Pedal Powered Four Wheel Drive SUV Invented in Germany

That looks awesome!

vsk

They might consider using helmets in adverted trail runs. These may be safer than BMX / Mountain cycles, but they are still a moving machine.

I don't see this going anywhere. If I wanted to ride trails, a mountain bike is always going to be faster and more maneuverable. Don't expect riders to pick up a 50kg 4-wheeler over the spots it can't handle, or accelerate it up any significant hills.

I sense a little trick photography here. In the last picture the background was blurred to show fast movement although this guy isn't wearing a helmet or any protective gear, so I doubt he's going any faster than 10mph.

Neat concept though.

New design, yes.

New invention, not so much.

There's this really cool idea that lets go over all those terrains for free. Its called walking.

I'm no adventure racer, but I guarantee that I can go more places than that contraption, faster, on foot. It's a toy that consumes resources to fill a need that doesn't exist. I'm flinging the first one I see (only 50kg) right off the trail that it will be clogging.

@Andy- Perhaps it sounds stupid to you, but lots of bicycle-riders on the continent of Europe never wear helmets- even when they go off-road. So when a top-rider on mountain bikes takes to a 4-wheeled contraption like this, he is likely to have a laugh at the idea to wear a helmet. You stand more schance to break your wrists than to hit your head when falling over.

Aside from that- Neat!!!! Now there's a vehicle that can lay claim to the term "Sport" in SUV!
I want one of these!
One could wonder if 20-inch wheels would not do better in rocky terrain and to be able to pick up more speed, but that would be a matter of experimenting.

I am not getting any rebate. But considering how much of our taxes are going to the war in Iraq, I doubt it would be enough to make any difference.

I agree with Andy. I can't see this ever catching on. The last shot clearly shows that the vehicle will not fit on a single-track trail. It wouldn't work on any of the trails I have ever ridden. There's always many technical sections where rocks and/or trees conspire to ensure that nothing wider than a bicycle will fit.

The darn thing weighs 50kg?! That's more than three times the weight of my mountain bike. I only weigh 65kg. What a grueling workout that would be. Also 50kg might be the limit for a bike rack, but it's beyond my limit for what I can lift onto my car.

Cute toy. Too wide for most bike trails or bike lanes, so you can't get it anywhere or use it anywhere, unless you put it in the back of your SUV.

How are those front wheels driven? Hydraulics? Where can I buy parts?

Dave,

these carts seem to be aimed for use on Jeep trails not the mountain bike trails you are used to. Think of it as a human powered ATV not a recumbent mountain bike.

That being said I don't see this being any more than a novelty, imagine the work of pedaling this thing up a mountain! I could see tourists renting them for a trip up and down a sandy beach.

I guess I will have to buy one and give the location I will be riding it to Gary Paudler to see if he can throw me off of it prior to throwing off the trail. I think not.

@Gary Paudler

You do astound me sir!
So if you are not an adventure racer and you could do trails faster on foot, why then would you bother to kick one right of the trail if it clogs it...? You could mildly smiling and snorting just walk by without any bothering?

You say there is no need for this kind of contraption... Dear sir- that is exactly what was said of the Bicycle when it came into being. ...

Okay- I exaggerate... But I do think there is a market for it when I see that in Europe lots of companies build 2wd-versions of it, even with offroadtires and rollcages on it. So only a small next step would be to make a 4wd version.

And if you complain about toys that consume costly resources, then please turn to al these socalled "sporty" ATV's with engines in them that for about 99,99% are used by persons that have nothing to do in the rough but ruin it nature itself that need the peace and quiet...! Then rather burn some muscle and fat by using one of these little pedalcars that per unit use less than at least 1-50th of the resources of one average ATV...

How much does this thing cost? Maintenance and warranty? Yes, I want 5!!! Please let me know. I'll keep an eye on this.

What about the impacts of this thing? Besides all he extra metal and othere resources needed to build it, do we really want wider double-track trails instead of single track? I would certainly rather see these on a jeep trail than any other motorized vehicle, but there should be concerns that it would increase impacts to areas where ATVs do not currently have access.

I agree with the person who suggested flinging this off the trail if I were mountain biking and saw it.

However, let's push the design a little further, Hybridize it with an electric assist and put enough space for a second rider and some gear and I start to see a use for it in the back country.

I work with a group that relies on 4x4's to get volunteers several miles into rough areas where we eliminate invasive non-native plant species, often walking 15+ miles and 2-3 days before being picked up. I would love to be able to rely on a cleaner vehicle with a smaller footprint. Even a design like I have mentioned would require a large number of people to make up for the fact that 1 driver can take in 4 people and their gear.

