A bicycle that you can pedal up to 50mph...but at what cost?

[dysfunctional press]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahr9sUnqfeM&feature=fvw



http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/erockit-electric-assisted-bike.php

eROCKIT's electric assist is made to zip through city traffic
eROCKIT's inventors call it the human-hybrid machine. That sounds like hyperbole until you watch the eROCKIT in motion. The cyclist's pedaling motions assist the motor, which multiplies the rider's effort by a factor of 50, the company says. The faster you pedal, the faster you go.

Continuous 'muscle deployment' to power the motor
eROCKIT said this is the first time that the driver's physical power is just as relevant for driving dynamics and speed as the vehicle's technical properties and engine power. You pedal to get going and pedal to accelerate - hand brakes slow you down. Pedaling also helps to charge up the bike's battery. The bike has no separate acceleration pedal or handle as a motorcycle would.

Nano-phosphate lithium battery
eROCKIT says it is using a nano-phosphate lithium battery in its present design, which it expects to last for 10 years or 50,000 kilometers of use. Depending on driving or pedaling style, a charge should last for 60 to 80 kilometers...

the cost? currently priced at approximately $44,000, depending on the euro conversion rate.

[ananda]

1. shickerstock

44 grand.. that's an eyestopper right there.

[Thegonagle]

5. Fortunately, similar machines can be built for thousands less.

Wally World was (is?) selling a more basic bicycle with a battery-electric assist for a few hundred, IIRC. Nicer e-bikes than the Wally World model have been in bike stores for several years. And hobbyists have been building viable machines (some using "off the shelf" conversion kits) for even longer. There are blogs, message boards, and websites devoted to the subject.

[taterguy]

6. Never buy a bike (of any type) from someone who can't fix it

Bicycle maintenance is very labor intensive and expensive.

Most shops hate to do it.

They give preferential treatment to people who buy their bikes there.

I don't blame them.

I know of a shop that requires a deposit before working on a cheap bike from WallyWorld, just because so many people never bother picking them up.

[Thegonagle]

17. I believe it. I'm not saying that bikes from Wally World, Target, Toyz-r-us, etc.

are actually any good. (IMO, bikes actually worth buying typically start north of $300 new, and batteries are not included at that low price.) However, Walmart did sell an electrically assisted machine that resembles a bicycle, and I'm sure the price was under $500.

The machines that the hobbyists are building using things like Li-ion batteries, brushless-motorized hubs, and controllers capable of regenerative braking, are much more interesting than the probable garbage that Walmart was "peddling." And naturally, none of those hobbyists have anywhere near $44,000 invested in their e-bike projects.

[Lasher]

2. Pretty expensive moped. n/t

[Ron Green]

3. It's a high-dollar moped

rather than a bicycle. Too heavy to be a real human-powered machine, but kinda like a stationary bike that isn't stationary.

[Bucky]

4. Meh. I got a car that goes a hell of a lot faster and all I gotta do push down on the pedal once

I love the concept of "zip through city traffic". Does that mean you can save time and gasoline by driving on the sidewalks at fifty miles an hour? Shit, my car can do that too. Or are they arguing that people can use this bike to zip between cars when they're stacked up at a traffic light? Geeze, imagine a world where driving advice like that isn't going to get a few people killed.

[ret5hd]

7. Yeah, I know what you mean!

I mean, any change that means I may have to change any of MY habits isn't change I can believe in!

:rofl:

[XemaSab]

8. 50 mph?

What happens when you hit a rock?

Unless this thing is going to be regulated like a motorcycle (with attendant safety requirements), I can see a lot of people turning themselves into hamburger with this puppy.

[Fumesucker]

16. You can go almost that fast on a regular bicycle..

Going down a steep hill can get you more speed than you might imagine on a regular bike with no suspension and tires the diameter of spaghetti.

That bike looks pretty sophisticated, inverted slider forks on the front like top dirt bikes have, full suspension in the rear.

I once rode a motorcycle with a suspension not as nice as that over a curb at about 40 mph in the dark and didn't come off or lay it down.

[XemaSab]

19. I've seen people pick up some speed on hills

and go ass-over-teakettle.

Being able to go ass-over-teakettle anytime, anyplace (such as at the end of every block) would not be so good.

[Stevenmarc]

9. Gee my eBike can do up to 25mph for $1,800 , besides

no one moves anywhere near 50mph on NYC streets

[taterguy]

10. My conventional bike can top 25 mph, it cost $500

I don't even need to be going downhill.

[armyowalgreens]

15. I can sprint at 35 mph on my road bike

Of course that is only for very short distances.

I have averaged 19 mph for 20 miles.

[Stevenmarc]

23. Yeah but if I don't feel like peddling I get to go more than 0 mph

[Motown_Johnny]

11. just need the blueprints... should be able to build that for more like 3000

[armyowalgreens]

12. I don't really feel like riding a bicyle at 50 mph.

Sounds like a death trap.

[billyoc]

13. Boy oh boy, is that stupid. What town lets you go 50 mph?!

:rofl:

A $50 bicycle will do the speed limit in town.

[ecstatic]

14. It's obviously a toy for rich kids

who already have one or two other personal vehicles and have a lot of private land to race on.

[BlooInBloo]

18. $44,000? So it's competing with the Ford Fusion then?

[blogslut]

20. That price is nuts

Then again, the prices on many electric vehicles are crazy high.

I like the concept of an electric bike because one isn't left high and dry if/when their battery charge runs out in the middle of a journey. It would be sweet if there were an e-bike where one could charge it up via peddling. Maybe there is one but I just haven't heard about it.

Just the same, I'd rather have a nice electric scooter. I have one but I bent the rim on the back wheel and haven't been able to afford to get it fixed. It doesn't go very fast, at the most 10 miles per hour. Still, I miss using it.

These days, I just walk, which is good for me so I can't complain.

[dysfunctional press]

24. "It would be sweet if there were an e-bike where one could charge it up via peddling..."

this one does just that.

[B Calm]

21. $44,000 wow! You'd think you would at least get a banana seat

[HughMoran]

22. I liked it until

I saw the sticker price :smoke: