Home-made Electric Car Cycle
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 06. 3.08
Fed up with high gas prices? Well, take heart and watch as one American fights back with a hybrid pedal power and electric car that he built himself. In electric motor mode, the little four wheeler can hit speeds up to 30 mph, keeping up with traffic pretty well -- as you can see on the slightly longer video overleaf.
When BoingBoing picked up TreeHugger's piece on the four-wheel drive pedal powered Trailcart, YouTube user Welmoed chimed in with a report on her husband's human powered vehicle. Welmoed comments that they use the cart for running errands within a ten mile radius of their home.
The concepts differ: Welmoed built a two-wheel drive four wheeler with optional electric or pedal power while Trailcart is unique due to its four-wheel drive ATV construction. But Kudos to Welmoed and her husband for a great idea, and thanks for sharing! This kind of out-of-the-box thinking is what the world needs if the next generation is going to enjoy life sustainably!
Via ::BoingBoing
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a great idea, i'm off to the design table to start on one of our own !!!!!
http:www.gatheringhome.com
todays laws will Not allow such a vehicle on the street without extensive heavy safety equipment..
LAWS WILL have to be changed to promote privete inginuity
Great. Next, speed limits 35m/h cities and 45m/h for highway roads and Bannig fossil fuel cars. Immagine walking and living in a city where ALL the people drive around this electric car cycle.
@ Ron Woz,
Most streets can be ridden on with anything that is either human powered or under 3hp. This is why a goped, bicycle, and various other things can be driven on streets.
You can't ride on highways though.
in canada this would be legal at least in ontario electric assist bycicles are already legal and the police have said quadricycles are legal but to mount a slow car sign like on a tractor on the back an electric assist quadracycle should get the pass as well
Ron, I imagine this could fall under the NEV (neighborhood electric vehicle) category.
I imagine this particular vehicle qualifies as a bicycle for street purposes, hence the ability to ride it around without the various safety requirements. Not sure where they live so I can't really say, but it is definitely ingenious.
Unfortunately in Canada our wonderfully retarded government has recently changed the slow moving vehicle requirements such that the "revisions" effective make these types of vehicles against the law on Canadian streets.
One reason given by these intellectual dwarfs is that slow moving vehicles are dangerous.
Unlike those V8, Dodge HEMI, all wheel drive monsters with a tubed steel bumpers 5ft. off the ground!
Sigh!
I have submitted your article to autocar-live which is a social site where users can submit car/auto articles and vote for already submitted articles.
That looks like it would get way too much attention from cops and easily break some 4 wheel car laws.
The average $400 electric bicycle can go 20-25mph and there are $500-$1000 versions that go 35+ mph.
miving is full of BS I just checked their has been no change to slow moving vehicle laws since 2003 and they in no way prohibit a electric assist bycicle unless it could exceed 40 kmh
this is the same law that allows the menonnites to use their horse drawn buggies link
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/vehicle/smvs.htm
What do you do if it rains?
I'm planning to make one ...
It's a recumbent bicycle, just with 4 wheels. I think the two seater side by side would be great.
Interesting. What happens to the driver when this vehicle is run into by another vehicle? The savings in gasoline bills will be lost pretty quickly to the hospital or funeral parlor. At 30 mph, I doubt the driver will survive if this vehicle hits a large mass.
Too bad California limits electric assist to 20 MPH, regardless of pedal use. Also, California requires an approved bicycle helmet for electric assisted vehicles. California also requires that the electric motor be rated no more than 1000 watts.
As long as one wheel is 20 inches or more, this vehicle would be otherwise fairly useful in many areas. There are lots of local law variants throughout California's many counties and cities, in which some may impose restrictions that others do not.
Some counties and cities may view this vehicle as an electric go-kart, or may simply not allow electric assist vehicles on it's roadways or bike paths, unless this is an "approved" vehicle for those with restricted mobility, such as the elderly and handicapped.
In California, it would be wise to plan ahead when traveling in such a vehicle, by first checking with the local authorities of the cities that you plan on riding through. Also, verify with the CHP that such a vehicle is generally legal on California roadways.
Your vehicle may also require a valid frame number and a license sticker in many areas, such as the city of Davis, California, and many of the states University campuses and possibly their designated surrounding student housing regions.
Also note, for night riding, the pedals must have visible reflectors that can be easily seen from the forward and backwards directions, effectively making most recumbent vehicles illegal for night time use on California highways and bike paths!
It's actually hard to "legally" go green, or utilize green practices here without restrictions, bureaucracies, and brick walls, unless you can lobby up enough greenback votes to beat the system, and then successfully get the better laws passed! Remember, please be charitable to your poor sad starving bureaucrats by paying all your due federal, state, and local taxes! LOL!