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Twike

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Re: Twike

#51

Post by user-the-name »

adflux wrote: post #24
nondave wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had to do all of those things, and still agree that towns and cities being designed with cars as the default mode of transport is insane

I'm just curious if you grew up in a very large city and haven't been to other countries? Because public transport as a primary form of transportation simply isn't feasible in many places. And I was responding to the statement about cars being the worst invention of the 21st century...

It isn't feasible because it was designed around the idea that everyone would have cars.

Again, the cars are the reason it was made to be infeasible. Cars damaged our cities.

Re: Twike

#52

Post by alexisread »

jay_kyburz wrote: post #9

These are awesome, but they are too small (and too slow) for the road and too big for the bike path or sidewalk. I ride a scooter to work everyday. (Inokim Ox). Its legal on the sidewalk where I live. I really think scooters are the future.

In the UK, many of these solutions are held back by regulation - electric scooters aren't legal yet, despite a significant fraction of the population using them. Similarly for electric velomobiles and bicycles, limited to 15mph is limiting given that many cities have large 20mph zones.

Once the regulation has caught up, I can see the price dropping for many of these vehicles. There are gaps in the market for (weatherproof!) city transport for 1+1/luggage eg. for shopping, school runs, work commute, mobility etc.

As far as scooters go, with such small wheels, they put you at risk every pothole. Hire scooters should really be using 12" or larger to be safe. They're also not weatherproof so not ideal for many demographics and locations. Agreed that we need more innovative transportation though!

Re: Twike

#54

Post by mgreb »

It seems to me, that this thing combines disadvantages both from car and a bicycle. Also: only one wheel on the front? Imagine what will happen if you decide to apply brakes while cornering at a reasonable speed.

Re: Twike

#55

Post by Cthulhu_ »

dbrgn wrote: post #38
frereubu wrote: post #3

I love this in principle, but the one thing I always wonder about recumbent bicycles is how visible they are to lorries / trucks. I've seen some with a tall aerial-like stem and a flag on top of it, but knowing how bicycles can be pretty invisible to cars even when wearing a reflective top at their eye height, I think I'd always be anxious about being crushed from behind. I suppose that says a lot about cycling infra…

Wow. For that price, you can easily buy an electric car.

Or ten used ICE's.

Or 50 good e-bikes.

Or 100 good regular bikes.

Or 500 cheap secondhand bikes.

Re: Twike

#56

Post by Helmut10001 »

el_nahual wrote: post #12

Another example of how, if you had to design a vehicle for passenger city/suburban use, you would never ever ever come up with an ICE sedan, or to be honest even an electrical vehicle of "normal" proportions. Pretty sure the car is the most harmful invention of the 20th century. The damage it has done to the environment, our health, and social fabric is hard to grok. A couple edits for clarification: - I'm talking ab…

Add to this list: The estrangement that happens when people drive with their SUVs. A car built like a tank entails a certain behavioral or interaction with other people that is detrimental to social cohesion and empathy.

Re: Twike

#57

Post by gillesjacobs »

My father has had his Twike for seven years now. I wouldn't recommend it, the suspension is not up to snuff, even just for daily commute. Getting repairs done is a major difficulty as there are very little parts or mechanics readily available. He also had to sue the Twike company when they tried to defraud us w.r.t. warranty and insure documents. The legal issues have been on-going and they stalled the repair of the Twike for about a year.

My father now commutes by electric bicycle.

Re: Twike

#58

Post by RalfWausE »

folli wrote: post #36
RalfWausE wrote: post #4

Yup, they are built roughly 5 km from where i live, and you can see one or two on a daily basis. They have this '80s eco design' charme and after a testdrive a few years ago i can say: If i had the money, i would buy one anytime.

So, how much are we talking?

Lets just say round about "half a tesla" ;-)

Re: Twike

#59

Post by rraihansaputra »

benrbray wrote: post #49
el_nahual wrote: post #12

Another example of how, if you had to design a vehicle for passenger city/suburban use, you would never ever ever come up with an ICE sedan, or to be honest even an electrical vehicle of "normal" proportions. Pretty sure the car is the most harmful invention of the 20th century. The damage it has done to the environment, our health, and social fabric is hard to grok. A couple edits for clarification: - I'm talking ab…

For anyone who has trouble understanding this perspective because they've lived in car-dependent hell their entire lives, I recommend the Not Just Bikes channel. He does extremely detailed comparisons of US cities vs Netherlands and other places. Here is a recent one [1]. For me, I always felt that something was wrong about American cities / suburbs but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Then, I spent a few months…

+1 on Not Just Bikes. I also like he also iterates that public transport actually is his preference above cycling, but Netherlands has such good bicycle infrastructure to make it work.

I lived in Brisbane, Australia for a year. The good state of public transport there (at least for my use, commuting to/from Uni (UQ) and the city from Toowong) made car use non-essential. The sidewalks are maintained and have enough space to the road to not be alarmed by cars. To get further/certain parts of Brisbane is still a chore as it's still a car-centric infrastructure, but comparing it to Jakarta, Indonesia/metro US, it's much better. Public transport in Jakarta is an option for most, but the last-mile experience with subpar sidewalks (especially the lack of shade) make it such a chore.

I felt much healthier to walk and take public transport for my daily commute, and not to mention the beautiful views on the way. The increase in my Quality of Life is very apparent. I really miss it, and looking to move to Brisbane or another city with similar/better commute/transport paradigm in the future.

Re: Twike

#60

Post by jtwaleson »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #55
dbrgn wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. For that price, you can easily buy an electric car.

Or ten used ICE's. Or 50 good e-bikes. Or 100 good regular bikes. Or 500 cheap secondhand bikes.

Good ebikes for 1k? I think "good" starts at 2k.
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