Comments on: A few more Eurobike links http://bicycledesign.net/2011/09/a-few-more-eurobike-links/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-few-more-eurobike-links The blog about industrial design in the bike industry Fri, 24 May 2013 19:51:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Ross Nicholson http://bicycledesign.net/2011/09/a-few-more-eurobike-links/comment-page-1/#comment-24722 Ross Nicholson Sat, 03 Sep 2011 16:07:47 +0000 http://bicycledesign.net/?p=2532#comment-24722 Say, electric shifting, electric pedaling, why not electric brakes and steering, too? We have this marvelous ultralight technology. What is preventing us from building five or six wheel bicycle behemoths to replace automobiles? Oh sure, we’ve seen the multi-bars and the multi buses with everybody pedaling away, that’s not what I’m talking about. I’d like to see an 80 mph fully faired electric bicycle car that’s about two hundred pounds (mostly battery) with emergency generator pedaling, with a suspended ultralight ‘cabin’ hammock. It would need an ultralight sil-nylon bellypan, totally enclosed/faired wheels, perhaps a carbon fiber body or perhaps a helium-filled inflatable ‘body’? A “big” electric velomobile that looks like a bat mobile. Who’s with me? Eh? Anybody? Anybody?

Electric steering. You don’t need much to steer an ultra-light bike car thingy. If you have wheel motors on 4 or 5 or 6 forked wheels, you can just run them at different speeds (or directions if you turn just slightly) to turn or even spin the vehicle. Has anybody looked down at their office chairs? Adding a fifth wheel would virtually eliminate roll-overs.

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