A Trip Through Trike Dreams
For a really long time now, I've wanted a reverse trike for some reason. There's something appealing to me for some reason about a trike and a reverse trike gets a lot better handling. With that being said though, I'm not really looking for some powerhouse insane little dragster.
I've always hated cars.
Sure, there are some that I think look cool or something but overall they've seemed pretty stupid to be frank. They're usually incredibly overpriced (new anyway) and cost a fuckton in upkeep and gas. Why would I want to pay $30k for a car that's going to cost me another few grand in a few years to repair and will regularly cost me hundreds of dollars to refuel?
I've always been much more of a fan of bikes. The problem is that with a bike, you're pretty much stuck inside whenever there's horrible weather unless you're willing to get soaked.
So, for a number of years, I've wanted to get the best of both worlds, an enclosed trike.
Every so often I get sucked into a research hole, looking at everything that's out recently and consider if any of them are anywhere close enough to what I want to consider getting.
The other day I was sucked into just such a hole.
On the pretty insane level, you got something like the ELF.
The ELF is basically a bike, enclosed, with a electric assist and a solar panel, enclosed in a small plastic shell. It's really not that bad. I wouldn't mind having one, if it weren't so insanely priced. If it were $3k to $5k, I would probably buy one ASAP. They're pretty cool. You can use them to do most things you want to do around town. I'd probably even go up to as much as $7k, if it were just a little bit better. It's just too rickety looking, too open, and too damn expensive.
There's also the PEBL, that's very similar, and about the same price. Both are about $10k. Sorry but not worth it.
A bit less crazy but still dinky, the ZEV T3-1
The ZEV T3-1 is an electric trike that's basically an enclosed scooter. I say it's a bit less insane mainly due to the price. Starting at $6300, it seems to be more appropriately priced to its quality. Of course, it's fucking tiny and is a standard trike rather than a reverse trike. It also bears a striking resemblance to cheap enclosed scooters from China.
And a little more sane and badass, the Arcimoto SRK!
Now we get to something that's closer to what I want. The Arcimoto SRK is an "FUV" (Fun Utility Vehicle) and it certainly looks it! The Arcimoto SRK is sort of like a cross between a trike and off-road vehicle, or perhaps a jeep, considering the doors come off. If you just want a small vehicle to get you around town and occasionally to the beach, it's pretty much the perfect choice.
One of the best options, the Elio!
The Elio is pretty awesome. If only it would eventually actually be for sale. Elio is trying to make a tandem 3-wheel vehicle, made in America, that's cheap and safe. They've been having a bit of trouble getting it into production, but that's perfectly understandable. It's not exactly easy to go from nothing to full-scale production. Just ask Tesla. Even though they've been making cars for years, they have had near constant issues keeping production up. Seems just like the thing to get back and forth to work and do your everyday errands around town.
The toy Polaris Slingshot
This this is totally just a fucking toy. And it probably makes you look like a tool...or overgrown child. You probably don't wanna be caught in this anywhere near your middle years or they're gonna probably assume you got it because you think you're gonna die soon or some shit. If this had a real windshield and didn't look like an overcompensating transformer, I'd like it a bit more. I'd also like it quite a bit more if it was electric. To be honest, I'd sooner want to buy a wrecked one of these to modify and make electric, if it wasn't totally totaled. Of course, it doesn't even have real doors.
Really, it would be a lot better to just build your own "autocycle" by cutting off the front of another type of car and learning along the way. Of course, maybe that's just me, and I might be a little crazy.
WHAT DID YOU SAY? DID YOU CHECK OUT THE VANDERHALL?
Yeah, this is just fucking loud. Other than the flat nose, the Vanderhall Laguna looks pretty cool. But it's still another fucking toy with a loud ass engine. Apparently this one doesn't even go that fast either. Though the guy driving it in this vid certainly seemed to be booking it at certain points. Maybe that was the problem though. Maybe he was supposed to be driving it more normally, rather than like a sports car. If they made an electric or hybrid version, with a more normal nose, I think I'd maybe want one.
