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Twike

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Re: Twike

#161

Post by etc-hosts »

Akronymus wrote: post #122
Kaze404 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cities with well thought out public transportation sometimes feel like magic. As a country girl who once moved to a metropolis, the fact that I could walk into literally any subway station and go wherever I wanted in a matter of 30 minutes to an hour at most felt more liberating than I could think of. In a city bigger than some European countries, I had the option to go anywhere I wanted on the weekend for the low pr…

Speaking of subways: IMO vienna has THE best system overall. No turnstiles[1], clean subway trains/stations, quite frequent and cheap (1€ a day with the yearly ticket). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq-X25pH1XQ

Loved Vienna's subways. I don't read German so I could not figure out how to buy a ticket.

Re: Twike

#162

Post by InitialLastName »

RalfWausE wrote: post #5
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…

The twike is not much smaller than a small car, and perhaps even a bit bigger than a Smart ForTwo... so, no real problem here... and i can asure you: If there is one of those around, they HAVE the attention of any driver around them ;-)

The wheelbase might not be smaller than a small car, but it definitely looks like its height is much smaller. One could still imagine it being invisible to a person in an SUV staring at their phone.

The benefit for safety for this is that it is large enough fast enough to move with traffic on most city streets, so won't be getting sideswiped into the gutter by passing cars regularly.

Re: Twike

#163

Post by baud147258 »

Kaze404 wrote: post #117
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…

Cities with well thought out public transportation sometimes feel like magic. As a country girl who once moved to a metropolis, the fact that I could walk into literally any subway station and go wherever I wanted in a matter of 30 minutes to an hour at most felt more liberating than I could think of. In a city bigger than some European countries, I had the option to go anywhere I wanted on the weekend for the low pr…

> Cities with well thought out public transportation sometimes feel like magic.

That reminds that one time where I borrowed a car after not using one for quite some time (moving on foot or by public transportation) and I remember a feeling of freedom, being able to go just about anywhere, not depending on unregular lines or taxis (which would have taken me where I went anyway, especially as I arrived late in the night). For going in the countryside, cars are unmatched, but I also appreciate efficient public transportation in cities

Re: Twike

#164

Post by sunshineforever »

gumby wrote: post #116
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…

> Pretty sure the car is the most harmful invention of the 20th century. A bit of perspective: the automobile cleaned up cities, which used to have a huge infrastructure to manage animal waste. The automobile enabled freedoms: not just freedom to travel, which the manufacturers emphasize, but freedom of association, unlocked a wider freedom to work, in particular for women, and in general, ironically, enabled the gro…

You comment misses the point of the parent... They are saying that cars at the size they are are a bad design for our world and cities. We'd still have clean streets, but we don't need something with two easy chairs and a couch built into it and weighing 3000 pounds.

Re: Twike

#165

Post by Xylakant »

refurb wrote: post #151
Xylakant wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In germany, policies in the 60ies and 70ies were designed to increase car ownership. People didn’t want cars. They wanted transportation from A to B and public policies made cars the most attractive option.

I’m not against public transit. I lived in Taiwan for a while which has very good public transport. But what’s good for a single person doesn’t necessarily work for a family living outside the city. The benefits of owning a car are pretty clear there.

> The benefits of owning a car are pretty clear there.

Today they might be, but for example the village I grew up in had light rail until an autobahn was built and the rails torn out. Today, the only way to get around is a car - but this is a deliberate choice.

Re: Twike

#166

Post by nabilhat »

acover wrote: post #158
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…

I've wondered how feasible it is to add an automated detection system to a bike that makes a loud noise/light show when it detects a vehicle is driving towards you. Is radar enough? Would it take too much power?

Garmin's Varia product line does this.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/sports-fitness/cycling-bike-c...

I do prefer a decent mirror though. Radar can't tell me what a car is doing, what it is, if a bicyclist is approaching, if my friend stopped to fix a flat, etc.

Re: Twike

#167

Post by jsjsbdkj »

I love biking in the summmer, and I've avoided a moped or motorcycle because it would basically overlap with my bike in terms of usefulness around the city. I haven't done a ton of resarch but I haven't seen a good complementary vehicle for running errands / getting around when it's rainy/snowy and I wouldn't want to bike. A recumbent bike like this would be very hard to see in the rain, and it doesn't seem capable of dealing with canadian winter weather.

Re: Twike

#168

Post by user-the-name »

robertlagrant wrote: post #102
user-the-name wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That's a reasonable point, but doesn't particularly address the issue.

The point was "the car is the most harmful invention of the 20th century".

Re: Twike

#169

Post by smnrchrds »

Xylakant wrote: post #134
refurb wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a funny take as I live in a developing country and owning a car is seen as the mark of a successful person. No more waiting for public transport. No more getting soaked walking or riding a bike in the rain. Convenience, comfort, time efficient. To say a sedan would be designed today is a ridiculous take. Nobody forced cars on people, they wanted them.

In germany, policies in the 60ies and 70ies were designed to increase car ownership. People didn’t want cars. They wanted transportation from A to B and public policies made cars the most attractive option.

How is the situation in Germany today? Are cities car-dependant or not? Does an average middle class German own a car? Do they use their car for commute to work?

Re: Twike

#170

Post by MaxHoppersGhost »

yohannparis wrote: post #135
ofrzeta wrote: post #132

The price of the Twikes is absolutely ridiculous. You have to be an idiot or an absolute enthusiast to buy one because with every other vehicle you get a lot more for the money. I wonder how they got to that price. Obviously no economy of scale here but still, I can't create a business on the grounds that I will only sell like two vehicles per year, so I need to make them ridiculously expensive to make my company sus…

Mostly because it's made in an highly develop country with strong labour law and high quality of life. Sure, you could built it in Turkey or U.S.A. and lower significantly the cost, but not as much as you think.

Nice swipe at the U.S. but less is manufactured here on a per capita basis than some European countries (namely Germany).
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