Aerorider: Low Emission Commuter
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10.21.05
The photo would suggest some slick new concept car to excite the revheads. But look closely at the wheels and you see that it’s pedal pushers who are more likely to get a racing pulse The Aerorider is a fully enclosed (and ventilated) semi-recumbent trike that comes an electric-assist drive. Combining the 17Ah 36Volt DC SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) battery power, with the 7 speed bicycle internal hub, you can attain speeds of 45 km/h (28mph), with the battery giving a range of 25 - 50 km. In Europe this classifies the Aerorider as a moped. In the US the motor can be limited to a 20mph maximum to retain ‘bicycle’ status. Conceived as “clean and efficient propulsion” assisted commuting, the Aerorider is a cut or two above many trikes. iIt has front and rear lights and indicators, rear view mirrors. windscreen wipers, a tacho and speedo, bucketseat and headrest. And it can store 120 Litres of luggage too. All this does not add up to mere pocket money.
Your wallet will need to be fattened up with € 7.000 for the basic model and its SAL battery, more for the significantly lighter 30 cell NiMH battery. Yet it’s exceptional streamlined detailing saw the Dutch designed Aerorider adapted for the European Hysun project. Who managed to get one to travel 3,000 km (1,900 mile) on just 3.3kg (7.25 lb) of hydrogen. And for this it won a special award at the Fuel Cell Congress (“f-cell 2005”) held in Stuttgart, Germany last month. ::Aerorider
This is yet another product which seems to forget that the only way to achieve mass proliferation of anything good for the environment is via basic economics. A $10k bike covered in plastic is unlikely to ever sell beyond 1,000 units. We need to concentrate on advancements that can penetrate beyond our tiny base by initially concentrating on cost effective half-measures, such as bio-diesel and less expensive hybrids. Economics drives all major change in free markets, for better or for worse.
I don't need crazy lightwieght space aged parts. give me regular spoked wheels that I can repair myself and not have to replace. I would be happy to have a regular recumbent biek with a mylar shell that uses plain old lead acid batteries. this might cost 2500 dollars. People would actualy buy it and use it.
yup. give me compressed newspaper and pram wheels any day. i love trikes for their simplicity and riding pleasures. this kills those romantic ideals.
Good Luck to anyone who buys this! That civic in your rear view mirror can kill you.
I'd still rather take public transportation.
I believe that there are already covered bicycles available, they are called pedicabs!
I agree that we need to make more mainstream, affordable types of HPVs (and electric assist vehicles), not more of these crazy expensive niche market things. If someone can find a way to make something like this for less than $1000 US, it might turn out to be revolutionary.
Honestly, a commuter vehicle doesn't need to be this fancy (though headlights are a legal requirement, not a luxury). Heck if plain old, uncovered recumbent trikes were made as affordable as the average bicycle, I'd bet you'd see a lot more people using human power to travel, since they are far more comfortable to ride, and safer too, since they don't tend to endo, or fall sideways, and have great stability even on ice and snow. My husband has a Greenspeed recumbent trike, and he gets lots of "Awesome!" comments from the folks who see it.
But a covering is important, at least in many parts of the world where rain, snow, and freezing temperatures inspire most people to choose less sustainable forms of transportation. And pedicabs (or more technically correct, PEDALcabs) are woefully inefficient compared to an aerodynamically faired bike or trike.
If we really want to encourage people to choose sustainable transportation options, we need to be very creative, and come up with lots of different sizes, shapes, styles, and power-sources for vehicles so that there is always an affordable, efficient tool for the job.
Has anyone tried to contact the manufacture? I gave up a long time ago when the would not even return my E-mails. All I wanted was more details. If I had Ten Grand =)
Fascinating! Comment dates are amazing on this article- all Oct. 2005 but 1- March 2008. Aerorider has been around for years., and has sold many - overseas. A hand-full are are here in the US.
In about 2004 Zap (CA) imported one, and re-named it "E-Pod". Did not sell it (AFAIK) and backed out of the deal by March 2005. The comments pretty much convey the usual US attitude, and seem to point out why they did not sell in 2005.
Very sad. This is an excellent vehicle for use today; but is becoming harder to get, more expensive, and impossible to get parts for (unless ordering from Holland).