I firmly disagree with those reactions that state that this new kid on the block would be physically flinged off trail if encountered.

If we start off with such an attitude, the trails will be littered with death and destruction because all parties would start to arm to protect their right to go where they go with whatever means they choose to do so.

Being a long-discance recumbent-bike rider, I encounter the same kind of brutal reactions from traditional racing-bikes when I try to pass them- For some reason, the more the race-biker has all the attributes of the professionals, the more he or she cannot accept that someone rides at more leisure sometimes lots faster with one hand at the steer and lunch in in the other and thinks he or she has the right, ney the duty- to utter that resentment not only verbally but also with physical force.

What is it with you lot???
Isn't there a saying "Live and let live"...?
Or does every new occupant on the road have to take along brass knuckles to protect his or her equally rightful place as all you traditional others...?

In the case of this new vehicle, it could be said that it is even better than any two-wheel bike because you can cover much less distance than with any bike, therefore you disrupt much less of the environment than with any motorised or two-wheeled transport. I know, I know- Given argument is not very valid. My only point with it is that every new form of transport will find it's own nieche and use and users.
It is just a different form of transport than nowadays is mainstream and even only by that virtue will be met with resistance from traditionalists.

In 1978 or 9 a kid in my class in school was the first in the neighbourhood who had a true BMX-bike. For about half a year or so, there were 2 camps in our class- One group laughed at him and his "stupid" bike and made fun of him at any possible opportunity and denied him any oppurtunity to let him demonstrate what such a bike was capable of- Who needed such a stupid downsized motorbike anyhow? Then use a true motorbike instead of this rediculous rontraption.
The other camp sat quiet and started to whince and ask mums and dads for such a bike. But that took some more time because where I lived, no bicycle-dealer had these bikes in store yet- the one we had in our class was bought by his father if I remember correctly, in France.
I was in the wrong camp- I didn't think much of this heavy new bike with stuff like gripshift and thick tires compared to the chopped no-gear backshiftbrake regular oldstyle safetybikeframe wreckbikes that I rode and roughed on back then... I was 11-12y.o. ...

Yes, these trail carts are slower than walking & unnecessary. However, so are off-road Jeeps with huge, knobby tires.

I think these trail carts are a great alternative to the thousands of gas-guzzling off-road vehicles that traverse the Rubicon here in California each summer. People 4-wheel not because they cannot walk faster, but because it is a fun challenge to see if they can maneuver their vehicle over difficult trails. These carts could be used in much the same way with a lot less environmental impact.

One thing to keep in mind is that most of the impact comes from people building fires, defecating, & leaving trash without regard. The best solution & the biggest challenge is education and instilling the value of stewardship of the land. The people that would buy these land carts are more likely to already have these values and this education, so they will likely leave less impact than traditional 4-wheelers. Maybe an educational brochure with "Leave No Trace" principals and environmental facts can accompany the trail cart when they are sold.

Inventors & endorsers of the trail cart - Way to Go! I have often felt guilty for having gone 4-wheeling before I knew better. Now I feel that I can participate in an equivalent sport without the guilt. [In all actuality, I would never 4-wheel again with a gas hog. I've just been waiting for an invention such as this.]

Please consider creating models both with electric motor assistance and without. Many 4-wheelers are a little soft around the middle and wouldn't make it without help. Also, this may open up an opportunity for wheel-chair bound individuals with minor modifications to the design.

I could see me using one of these to drag around a piece of chain link fence to help get rid of the weeds. I didn't see a price on it but I would hope it was a lot less than the $6000 for a ATV.

Mostly flat country out here in AZ. So might go off road a little.

It would be lighter if it was made out of aircraft grade aluminum.

This just looks like another thing people will try to put a weed-eater engine on.

There seems to be a focus here on the use of this vehicle for sports or pleasure but as a working environmental scientist I can see the use of this for more practical reasons. I regularly have to tackle difficult terrain on foot with 20-40kilos worth of weight on my back because there is just no vehicle access. Im 5'2'' and not a weight lifter and after the first few miles I would kill for something like that offroader! Stick a crate on the back for us fieldworkers and Id be a happy bunny. Add the fact that it will fit in the back of the work van and Im extatic!

Can I have one please?

Hey Foreigner,
I'm an industrial designer, I love gadgets including dune buggies, rock crawlers, helicopters and dirt bikes but those days have to be over and this contraption doesn't make sense from the standpoint of either transportation or recreation. It won't fit on singletrack trails and I can't see the people who already aren't hiking, running or biking deciding to take up a very slow, yet very strenuous new pass-time just because it has knobbies. Since you're a foreigner, you probably didn't perceive my "flinging" comment to be hyperbolic, but you and your dumb-ass peddle-buggy would be clogging many of the trails I hike and, thus, demanding that everybody else step aside, trampling the vegetation and widening the trail. That's what "live and let live" has become code for; Stand aside with your mouth shut while I selfishly degrade your quality of life and consume dwindling resources.

