot of hassle, so if your employer doesn't have one already, chances are they will skip it and leave the limit at £1k.
Title: Re: 30mph e-bike velomobile?
Post by: Adam on 19 February, 2019, 05:09:48 pm
I've just caught up with this post, and the website seems to have changed since early 2017 - no high power option, 30 mile range claimed. Interesting that the £1000 limit for C2W can be passed.
With some experience of winters in vehicles having feeble demisting, and with riding motorcycles, I expect this tricycle to have visibility problems in cool damp conditions. And no wipers? Rapid road-salt blindness.

C2W does not have a £1000 limit.  Many schemes may set that but it is not an intrinsic feature if C2W. My company set a limit if £5,000 when they first introduced it a number of years back.
I'm not sure if this is still true, but a few years ago, if the employer wants to go above £1000 then they needed a consumer credit licence. That's a lot of hassle, so if your employer doesn't have one already, chances are they will skip it and leave the limit at £1k.

Yes, still the case re a CCL needed for anything more than £1,000.