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Electric Velomobiles: Urban Transportation For the Future, Available Now
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Low-Tech Magazine: "Both the velomobile and the electric bicycle increase the limited range of the cyclist — the former optimises aerodynamics and ergonomics, while the latter assists muscle power with an electric motor fuelled by a battery. The electric velomobile combines both approaches, and so maximises the range of the cyclist — so much so that it is able to replace most, if not all, automobile trips. A quarter of the existent wind turbines in the U.S. would suffice to power as many electric velomobiles as there are Americans." One thing I wish was included in the article — worth reading for the photos alone! — is a chart with prices and worldwide availability for more of the vehicles mentioned. They do mention, though, that the eWAW ("the Ferrari of the velomobiles") costs 7790 Euro.
One of the places a velomobile would legally allowed to go but access (especially here in the UK) would often make it impossible to enter, which is why I really like my electric bike as it will happily go on roads and cycle tracks without fuss. But I wish the councils would fix the roads, pot holes are a bane (and sometimes danger) to the cyclist.
To do something right, you often have to roll up your sleeves and get busy.
The headline says "Fast and Comfortable as Automobiles" but later in the text it says "Over a period of about an hour and a half, Brecht and I managed to reach an average speed of 40 km/h (25 mph)" and "my attempt to go any faster than 50 km/h (30 mph) left me frustrated -- the vehicle lacks the high gears needed for those speeds" (and the article goes on to note that the electric motor cuts out entirely at that speed; it's entirely pedal powered.)
I wouldn't call "able to reach average speeds of 25 miles per hour" to be "fast as automobiles."
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
*ahem* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFQu2HgDTwQ
Interesting article.
However, I think the big problem for these is safety, particularly if you must share the road with cars, trucks and busses. Even for a very fit driver, 50 km/h seems to be a high speed, which is significantly lower than general road traffic in Australia. Combine that with the extremely low profile... let's just say that the odds of getting caught dead in one of these seem a little high for my comfort.
Now, in cities with excellent bike networks, that wouldn't be such an issue - IF the vehicle actually meets the legal requirements for use on bike paths. I'm not sure whether these would be allowed on the bike network in my city. If I had to guess, I'd say the purely muscle powered ones probably are, but I am honestly unsure about the electric/muscle hybrids.
I don't think I'd pay 8000 euros, but if there is one available for, say, 1000 euros, I think I would be interested. You'd want to have somewhere to keep it locked up and safe, though.
There's absolutely zero chance that anything like this is going to be more than a rare oddity in the US. This is only suited to young, single, in-shape people, almost all male, who don't mind getting exercise on their way to work or a date, and never need a vehicle that holds more than a bag of groceries, much less another person (or two or three). In fact, is there even room for one bag of groceries? Oh, and they are all daredevilish enough to not be worried about stiff winds tipping them over or all the trucks and SUVs that loom over them. So we're talking about an infinitesimal sliver of the population.
It also needs to be locked down because any two guys could just carry one away, but it's too big for existing bike racks, and many standard car parking places don't have anything to lock to. I predict these will be as popular as the Sinclair C-5.
Q: What does the "B." in Benoit B. Mandelbrot stand for? A: Benoit B. Mandelbrot
I take the bus regularly in London, most times in the upper floor of a double decker.
From there one can follow the progress of individual cyclists, and is undeniable that most of them move pretty much at the same speed as the motorized vehicles, even some runners can keep up with traffic speed for a while.
Most of the world is or will be urban, so fast vehicles will be completely redundant to the actual needs of urban dwellers.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
This vehicle combines the worst parts of bicycle experience with the worst parts of car experience. It only can be used to deliver your body from point A to point B - even though many, if not most, trips require carrying cargo (even as little as a laptop bag; but often groceries are also required.) This works only on absolutely flat land, and in good weather. In case of an accident your body will be neatly squashed by wheels of larger vehicles, making it a death trap. There are no creature comforts, such as a/c or radio or headlights, which makes it dangerous to drive at high temperatures (half of the year in half of the USA) or at night (other half of the year in another half of the USA.) Usability-wise, it's another Ginger (Segway,) only even less practical. Only well trained young men can ride the thing. Children cannot use it; older persons cannot use it; women, being statistically weaker, cannot use them. Even tired people, after a full day of honest work, may not need another exercise on their way home. Riders will arrive to their destinations soaked in sweat, stinking, dusty; their arms and legs will be shaking from exertion, and it will take some time for them to cool down and be ready to work at the office. All in all, this is yet another fringe vehicle for the same, well known fringe group that insists that public roads are their personal gym.
