Back in 2016 we told you about the PEBL, a pedal-electric velomobile that combined some of the best attributes of a bicycle and a car. Well, it now has a cushier, spiffier, more streamlined successor, in the form of the PEBL 2.0.
I’m always rooting for velomobiles, though I feel like 91 kg is a bit too heavy for what this is. Supposing we start with a cargo ebike for comparison, a RadWagon 5 weighs in at 39 kg and has a comparable battery capacity, motor, and payload rating. This velomobile will likely have a sturdier recumbent frame than the upright cargo bike frame, and of course it has the fiberglass fairing.
But a difference of ~50 kg seems just too much. 20 kg would be plausible for a fairing, and maybe add another 10 kg for all the drivetrain component changes, like a more-complicated steering assembly and that third wheel. But where is that last 20 kg?
And I don’t think the question is irrelevant, as one online reference indicates that existing velomobiles fall in between 20-30 kg. So this 91 kg behemoth – even considering its cargo capabilities – is very much the odd-one-out. The remaining weight difference is akin to carrying a second velomobile onboard the first one.
This is really interesting, but I’m not quite sure where you’d use it. Is it safe to be used on multi-use trails? I could see this struggling to navigate some of our protected bike lanes here.
I like the idea a lot, but I suspect you’d need a lot more green ways and healthy roads before it could be better used in NA.
it would probably be fine anywhere you could take a recumbent trike, but that would rule out my commute where there are two stupid blockages a road bike can barely fit through.
That’s kind of the general problem with velomobiles.
The prices are still mind boggling.
kind of a mini-Aptera?