Nope Gary- I didn't get your comment to be hyperbolic. Xcuse me- English isn't my first langage.

But I still cannot agree with your point- In my experience, if it rolls downhill and you can do some serious riding with it, and you can with this pedalcar- it will be sold and it will be bought.
Same arguments as you use now for this contraption were used once upon a time for the off-road skateboard. Yet albeit not to the great masses, these things are sold.

If this new kid on the block does not fit on the trails that are fit for pedestrians and bicycles, what are you afraid of then? You won't see them there, won't then you?

then you say "That's what "live and let live" has become code for; Stand aside with your mouth shut while I selfishly degrade your quality of life and consume dwindling resources."
Now that is hogwash and you know it. It means that the peadestrian and the cyclist and the motorised ofroader in any form or type will have to co-habit in one way or the other without using any form of violence to denie eachother way of passage. I am an avid biker in motorised and non-motorised sence. Do I have to whack those damned slow mostly greyhaired pedestrians off my track...? Or do I just give them room and space, smile politely and then after I passed them, open up the power again? I am young, I am strong and agile, so most cases I would win anyhow. But I still do not believe that is the answer.

Dwindling resources?
Sure Gary. But I am a very firm believer in that this kind of inventions will eventually lead to forms of transporttation that partly can and will replace the motorised ATV's. It is the motorised ATV's and SUV's that are the real users of natural resources. Protest against them, Gary. You being an industrail designer can change your life and our world by dezigning the eco-friendly trandport of our near-future! So- Why don't you...? Show us then the way we have to go? Design then the products and give us the solution to those ATV's instead of bitching at one design that only costs abot 1/30'th of the costs in material and time of one of them ATV's? Moaning is easy, Gary, but you have the tools to change our world. So instead of bitching on this here pedal-bike- give the world your vision of green transport in the future and convince us! :-)

Another foreigner here, from the boot-shaped country.

I think the main problem here is that human powered vehicles cannot be made simply by substituting pedals and cranks for a motor, on an existing design. The very limited power output will be the main limiting factor of any human powered vehicle's performance, and this has to be taken into account by giving priority to weight saving and friction reducing measures. Incidentally, ever since the 19th century, most human powered vehicles have been built with two wheels, as that is the most effective way to minimize both weight and friction losses.

Designing a human powered vehicle is like having a small 20HP engine, given, and having to choose which vehicle to build around it to maximize performance. A motorcycle or a three ton four wheel drive SUV?

Finally, assuming it made sense to employ four wheels, why using those small "tractor like" wheels and tyres when larger thinner mtb ones would be much lighter and more efficient in overcoming obstacles? Downhill mountain bikes use tires that must be five times thinner and still handle the harshest abuse, while supporting more weight per wheel at the same time.

If a vehicle like this can be used carry a load, it can be more than a recreational vehicle. For instance, hundreds of people now use cobbled together bicycles to transport bicycle sized loads of goods along the otherwise impassable roads of the Democratic Republic of Congo, roads without gas stations. Develop a transport version.

What improvement on the prior art is this? None.

What customer needs does this meet? The capability to go really slow with a heavy, expensive wana-be ATV?

Hello people,
Can no one imagine a time after SUVs and ATVs when you can't have your fun at the expense of fossil fuels and there is plenty of infrastructure where an HPV ATV could roam without crossing swords with the hallowed BMX trails?

Does everyone know the needs of others? NO this might not help you or you don't see a need for it. But don't knock someone else down for enjoying or using it .

Ive also designed a pedal car chassis along similar lines but made to carry two and with an optional motor.
Most types of quad pedal transport I find too low to the ground and hard for mainstream vehicles to see.
In one of the comments it says it will find its niche' and eventually it will... its all down to marketing and exposure... lots of it.

Thats something I could ride on the bicycle trail in front of my house in the winter time. Can't wipe out like a mountain bike could going over ice. I would buy one if the price was reasonable.

Great, now our nice tight trails will get fatted out! More than twice the erosion of a bike, oh woppiee

"They might consider using helmets in adverted trail runs. These may be safer than BMX / Mountain cycles, but they are still a moving machine."

Score another one for the Nanny State! WooHoo!

cool how much do you plan on selling them for.

where can i get one and how much in dollars?

i live in the interior of bc canada, most of the trails are old logging roads on crown land these trails are 10 to 30 feet wide i'd have know problems with this pedal bike