I keep seeing the author use the phrase "ample space for luggage" without once saying what that means. I doubt we'd agree on that phrase either. I think I routinely have more junk packed into my car than could fit in his velomobile even if we took everything out, including the driver and all internal machinery.
And I don't relish turning a day long trip of 750 miles (a particular trip which I do several times a year incidentally, hence that specific number) into a multiday expedition, with my body contributing most of the work. I think most of humanity has established that they prefer quicker travel times and more comfortable commutes over better fuel economy.
Widespread adoption of velomobiles (as the author advocates at one point) or similar vehicles incapable of long trips at fast speeds seems a big step backwards in human progress.
I want one! I work from home - so if there's room for groceries, this would handle 80% of my driving, and give me a workout while I'm at it.
The velomobiles look a lot like the Sinclair C5 electric vehicle, which put Sir Clive Sinclair's company out of business. People hated the C5 because it was impractical, expensive, dangerous, and because it looked silly.
They appear to be considerably more dangerous than a normal bicycle - they surely lack maneuverability, handy for avoiding accidents, and they operate much nearer the ground, making them invisible to vehicles with a high ride height.
What they look like is not a problem, what is the problem is they cost as much as a k-car (sub 600cc) in Japan. And a k-car nowadays is exactly like a real car if you obey the traffic rules. So I can't really see a reason on buy one of these.
These bikes can easily cruise at 30 mph on the flat on muscle power alone for extended periods of time.
See this video or this one for instance,
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
I have a velomobile. I ride between 6 and 10 thousand miles a year - which is actually pretty easy, given that the velomobile is fast and protects you from the weather so you ride year round without any trouble.
With the gasoline I save, the depreciation of the car I don't use when I ride the velo, parking tickets I don't have to pay... the velo paid for itself in 3 years. After that it's all free miles.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
This would only be close to true if you limit your car usage to match what you use the "velomobile" (whatever that is) for.
I have an two-seat enclosed recumbent bicycle, which ought to be pretty close to a "velomobile". The bike is a good replacement for a short leisure trip, but not for much else. Shopping, especially weekly shopping, longer trips, trips with more than one person and a half, trips in bad weather, etc. are all much easier and much more pleasant in the car.
So, forgive me, but I feel you're stretching it quite a bit.
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Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Not nearly as much. A 3 year old car with 10,000 miles on the clock will sell much better than the same 3 year old car with 50,000 miles.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Not nearly as much. A 3 year old car with 10,000 miles on the clock will sell much better than the same 3 year old car with 50,000 miles.
To a point. But, really, there is a narrow range of value for any given year of vehicle regardless of mileage. That range generally gets narrower as the vehicle gets older. Collector items are a different beast but a '89 McVehicle isn't worth much no matter what.
Let's see people use these things in Phoenix, Arizona, in the summertime.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
...if air conditioning was an option. Seriously. I couldn't imagine being couped up in one of these things on a 100F day. Or pedaling one to work on a muggy 80F morning. That's the main reason I don't ride a bike to work (a couple miles away): Summer mornings are nasty hot, and I simply can't show up to work dripping in sweat as there is no shower.
Give them some climate control, then you might see more adoption.
"Out of our control?"
If the situation in your nation has degenerated to the point that the electric grid is used as a weapon of coercion, some solar tiles on your roof aren't going to fix anything. Luckily, no part of the developed world is like that, or for that matter even the developing world to any real extent.
It really does look like they would be a piece of cake to steal. I mean, the biggest obstacle to stealing a regular car is its size. Plain and simple. There's no possible way you can lift one up, and put it in the back of your pickup. You actually have to put work into rewiring it, or hacking it in some way. These things... you would need some kind of embedded gps system or similar deterrent to keep them from being stolen. Hell of an opportunity for guys who do that kind of coding.
