Whos going to be the first to motorize this ?

[VoKuS]

Whos going to be the first to motorize this ?
Seems like it will have good lipo carry capacity ha ?

[Chalo]

That's an elaborate and incredibly expensive solution looking for a simple and cheap problem to waste itself on.

[The fingers]

Looks like the pedals will hit the ground as it bottoms out when it lands.

[Ypedal]

That's an elaborate and incredibly expensive solution looking for a simple and cheap problem to waste itself on.

I dunno.. looks about right for a 30 kw Agni motor add-on !

[bigmoose]

Blown away by this! I am not sure they know what they have!! As Y said, this is to me the perfect structure for an electrified personal transportation vehicle. Here is the company web link: http://www.contesengineering.com/suspensionmain.html

The guy made the thing just fly... it must be lighter than a hot air balloon. What is needed is for the US to create a class of "4 Wheel Motorcycles" Cars are safety rich with all the airbags and stuff. The Neighborhood Electric Vehicles are just golf carts on semi steroids that can only go 35 and get you killed on most roads.

Just think what this thing would do if we were allowed to experiment with the accepted risk posture of motorcycles, but only with 4 wheels. Hence my statement that "Do they know what they really have?" 10Kw up would make this thing just fly! I'm liking the sophisticated suspension, but I would use CV joints and not U joints in the drive shafts.

[iamsofunny]

I've always dreamed of this machine but never saw it.
This is what can allow people to get 200km range out of a LiFePO4 pack with all that capacity to hold 100 lbs of batteries.

[Chalo]

Blown away by this! I am not sure they know what they have!! As Y said, this is to me the perfect structure for an electrified personal transportation vehicle.

The problem is that it doesn't do anything a bike doesn't do, while being much heavier, more complicated, and more labor-intensive than a bike.

Chalo

[Ypedal]

absolutely agree, on sub 5kw ... but an Agni would do this thing justice where a bicycle will just fold under 30kw lol..

[bigmoose]

Chalo, my thoughts are with some mods to it, particularly in the seating area as we add power. I have a couple of fractured vertebrae, and I cannot ride hunched over at all anymore, a recumbent is my only choice these days. This frame on 4 wheels would increase payload capability, and I would structure it as a recumbent. What a platform with about 40AHr of juice and a 10KW peak, 3 KW constant drive system. Pouch cells laid flat under the seat, integrated controller in the seat back post. It would be a KMX that doesn't break an ol' guys back, and a little higher so you have a chance of being seen. ... just some thoughts.

If I was an angel investor type, that is what I would do with this technology. ... but it would take legislative changes to get it licensed as a motorcycle. We are basically talking a 50 to 55 mph capable electric Quad.

[salty9]

Looks like the pedals will hit the ground as it bottoms out when it lands.

It looked like the rider centered the crank horizontally on every jump.

Could it be modified into a three wheeler?

[MikeFairbanks]

I like it, but geesh, what is the cost going to be?

It has a lot of potential, especially electric.

I'd like to see one that's not intended for such radical riding so that it could be made simpler and cheaper. It would make a great commuter.

[amberwolf]

Could be useful, but most likely only off-road.

The catch I see is it being a quad. Because of the way many (most?) states' vehicle definitions are setup, you can't have that thing on the road anywhere in those states. Typically three wheels (sometimes "three wheels in contact with the ground") is the max limit for any non-"motor vehicle" like bicycles, and at least sometimes, maybe all the time, for motorcycles.

I don't know how you could make it legal to sell (or at least to actually use) as an on-road vehicle in those states.

[VoKuS]

Im glad you guys like it.

When I saw it on gizmodo/engadet or something...

The first thing thru my mind was, this has to be presented to my endless sphere maniacs hahahaha ....

I would really like this set up. Its still compact enough to ride a decent trail, prob very soft, and you can stuff it full of lipo!

I would love to do 50 - 100 mile trips on the weekends, this would be so much fun!

Found something else...
This design lacks a full suspension system, the rear bends in weird way when they are going over rocks...
The design in the first vid is much better, but it lacks the seat like the one here.

[Drunkskunk]

I agree with Chalo. Thats a Sulution without a problem. A bike would be better except for where a trike or an ATV would be more usefull.

But it looks awesome, and would be a blast to ride for a while.

[Farfle]

Only place where thats better than a bike is slippery ground. Would be insane fun tho

[salty9]

Did anyone study the steering geometry and have a comment on it? It seems to me to be very quick, almost twitchy.

[Tench]

I think the objective here was to create a fun vehicle, not one that does something better than a mountain bike or any other type of pedal powered machine but something that is just fun, and it looks like both of these designs have achieved that.

In the uk 4 wheeled electric vehicles can be ridden on the street without a license but there are speed restrictions and also a limit on the maximum track of the vehicle, i shall look up the regs.

Simon.

[nechaus]

Im thinking i want to buy an AGNI now

[chvidgov.bc.ca]

Does it climb?

[auraslip]

It'd be a blast at the beach. Especially if the whole thing was waterproofed so it could go in the water.

[amberwolf]

If that's not waterproofed, maybe use this one instead:
http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k58 ... icycle.jpg

Bulletproof-Glass-Bicycle.jpg (71.48 KiB) Viewed 205 times

[veloman]

It doesn't make much sense to me. Could be fun in a few types of situations, but mostly novelty. I sure wouldn't want 4 wheels in urban areas, or anywhere for that matter, unless it's a real motor vehicle. Looks crazy expensive and surely much heavier than a bike.

[Alan B]

I would think those should be allowed anywhere a trike is allowed if they have similar width limits. They can be much safer than trikes without using any more roadspace. They allow users with balance issues to enjoy cycling and efficient transportation, just like a trike, but with increased safety. They also allow operations in rough or slippery conditions where a 2 wheeler would be falling down or take a much higher degree of skill to ride.

[amberwolf]

Personally I think 4-wheeled bicycle-class vehicles should be allowed just like trikes are, especially since they can be safer in some situations than especially the most common type of trike, the delta, for a number of reasons covered in various other threads and websites.

But in my limited searching when I was originally planning a multi-wheel vehicle before I built CrazyBike2, I found that many states (Arizona included) only consider a bicycle-class vehicle to be such if it has "3 wheels or less in contact with the ground" (generally stated in some such fashion). Meaning, you could have four wheels on a bike, if two of them are like training wheels and are not touching the ground at the same time.

But if you have four or more wheels in contact with the ground (at the same time), it's no longer a bicycle...so then if you want it on the road legally, you have to build it to one of the other vehicle classifications, which usually forces you to step up to automotive levels of design, speed, braking, safety equipment, lighting, VIN, registration, insurance, emissions, crash testing (if applicable) etc. Lot of places seem to only allow lesser quads as off-road vehicles, and cannot be ridden/driven on public roads or ways.


Some places that do prohibit 4-wheel bikes probably don't enforce that, but it'd suck to spend all the money to buy or build one, ride it around, and suddenly have somebody with a bug up their bum ticket you for it, and no longer be able to use it.

Offroad it wouldn't matter...but on-road, youd' have to be sure they're allowed where you are or be prepared to deal with the consequences of enforcement, if any.