These comments just read like a whole bunch of people who never rode a bike and yet are somehow experts on everything about bikes.<p>This thing is not for Le Tour and you don't go fast on it and you don't go up giant hills on it. That makes a lot of the concerns here go out the window.<p>These types of bikes shaped objects often have all kinds of issues with trying to use bike parts designed for standard bikes on something that is very different. Issues with needing enormous chains, huge cable runs, etc.. when designers try things like this they are worrying about issues like that more than whether you can climb a mountain on it or stuff it into a corner at high speed without going out of control.<p>The thing with these is the cost to design & manufacture components that need to be different than normal bikes can be astronomical, so anything they can do to design the frame to use normal components in a normal/non-compromised way pays off in a huge way.<p>The ideas behind this aren't that different than the Cruzbike being front wheel drive to get rid of a lot of the component/drivetrain issues that recumbent bikes are famous for.
Tricycles are inherently unstable in turns, especially when not loaded down, because they cannot lean. And when carrying a load, the same rules of physics apply, resulting in a lot of torsional forces on the frame. There's a reason we see so few of those on the roads, amidst an explosion of various human-powered modes of transport.<p>Here's the original: <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=RuPwRQOUhl4" rel="nofollow">http://youtube.com/watch?v=RuPwRQOUhl4</a><p>Here's the reimagined modern version: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA7qGYNFuY0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA7qGYNFuY0</a><p>In both cases, the rider effectively sits atop of where the handlebars would be on a traditional trike. You can see in the first video the lads have a hard time keeping all wheels on the ground.<p>One notable difference between the new model and the old is that they seem to have changed the geometry of the frame so that the driver doesn't lean into the turn (the turning wheel stays upright). They don't demonstrate it in motion very well, but that kind of turn action will tend to throw the rider "out" of the turn, making the trike fall over opposite of the direction of the turn. The old version tends to fall "into" the turn.<p>I can't think of many advantages to this design, other than the driving unit and cargo are modular. Even then, the rider would not be able to travel without the cargo portion.<p>Trikes are tricky, they don't go very fast, they don't turn well, and they're wider than most other pedal-powered vehicles, making them hard to use on existing cycle infrastructure.
It's always exciting to see this idea get revived for the first time in ninety years every ten years!<p>I've pedaled around on a couple variations of this design. Like everyone who had never ridden one but saw it on the internet, I also confidently imagined it would violently hurl me to the ground at the slightest provocation. I was wrong, which strangely seems to be a pattern for confident opinions I've formed based on things I've only seen on the internet. Having not been for a ride on this particular iteration, I will not post confident opinions about it on the internet.<p>The best (granted, of two...) version I've tried was semi-recumbent, with a standard geartrain and flevobike-style steering. The steering was a little weird at first, but I quickly figured out how to fully steer it hands free. Fully unloaded it was possible to tip it with hard front braking while turning, if you pitched your body weight into the effort. Loaded, it was absolutely nailed to the ground. You're just a mule winching a load down the road at that point. Sometimes it's fun to be a mule, piloting a weird bike-cart.<p>It turns out everyone flamewarring about stability on the internet forgot to get mad about drive wheel traction limits when pulling a load uphill. Which for me was a loading consideration rather than a problem. The underseat steering was brilliant for reasons I'd never thought about. But don't take my word for it, ride one and decide for yourself.<p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130309080557/http://hpm.catoregon.org/?page_id=73" rel="nofollow">https://web.archive.org/web/20130309080557/http://hpm.catore...</a>
In Copenhagen, Denmark, these are used all over the city to, well, deliver cargo.<p>Then, annually they have a fun cargo-bike race called "Svajerløb" [0]<p>The event is based on traditional races that took place between the 1930s and 1960s. In the race, riders typically complete four laps - the first lap ridden with an empty cargo bike, then stopping to load up their bikes with cargo before completing three more laps with the full load. [1]<p>It's super fun.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Svajerloeb/" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/Svajerloeb/</a><p>[1] <a href="https://copenhagenize.com/2017/10/arrange-svajerlb-cargo-bike-race.html" rel="nofollow">https://copenhagenize.com/2017/10/arrange-svajerlb-cargo-bik...</a>
One thing that most non-cyclists may not realise, is that (because of your lower speed) it is actually an advantage to keep your cargo sight when riding through an urban area.
(You don't want people steal your cargo while waiting for the traffic lights.)<p>Or, when transporting kids, you want to be able to see them, talk with them, keep an eye on them. I have cycled over 30,000 Kilometers in and around Amsterdam on various bikes - and written many different posts on it:
<a href="https://willem.com/blog/bike/" rel="nofollow">https://willem.com/blog/bike/</a>
(including on cargo bikes like Babboe)
For everyone complaining about tricycles, one thing I've seen here and there in Europe being used for inner city deliveries is what I learned is called "Velove Armadillo", a 4-wheeled cargo bike<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAaVXKBamd0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAaVXKBamd0</a><p>You can even hook up a trailer to it for even more cargo.
