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.
The prices are still mind boggling.
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.
That’s kind of the general problem with velomobiles.
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.
kind of a mini-Aptera?