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I can recall some exciting work which involved placing an electric motor in each wheel hub and returning energy from braking, and having a small diesel engine running at a constant and tuned RPM topping off the system. Why not do this for a small compact car instead of messing with what would be a soap bubble compared to what much of the world deals with on it's roads. No way one of those would survive even the local roads around Detroit (and elsewhere of course), and highways are a necessary evil that these would never be allowed on. - HEX
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No insurance, no Shaken, no gas bills? A battery small enough that you can drag it back to your apartment to charge it?
Kei cars, insurance and gas costs, at a conservative 5000 miles per year, will still run you like $1500 per year average. That pays for the velomobile in about 7 years.
Sir Clive Sinclair said he had an extremely efficient electric vehicle. It also turned out to be too slow for traffic, dangerous, and uncomfortable,, and the company was put into receivership in 1985.
I do wonder how a car built to the same downgraded specs would cost. I always come away with the impression that all these contraptions, driven by a pint-size diesel engine, would do 200 km/litre, cost half the price of the electric version, and on a total life accounting probably be as environmentally friendly not to notice the difference. And remember, a well thought out diesel engine is good for 300.000 km, my car has 130.000, and a cousin of mine's is ticking after 500.000.
As always, tough, it's apples and oranges: a combustion engine driven contraption like this
a. would never get any authorization for the public sale,
b. "we want you to get Euro NCAP certification",
c. would be shunned as a curiosity without a future.
I never, ever saw an "apples to apples" comparison, or serious feasibility study. For example, here in Italy, a local regulation practically prohibits linking your garage electrical system to your house in a condo: what do I do if I want an electric car? Either this regulation is a piece of crap, which I suspect, or the govvies think that I should not keep a refrigerator in a garage eventually subject to flooding, but that I can keep expensive rare earth batteries with nary a problem. Chemistry 101 , anyone?
"If a boss demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him loyalty." (John Boyd, 1927-1997)
I live in the Netherlands ("the most bicycle-friendly country in the western world") and there is a major flaw in the article: it is that the only two means of transport compared are bike and auto. We also have here very extensive train and bus systems. I used to work for a small IT company about 70km from my home. My employer offered me an auto or a train pass. At the time, I selected the auto. However, since I had to drive to and from work during the rush hours, I spent between 3 and six hours per day sitting in the auto. Had I chosen the train, the trip would have taken a bit over two hours per day.
Transport is a bit like a tool: you choose the most efficient tool for the job. Yes, cost is also a factor, nevertheless, you wouldn't turn a screw with a hammer.
~_~ Not tonight, dear, I have a modem.
Except a velomobile seems like a very poor substitute for a kei.
Differently Abled? Like how? Somebody who can play the piano well? Or walk a circus high-wire?
Because if you mean people who can't walk or have physical impairments, the word you're looking for is HANDICAPPED. IMPAIRED is another good word.
I work with a guy in a wheel chair. He doesn't have any different abilities. He has less. He is disabled.
If you imagine this word to be negative, that definition exists within your mind.
Mitsubishi abandoned hub motors for its miev precisely because they make the unsprung weight too high. The results is poor handling as the wheels bounce around. It is better to go down the Toyota route with a hybrid design that uses two electric motors to provide the variable gearing (there are explanations on the Web). The Yaris hybrid already achieves 79g/km for carbon dioxide emissions using an optimised gasoline engine, and a Diesel variant wouldn't be worth the additional build, servicing and repair cost.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
Yeah. Many people have different transportation needs in Japan. I live in a compact city where my farthest commute is 7KM each way. So for me, a road bike works perfectly. Paid about 5 man for it, and I can make the commute out there in about 25 minutes. This works for me because i've essentially (with repairs) paid a little over 3 man a year i've had it, over 3 years. So it's been a good investment versus getting a kei car (20 man), driving school (no license, so 30 man), 3 years of insurance (30 man), shaken (10 man), and gas (my odo says i've gone 4k on my bike, so let's just say that would be probably about 6 man) . So i've saved about 10 grand.
But if I lived in a town where my farthest commute was more like 40km, cycling would be impractical. So i'd have to go that route. Plenty of people live in the burbs and commute in, for them a kei car is economical. That's their living situation.