This is neat but I'm not sure sbout sitting on top of the wheel. An electric version would be great<p>For people questioning the viability of trikes, here is what the Dutch postal service uses:<p><a href="https://www.bikeshift.com/nl/assets/components/phpthumbof/cache/Fietskoerier%20PostNL.7d2a72c19e4a34525961dbb13f56c6c8.png" rel="nofollow">https://www.bikeshift.com/nl/assets/components/phpthumbof/ca...</a><p>And this is ehat they are testing for future:
<a href="https://fulpra.com/" rel="nofollow">https://fulpra.com/</a>
The issue with this design is the front 3 geared hub. It says it would reduce maintenance needs. The derailleur and chain are often cheaper and require very little maintenance other than oiling and maybe cleaning. They last literally last 1000s of miles. There isn't a maintenance concern typically. In fact I think it is harder to maintenance hubs from what I've read.<p>These sorts of issues plague a lot of bike designs where they try to do something radically different. The reason why the derailleur and chains are used so often is because they are relatively cheap, work well and require maybe a few cheap tools to remove/refit parts (I have done this myself many times).<p>Also as for the modular design. Why would I care about a modular design if I wanted something like this. You aren't going to be a courier one day and then suddenly running Gelato stand the next.
This is a much fancier Rickshaw[1] on Steroid.<p>1. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickshaw" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickshaw</a>
Three wheeled cars and trikes mostly moved to having the two wheels in front for stability when cornering. Same reason why 3 wheeled all terrain vehicles were taken off the market. Otherwise, cool idea.
There are a couple of long time bike messengers here in DC who've been using this same rig for 15+ years. One has a rear seat for one of his kids.
This is wild—in the best way. The design was so practical it basically looped around to being fashionable again. Honestly feels more “modern” than some of the e-bike overengineering out there today.
While interesting, I feel like this would be difficult or at least feel extremely weird to ride. When you steer on a 2-wheeled bicycle, you countersteer, which is pushing the wheel left in order to go right, or vice-versa. But this has a steering wheel that I assume works like a car, you turn the wheel left to go left. It would feel weird riding a bicycle while having to remember to steer like a car.
Yet, the unconventional steering mechanism and rider position might pose challenges in terms of ergonomics and maneuverability, especially when compared to traditional cargo bikes
That front bike section looks so cool. I guess it's so alien looking because the whole section turns instead of just the wheel which affords it more creative license than a traditional handlebar attached to a fork.<p>I bet it also feels alien to turn a steering wheel with your feet on bike pedals.
Berm Peak reviewed a cargo bike some months ago:<p><a href="https://youtu.be/H7w57U3ijHY?si=EWXoYPNVpkwxh-oT" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/H7w57U3ijHY?si=EWXoYPNVpkwxh-oT</a>
I was under the impression these had been out for a while. Last May, when my wife and I went to France, these cargo bikes all over the place, especially in Paris.
Cube has a model called "Trike Hybrid" that has a similar, more practical design: <a href="https://www.cube.eu/de-de/e-bikes/transport/trike-hybrid" rel="nofollow">https://www.cube.eu/de-de/e-bikes/transport/trike-hybrid</a>
This looks cool. I'd have to try it, myself, to see if it works.<p>However, it also looks like these are all renderings. It would be interesting to see a live demo.<p>The one actual photo looks quite different from the renderings.
Off topic - the the colour scheme choices for the Cookie selection pop-up on that site are awful. I'll admit I'm colour blind, but I assume those are hard for others to see when the switches are on or off? Unless that was their plan?
Lol @ what appears to be paddle shifters or paddle brakes [0] under a steering wheel on a bike??<p>[0] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA7qGYNFuY0&t=77s" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA7qGYNFuY0&t=77s</a>
There's probably a good reason nobody has touched this design in 90+ years. As the last photo demonstrates, banging the back of your leg against a trailer hitch every time you turn would get annoying <i>real</i> quick.
feels like these types of human-powered cargo vehicles work better when they're pushing the load vs towing a trailer, either the 2 wheeler cargo that's got the payload way out front, or the reverse trikes. The closest I've tried to this type of geo is a regular bike towing a 2-wheeled trailer, and that has both logistic & performance issues. This setup has you really tall/forward, and the trailer interfering with the pedaling & leg movement.
This design is unstable and expensive to produce with a complicated in wheel transmission. It is novel, but almost certainly more expensive and less reliable than existing designs.
Cycle rickshaws/pedicabs have been in use for several decades in India and other poorer parts of the world. And they are miles better in usability than whatever this is.
Really good looking :)<p>You should definitely put a repairable Gouach e-bike battery on it haha
<a href="https://gouach.com" rel="nofollow">https://gouach.com</a>
Pedals directly on the front wheel means no shifting the chain, which means you better have not skipped leg day if there is even the slightest hill on your route while you are fully loaded.
Please excuse my hacker-newsyness…<p>This idea is absurdly underbaked…other commenters mentioned that it’s going to flip, and it is. Not to mention that no bike shop in the world will know how to work on these things.<p>There’s lots of reasons that this design died in the 1930’s after a short run.<p>But…so you know I’m a reasonable guy despite my blithering criticism…I love weird alternative vehicles and I hope that version two of this is a massive success because this world needs more tiny vehicles and fewer 8’ tall Ford F-150’s.<p>Best of luck!
Revive? These things are still in active use all over Europe .. backfiet .. and while they’re fun, they can be exhausting if you overfill them with groceries, kids, roadkill, oilyballs, etc.<p>There’s a tricked out one in my ‘hood (Vienna) that has electric assist. I guess that’d be practical for a daily ride …