Emcycle Likely To Become a Reality
I’m happy to note that the Emcycle (pictured below), an electric bicycle whose design I think is really cool, will probably be going into production soon in Europe. Longtime 2GreenEnergy readers know that I think the world of Emcycle CEO Michael Scholey, that I featured him in a series of video interviews, and that I’ve suggested to many hundreds of thousands of visitors to our website that I think Emcycle is a potentially attractive cleantech business investment opportunity.
It’s good news that Europe will be the focus of this innovative firm’s activities; I’ve always thought that the big cities in the EU are the very best targets for the product. They’re both frustrating and terrifying to drive through and park in, and they get a lot of rain; if you don’t have precipitation, you’ve lost a great deal of the value of this product.
I’m reminded of a conversation I had a few years ago with a guy who wanted my opinion on his idea to sell garden-variety e-bikes in London. I asked, “Well, let me ask you this: the last time you were in London, do you recall what the weather was like?” He was having trouble grasping my meaning until I told him that his target geography gets rain 222 days out of each 365, and, though I hadn’t run a focus group to prove this, I didn’t think all these sophisticated business people with their 25,000-word vocabularies would be too happy with the mud and grime. Rugby and mud: fine. Business attire and mud: not at all fine.
In addition to the incredibly concise design and low sticker price, the Emcycle and its hoards of new owners will receive advantageous regulation from government; anything with operable pedals under 0.25 KW whose maximum motor-only speed is under 25 km/hour is treated as if it were a bicycle. It’s really a perfect vehicle for urban commuters, a group numbering approximately 103 million out of Europe’s total population (743 million). Needless to say, achieving even a small piece of that means one heck of a lot of Emcycles.
Really neat, a picture of inovation, filling a need, while creating a fun product for a world in need of them.
Lane splitting vehicles, narrow vehicles that can travel between lanes where it is legal, have been in the news, because along with pollution another increasing vehicle problem is traffic congestion. And so we have seen designs for enclosed bicycles, motorcycles and even narrow cars: http://www.gizmag.com/spira4u-production-begins/35482/
Our range of vehicles seems to be expanding while it seems that vehicles with different capabilities traveling on the same roadway promotes accidents. In some places, we try to dedicate lanes (bike lanes, trucks to the right, no motor vehicles on sidewalks…) but it remains a problem. Because heavier vehicles have more inertia they also tend to cause more damage to smaller vehicles.
Some lighter vehicles have maintained safety by adding roll cages and air bags. There is even an “air bag” for pedestrians put on some cars: http://www.autoevolution.com/news/how-pedestrian-airbags-work-45419.html#agal_0 for motorcyclists and horse riders: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_bag_vest and even for pedestrians: http://www.engadget.com/2005/03/23/ivoices-personal-air-bag-device/
So while I like the design of the Emcycle and other such vehicles until they included air bags or some other protective system it is going to be missing a crucial element on the streets of NYC.
It is defenitly will contribute to alleviate the reliance on fossil fuels which is badely needed for all nations around the glob. I suggest to have a special regulation and separate lane for those people who are going to use it espcialy young people and university graduat as well as post graduat student during thier summer courses. It is still attractive to other users who are capble and enjoy it as a fun
Obviously a large market potential, but competing for space on most streets with vehicles will still be an intimidating proposition, especially considering the speed and acceleration disparity, not to mention the relative car vs. bike impact safety.
Regardless, I’d like to hear more details about a potential launch date and price. This sounds like something that could succeed or fail fast (the best way) through crowd funding.
I’m wondering about their handling characteristics. Because they are very narrow, obviously they would tip easily. Could they, when cornering, be balanced on two wheels like a bicycle? If so, their easy tipability might not be a problem, but the transition from three wheel operation to two wheel operation could be awkward.
It would be enlightening to read a road test of one.
No, they don’t go onto two wheels, but they don’t tip.
I do not think these would be safe where you get a lot of wind. Covered cycle ways or underground tubes may make more sense in some places.
You would think that, but (somehow) it’s not the case; I’ve had discussions with them on this.
They must grease the wheel bearings with snake oil.