However, where the Velo really comes in handy is when you're commute is like 20km, because a Velo can easily maintain 50kph with a fit cyclist, doesn't mind rain, and etc. If you're commuting 40km round trip, your kei would be eating 3/4 of gas a day. 5 days a week 45 weeks a year that's 8 man a year just for gas. You tack on supplemental insurance (10 man a year) and you're shaken (10 man every 2 years, so let's just say 5 man). So you're looking at a yearly running cost of of 23 man. At those prices, that 8000 euro velo will pay for itself in 4 years. And if you're spending say, half an hour in the gym per day to stay fit, you can shift that half an hour in the gym to your hour of cycling. Considering that, the times would equalize.
So there are many different angles you can work on this. Some people might pick the Velo. I know I would, for fitness. The same reason why I haven't bought a car, only having a bicycle forces me to cycle everywhere and has helped me loose 50 pounds.
No, we do. Incorrect grammar has a tendency to spread; people use it because they've read it elsewhere so often that it pops to mind when they're writing text themselves. I even find that I'm beginning to think "it's" for the possessive form of "it", because that error is so damn pervasive.
Many people, when called on bad grammar, will use the defence that "nobody cares so I'm just going to continue being wrong". If the GP wants to go around correcting them of that notion, then I will support him in that.
Only suited, it seems to me, for use in large numbers if you've got more land to waste than you know what to do with (which is the case in some parts of the world but not others).
In constrained city streets there is neither the road space nor the parking space for vehicles like this. OK so it might be a modest improvement if motorists started using them, but it would be a pretty catastrophic backwards step if existing cyclists started using them in any numbers.
without mentioning it, the author of the article assumes that you will completely drain the battery on every commute, for both the velomobile, and the electric car. With that completely rediculous assumption, he comes to the figure of 25% of the windturbines.
Unlike a bicycle, you'll need a parking spot for this in Japan. Also, I am not quite sure what kind of treatment you will get in terms of license requirements from the government. I'm afraid this thing will be treated more like a scooter than like a bicycle on the account of speed and size. As for "doesn't mind rain", well, my tricycle disagrees, it does mind rain a bit. You can't get in and out the same way you do form a car.
So, yeah, for a niche market it probably makes sense, but for most people that need transportation and not a toy it doesn't look like a good choice.
But maybe we'll see some interesting development as the genre matures.
When you get that defence, answer: "Well, since nobody cares I'll keep criticizing your writing" :)
Man=1000, right?
With me it's "horde" and "hoard". I'm so used to seeing mistakes that the right way is starting to look wrong.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
the "velomobile" (whatever that is)
RFTA!
Many people, when called on bad grammar, will use the defence that "nobody cares so I'm just going to continue being wrong". If the GP wants to go around correcting them of that notion, then I will support him in that.
+1
As will I. I'll cut a lot of slack for a guy who is obviously posting to Slashdot from somewhere where English is not a first language, but if you're some dude posting from your mom's basement in Ohio I will expect better.
I have an two-seat enclosed
Does no one know how to use a and and anymore?
I will hypothesize that the poster originally wrote "I have an enclosed..." and then edited it to add "two-seat" but failed to adjust the article.
By the way, the conjunction "and" does not ever, in English, substitute for the article "a". Don't you mean "Does no one know how to use a and an anymore?"
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
Shouldn't 200 watts be plenty? IIRC, a human being can only put out 100 watts average and less than 300 watts peak - so 200 extra watts roughly triples the average output of a human-powered bicycle and significantly boosts the peak output.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
My car ride to work is 38 km and takes between 25 (holiday season) and 60 minutes (normal traffic outside holiday season). With the Mango+ it always takes 65 minutes as I am not slowed down by traffic. The removable battery needs to be charged home and at work, so half my energy cost is even subsidized by my employer (but it isn't much anyway). With motor off, I cycle at ~32 km/h, with power I manage 38-42 km/h. The seat is comfortable and all 3 wheels are sprung, but it still is a bumpy ride due to the road quality, and the fact that you must keep your tires at 5-6 bar to reduce drag.
Without the wind cooling you, it can be hot in the summer, even with the foam top off. In the winter I wear a nitted cap, and a shawl around my neck, the rest stays warm inside. For me it keeps me in shape without loosing time in the gym, I exercise in the time I could have spent in traffic. At work I take a shower, which I would have taken at home if I went by car. I clock in after the shower, of course. For safety, I have daytime running lights (LED) and I chose a 2-tone (red & white) paintjob. When sharing the car roads you have to drive it very defensively as if nobody is seeing or expecting you, on bicycle paths the danger is a lot less. Part of my trip is on a bicycle path parellel to the slow-moving traffic, and it is very satisfying to go faster than the traffic jam.