Looking at what's available in the US, I just want to build my own.
I've always wanted to learn how to do welding and work on making my own vehicle. But that's just me. What I do know for certain is that they really don't have the kind of thing I want available in the US currently. The funny thing is that I found a ton of things that I wouldn't mind getting, at very reasonable prices, when I got caught in an Alibaba hole. There are a fuckton of trikes there that I would love to have, labeled often as rickshaws and tuk-tuks. It's kinda weird that I was born in this country, yet what I really want is almost common in Asia. Well, I suppose maybe I should get my ass in gear and try to get out of here then. Of course, because of the stupid requirements of limited time in certain countries, I might not even be able to own a vehicle, due to leaving the country every few months.
Well, hope you enjoyed my little trip through trike dreams. Maybe one day I'll be able to work on customizing something to be like I really want it and show you that as well.
Those look fun. I can't remember what it's called, but there was one that actually banks when you round corners, too. That one has been out for about a decade, if I remember correctly.
The main problem for most people would be safety. Here in the cold part of the world, any of them would be fairly impractical. More than a couple inches of sow and they would be stuck in the ditch.
Well, there are a ton of people that can't drive in the snow, no matter how many inches there are. A reverse trike has just as good of handling as a normal car. Though I suppose on snow the question of if it's front wheel drive or real would definitely have an impact on handling in the snow. I think some of more powerful ones might even be fun to drive in the snow.
I've also seen videos of people driving certain velomobiles in the snow with ease. Though I'm sure it's a lot easier when they're cleared first. :P
There were a few tilting trikes that I saw as supposedly being out there, but I couldn't actually find them for sale, so I didn't mention them. There were quite a few that were a bit tougher to get that I didn't mention. If I knew for certain that I was staying in America, I would likely have to make the decision if I was going to try to get a body for one that I kinda liked to modify to be electric, or build something myself for the fun of it, or import something from China. Ironically importing something might be the easiest option, if I wasn't willing to live with just a gas engine. The Elio does get 84 mpg though, so it certainly is an option, if they ever release it.
Neat little things, but bicycle will always be my main ride. From the rain you can just cover yourself with a poncho :P
And I definitely share your sentiment with cars; really expensive and unnecessary, especially to own one.
Well, the velomobiles are pretty much bicycles. They're just enclosed. That first option is a bit of a velomobile, but not really. There were a few actual velomobiles that I could possibly import, with different levels of difficulty.
It's a lot easier over in Europe, or in Asia.
It's a bit hard to get everything done with a bike. The usual problem is heat rather than rain. On a hot day it really sucks to ride quite a ways with a load of groceries. I'd be fine with pedal assist though. Most of the time you only need to go just a little bit faster than a bike would with a minor electric motor assist.
You actually pick up a bit of speed with it just being enclosed with a bit of aerodynamics. Velomobiles that are properly aerodynamic can easily get you up to highway speeds with just the rider pedaling. I don't see why we don't have more electric assist vehicles to take you and a few groceries around town for far less than a car would cost.
Yeah, a velomobile with electric assistance would make much more sense for groceries and small stuff than a car. I guess that's what they're already doing in Asia with their tuktuks and such, though without electricity.
But here what I've seen, the closest equivalent is a microcar – the rich kids' toy. The only reason those have any market is that you are allowed to drive it at 15 – with a proper car you have to be 18 – so impatient kids with rich parents can drive a "car" three years earlier. "Rich", because they can cost 10 000€+. I don't understand why would anyone's parent purchase such thing, seems less worth than the amount of shit of an equal value.
I think some of the "microcars" make sense as far as the mileage but a lot of them are overpriced. I keep waiting for them to import more stuff from Asia so we can get some cheaper cars. But you guys do at least have more small cars over there that get pretty good mileage. Of course, some of them are WAY too cramped for the crappy mileage they get.
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