The Twike
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 07.18.05
No, it’s not a promo pic for a sequel of the sci-fi movie Gattaca. But it could be. Could also be an early adopter of Hypercar concepts, as long espoused by Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute. The Twike will propel two passengers along at speeds up to 80kph (55 mph) on a charge of its rechargeable NiCd (NiMH) batteries. Range is around 80km per charge, which reaches maximum after being plugged into a household socket for 2 hours. Conceived in Switzerland and built in Germany the Twike Active model can add 30% extra range due to its hybrid pedal power adaptation. The Twike is claimed to be the “most efficient motorised vehicle on the market”, with its manufacturers suggesting it has an energy consumption equal to 0.43 litres per 100km (550 mpg). Running on motorbike wheels, it has an aluminium chassis and recyclable resin hull. Steering is via a joystick, once you have entered your PIN into the onboard computer. (how sci-fi!) As we write, seven Twikes are making a cross-continent journey to highlight their vehicles green technology. More pics below. ::Twike
Like Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion car.
the twike has been aout for at least 5 years now (saw this at EVS17 in 2000). it's great and very similar to the old areorider.com but for any americans on the list, if you want one of these, rather than calling up your swedish consulate, why not go to http://zapworld.com/cars/epod.asp and look at ZapWorld's e-pod (a little costly at $9K but hey)
Hmm, this one does 55 miles at 55mph, but the epod 'lee' sends us to only does 20 miles at 20mph - no comparison.
The big question is does it have A/C !
This is a great idea. Why jog to nowhere or ride a stationary bike when you can ride to work summer or winter, rain or snow.
Designed to take on the Swiss Alps.
No oil, no gas no pollution, if charged with solar cells - which is very doable and cost effective, even if you leave out the pollution factor, as is often done.
With TRUE market forces this is a no brainer and higher volumes will bring down the price.
Great article.
Thank you.
Just wanted to let you know that Twike now has a presence in the USA: www.twike.us
i live near to the boarder of canada. there is a twike , what buzzzz by on the u.s.a side. i just do not get it. can it be made in a motorcycle size. and has options to get to go greater distance drop and lock parts and back to pettle power to sell in u.s.a. to sell it as a bicycle. you all not getting very far. i still like to get one .the bummer part i travel 1000 miles a week .my next option this year is to junk my pickup which was alter 5 years back.i did not like 21 miles to gal, 36 to 40 i like, but with the blended gas it is 27 now. and in 2009 it will not pass the calf.st of maine.i be force to by a hybird pickup looking forward to 24 miles to the gal. i like to get one when i retired or a month befor no one can by gas for there cars...........rick
As it qualifies as a motorcycle, does it require a helmet in states with helmet laws?
Who would be the market for this? $26K for an enclosed ped-elec for 2 seems like an ego exercise more than an innovation or even a real step towards energy independence. I'd love to have one for around town, but it's not legal on the freeway (not too safe, either, but plenty of lighter motorcycles prove it's mostly in your head) and is just waaaay too expensive for a mortgage-payer like me.
The high cost has a lot to do with the Euro-US Dollar exchange rate worsening. I started looking at them 3 years ago and it was $17,500 - 22k.
As you will soon learn if you study electric vehicles, it's not a one-car-fits every application. But then again, how many one-passenger SUV's do you see on the road on the way to work???
In my application, I love to bicycle, but I have to drop my daughter off at school and pick both of the kiddos up between 5-5:45 after work. I work in a shirt-and-tie office, so arriving sweaty or damp from the rain isn't acceptible. I commute 10 miles round trip a day, with a little mileage around a Big Ten University Campus during the day. It costs $400 for a parking spot for a car (at one point anticipated to rise to $700-900). For my Twike it's $34 for the year, and I can park in any 'Motorcycle Permited' space on campus (I do tech support, so I need to pickup computers and move them from various buildings back and forth quite frequently). I can drive it year-round since it's covered (unlike most other cycles -bi or motor)
For my application a Twike obviously fits pretty well (except when I have to pickup both kiddos -- wife travels a lot). For that I have to break down and use the gas guzzling Prius ;-) The price is largely a function of the battery costs (about a third of the vehicle). They have to be replaced every 5-10 years, depending on usage and care of batteries. I think of it as 'pre-paying' and locking in the fuel costs (it costs between $3-5 for 300-500 mile equivalent of fuel for the Twike -- a 45 mile charge costs between $0.30-$0.50).
Still when you total it up, the per-mile total cost of ownership can get close to a Hummer. But then that's just economic cost of ownership -- CO2 and environmental impact isn't included in TCO estimates, and the Twike is zero point-emission vehicle.
And the cost of a barrel of oil just hit US$98...
http://www.uiuc.edu/goto/twike