"According to New York State and municipal legislation, electric bikes are 100 percent illegal to ride. The good news for e-bike proponents? The laws regarding the bikes are so contradictory and confusing that you’d be hard-pressed to find a police officer who would give you a ticket."
http://observer.com/2012/08/hell-on-wheels-environmentally-friendly-electric-bikes-poses-city-menace-or-do-they/
Sorry, but gray text on gray background is making my eyes bleed.
Obviously no one here has ever ridden a recumbent bicycle in traffic. If you had, you'd see how rediculous it is to even think of taking one of these on pavement shared with cars. YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY INVISIBLE TO CARS in a vehicle this low. And because of the enclosure you have no peripheral vision so you cannot look out for other vehicles -- even other velomobiles. I didn't see one "safety flag" in any of the pictures, which tells me that none of these vehicles are used by anyone who cares for their life, or they are just toys for a weekend cruise. As other posters have said, these are only practical with a different road system, and I argue a different bike path system. How would you handle passing a group of 15mph standard bicyclists in your vision impared wide wheelbase trike wheeled monster? You wouldn't, it wouldn't be safe on bike paths of today for you or the other riders.
Confirmation bias. Do a study and show it's increasing, then I might care. ;)
I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
Another problem, no matter how many Americans drive their Velomobile, there will still be exactly as many Freight Trucks on the road who already have trouble seeing small cars and motorcycles. Motorcycles have the advantage of making a bit of noise to indicate their presence in traffic which still isn't much when you consider the number of accidents arising from increased usage due to fuel prices. Still wanna get in a green vehicle?
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
Bad form, but a good example http://www.black-and-right.com/wp-content/uploads/Smart-crash.jpg
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
From TFA:
-- so much so that it is able to replace most, if not all, automobile trips.
Stupidest thing I've read in a while. I'm gonna jump in this thing in my fancy Tight Suit and ride the 12 miles to work in August when it's 105 degrees.
Ok, right.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
How will "RFTA" help me to figure out what Rosco Coltrane has?
Sorry, that should've been clarified. A man is 10,000 yen, which roughly equals $120.
I'm curious how practical you find it in day to day use. This sort of vehicle seems like it could be really incompatible with existing infrastructure. It's too wide for many bike lanes, too slow to mix with cars, it doesn't fit on bike racks which rules out taking it on buses and trains. How do you work around those problems? And what do you do with it when you reach your destination? How do you lock it up?
"I'm too busy to research this and form an educated opinion, but I do have time to tell everyone my uninformed opinion."
I want one, but parking and security seems like a real problem. The problem with the price is that there's a risk of having it stolen or destroyed.
Bad grammar and bad spelling can lead to interpretations opposite the writer's intent. It is not impossible that a lazy mistake in a contract could bankrupt you. Then you'll not only "give a fuck", you'll be fucked.
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The comments here are so terribly uninformed.
Yes, velomobiles suck... until they're motorized. Then they can get higher speeds and longer distances than EVs, at much lower prices. And no, they don't have to be lacking in cargo space... they currently ARE because the current crop is designed for human-powered racing, not general purpose use. There's no reason you can't have a 4-seater that goes 70MPH for 300+ miles, at a fraction the cost of a Nissan Leaf or Tesla.
And whatever you happen to think about that, doesn't matter. Don't like it? Too bad! Cars ARE GETTING LIGHTER, and will continue to do so. Electric Velomobiles are the logical extreme of consumer cars, just as motorized bicycles are the logical extreme of motorcycles. Consumer products will end up somewhere in-between, as gas prices go up, and battery tech remains expensive. Lowering the weight of vehichles is the quickest, easiest, and cheapest fix.
Many current automobiles would have been unthinkable in the 60s, yet they're on the roads, today. If gas prices shot through the roof, due to natural disaster or war, I'd be the first one out in my garage welding two mountain-bikes together, fabricating a fiberglass frame, and hooking it up to a starter motor and car batteries, or a lawn-mower/dirt-bike engine, rather than be unable to reasonably travel.
You don't have to go buy a velomobile, but you should get ready for a future where cars look more and more like them, due to physical realities and economics of expensive oil.
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