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Twike

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Re: Twike

#81

Post by dijit »

Reminds me of a Sinclar C5[0] (my grandfather worked for the company I believe, there are photos with him, my mum and a bunch of these C5's)

It was mired in troubles; low visibility, low range (lead-acid batteries being... low density compared to li-ion), quite easy to break and being easy to steal.

Still, I think the form factor is a wonderful idea and it's nice to see some alternative methods being explored for electric vehicles again..

I sometimes see little electric "Fatboys"[1] in operation around Malmo (a famously cycle friendly city); though sadly I think they're mainly used by drug dealers.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5

[1]: https://www.urbanscooters.com/products/mototec-fatboy-500w-e...

Re: Twike

#83

Post by benrbray »

agent008t wrote: post #75
benrbray wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

There could be some 'grass-is-greener' effect in play here as well though. Many that grew up having to use public transportation would see being able to use a private car as very appealing. I think everyone hates commutes regardless of whether they have to stand in a packed train car next to sweaty people, or sit in an air conditioned comfortable car listening to music but stuck in a traffic jam. That's not to say th…

What I like about a place like Tokyo is that you can choose the mode of transportation that is most suitable for your journey. If you're someone who likes cars, there's no shortage of roads and highways. It's a great way to travel into the mountains where the trains can't go.

Personally, I use my bike whenever possible, up to about a 30 minute journey. Farther than that, or when the weather is bad, I use the train. If I need to go somewhere remote, I can rent a car or call a taxi.

As for a commute, housing is cheaper here than you'd expect, partly because housing is not viewed as an investment. It's not difficult to live near where you work, if avoiding the trains is a priority for you.

Re: Twike

#84

Post by rswail »

Isn't the reliant robin the ICE equivalent that was/is completely unstable around corners?

It makes a good space shuttle replacement though.

Re: Twike

#85

Post by rswail »

dijit wrote: post #81

Reminds me of a Sinclar C5[0] (my grandfather worked for the company I believe, there are photos with him, my mum and a bunch of these C5's) It was mired in troubles; low visibility, low range (lead-acid batteries being... low density compared to li-ion), quite easy to break and being easy to steal. Still, I think the form factor is a wonderful idea and it's nice to see some alternative methods being explored for ele…

Those Fatboys look perfect for all sorts of local delivery, food, drugs, groceries in general.

Not sure why it's particularly sad that drug dealers have adopted a practical delivery vehicle though.

Re: Twike

#86

Post by eightails »

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…

> Living next to busy roadways is linked to increased dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. This has nothing to do with CO2--it's the rubber and metal and not addressed by Teslas or whatever.

I had thought that the pathological effects from highway pollution was at least partially caused by heavy metals and various unpleasant nitrates and sulfurs and the like produced by combustion engines, not only the small particulates released from tyres and roads. Obviously combustion-based pollution would be reduced if not eliminated by EVs.

See e.g. this study, which found NO2 and elemental carbon pollution to be most harmful amongst various highway pollutants: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24231417/

Re: Twike

#87

Post by jeffchien »

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…

Extremely minor nit, but it should be point out that Japan is cost efficient because they've mostly built out their "easy" terrain, especially for Tokaido line (the current Tokyo-Osaka line).

The Shin-Hakodate to Sapporo extension will cost them 1.24T yen for 131 km of many tunnels and bridges [0], or US $83M/mi. This cost is why it's taken Japan so long to build a complete Tokyo-Sapporo HSR line, even though the Tokyo-Sapporo air route has been one of the most popular air routes for a long time [1].

They're also working on the Chuo Line which is a new Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka line going through mountainous terrain that will facilitate 67-minute travel between Tokyo and Osaka. This line will cost 9T yen for 438km [2], which will be a whopping US $187M/mi.

Funnily enough, speaking of the Tokaido line, the president of Japanese National Railway and the chief engineer resigned before its completion due to cost overruns [3]. Japan makes it look easy, but the Shinkansen had a troubled start.

In comparison, for the CA HSR [4], the fairly flat Central California portion is costing $19.5B / 199 mi ($98M/mi) while the more challenging Palmdale-Burbank section is costing $16.8B / 41 mi ($382M/mi).

I know you use it as a figure of speech, but all of this means that a US intercontinental line going through the Rockies would be difficult. Still, I would love to see an intra-Texas, Midwest, or East Coast HSR in my lifetime.

[0] https://www.town.kutchan.hokkaido.jp/town_administration/shi...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_busiest_passenger_air_...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chūō_Shinkansen

[3] https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20140714-built-for-speed...

[4] https://hsr.ca.gov/about/high-speed-rail-business-plans/2020...

Re: Twike

#88

Post by phwitti »

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.

Well i would say with a speed of about 120km/h and the range of 150km in the most basic configuration (max with 190km/h and 500km range) the Twike more or less IS an electric car^^.

Re: Twike

#89

Post by bipson »

Hamuko wrote: post #76
albertgoeswoof wrote: post #44

> Pedaling warms the user, making electric heating in winter unnecessary Well that's one way to spin a missing feature ;)

Too bad it doesn't really work. Winter biking is still cold as shit and breathing in -20°C air is not fun.

Not in a Velomobile. Actually, you need a fan for forced ventilation.

Re: Twike

#90

Post by tibbetts »

agent008t wrote: post #75
benrbray wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

There could be some 'grass-is-greener' effect in play here as well though. Many that grew up having to use public transportation would see being able to use a private car as very appealing. I think everyone hates commutes regardless of whether they have to stand in a packed train car next to sweaty people, or sit in an air conditioned comfortable car listening to music but stuck in a traffic jam. That's not to say th…

There could be, but I can’t think of anyone I know who grew up with transit who talks about how much they love car centric suburbia. I do know people who like that their kids are in greener spaces, which is related.
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