If you do 200 Watts on a regular bicycle on a windless flat and a regular road, you're looking at going about 30kph. With this? 50kph. Obviously generalizing a lot here but you get the point.

They suck ass on hills though, because they weigh ~30kg with the chassis. not so much a problem in motion on the flat, kind of sucks uphill where aero doesn't matter. From my experience you don't see a lot of e-bike variants so far because with EU regulations the motor'd cut out at the speed you'd go for a leisurely ride on a normal bicycle, but maybe it'd be interesting to make them more hillclimbing capable.

Fun fact: in 1968 some dude did 100kph in this with by himself with no outside help.

Chassis are usually some sort carbon fibre or fiberglass and built monocoque, which means you better not ding them babies because repairs are gonna be expensive as fuck.

Prices run around 10k€ and then up to whatever you feel like paying for a new one. But they do look like old timey racecars which is fun. From personal experience of having chatted up a few of the local velomobile riders I feel like there's about a 50:50 split between buying one and somebody going fully "dad in the shed" and just building the entire thing from scratch

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[–] Twongo@lemmy.ml 2 points 21 hours ago

imma say it like this: these are a more common sight in g€rmany than u think. i've seen 2 of these just this week

[–] regul@hexbear.net 10 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I saw this e-velomobile on youtube a while back: https://www.electrom.ca/

but we're talking miniscule production runs and paying about as much as you would pay for a BYD for something that's a lot less capable

very much a niche of a niche

[–] 7bicycles@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

yeah, even the other cyclists consider the velomobile people as bicycle cranks

[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They're different kinds of capability. I'd benefit from having something like a Slate EV pickup truck, but car ownership is complex. Bureaucracy, insurance, difficult repairs with specialised tools, road rules and the stress of driving, a large thing to park in limited spaces. My ebike turns travel into something I don't really think about beyond planning for time and range. I park it inside my door and charge it for a few pennies. I can fix almost everything on it with the multitool it came with, don't have any financial costs I have to plan around, and the only traffic law is be nice to people while you're going 32kmh in the right lane. Travel becomes intuitive exploration and fun exercise in a community without disturbing or risking anything.

With EVs and even e-motos, I'm stuck on roads and all the reasons I hate them. This lil fucker is a whole new lifestyle and socioecologically-sound path for urban development.

[–] regul@hexbear.net 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

For sure. Those are great advantages of an ebike that all kind of disappear with the form factor and weight of a velomobile and especially an e-velo.

[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

What matters to me is category. Micromobility is whatever fits onto the bike path with a <=750w motor. This is a velomobile model I wouldn't get practical use from, but this microcamper is in the same category and I could explore the mountains in it self-sufficiently alongside electric wheelchairs and recumbent bikes falling under HPV laws: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S8zChzf_mY. Most velomobiles I see locally look like this, an enclosed 2-4 seater that would be much more practical for urban needs than this model: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256811993092409.html

[–] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 1 points 1 day ago

I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:

[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I really hope velomobiles and microcampers take off. They only make up maybe >1% of the traffic on my local bike trails but they're never an impediment. If I'm walking my dog, a self-sufficient camper can quietly navigate around me without scaring him. If I'm on my bike, they don't even take up the half-lane on a trail that's smaller than a single car lane and I can easily go around them. Something like this with cargo capacity and a dog seat would easily replace the few driving needs I have left in going between cities. My city would be so much more pleasant if these replaced most cars and RVs.

edit: And the best part. This e-carriage is technically in the same vehicle category so we could do CyberVictorian 1877- https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807756353399.html

[–] Le_Wokisme@hexbear.net 2 points 1 day ago

From my experience you don't see a lot of e-bike variants so far because with EU regulations the motor'd cut out at the speed you'd go for a leisurely ride on a normal bicycle, but maybe it'd be interesting to make them more hillclimbing capable

i think fortnine covered one a few years ago but i forget the brand