Car-sharing electric velomobile, made in Vancouver, at fest

4LivesPerGallon

4LivesPerGallon

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What are your comments (reviews) about this .. ebike velomobile, made in Vancouver?

Saw this at a meetup announcement:
http://www.meetup.com/VEVABC/events/223948157/?a=co2_grp&gj=co2&rv=co2

Vancouver Electric Vehicle Associaton Electrafest 2015:
https://veva.ca/electrafest-2015/


(SNIP) Test Drives

Note: The following list is subject to change. Please check back closer to the event date to confirm that the vehicle you are interested in will be available for a test drive.

Chevrolet Volt (Dueck Downtown)
Kia Soul EV (Kia West)
Motorino Electric Scooters (Motorino)
Nissan Leaf (Downtown Nissan)
OHM E-bike (OHM Electric Bicycles)
Smart Fortwo Electric Drive (Mercedes Benz Vancouver Retail Group)
VeloMetro VeloCar (VeloMetro Mobility)
(END SNIP)


The interesting new electric vehicle in Electrafest 2015 is the Vancouver-made "Velocar", which is something like this ELF in the US:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3INj_7WVDQ8

Toyota already has a similar "carshare" velomobile, one the road:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiZS1y0I_3E

There have been many electric velo's, for at least 10 years, here's another one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9na1kFdU9gs


The VeloMetro Velocar looks like a copy of the made-in-Alberta Hawk, cost $24K, see it in evalbum.com:
http://www.evalbum.com/3464

The Hawk owner started from the BugE, which I belive has been discontinued, even though it seemed to have an awesome design. Note that the cost was $15K .. these days, $25K, due to our Loonie's collapse.
http://www.evalbum.com/1810

Here is a list of Bug-E's in EValbum.com:
http://www.google.com/custom?site=e...lbum.jpg;S:http://evalbum.com/;FORID:1;&hl=en



MY COMMENTS and QUESTIONS ABOUT ELECTRIC VELOMOBILES:

1) Unless velomobiles have tubeless tires, the first flat-tire experience will result in extreme customer frustration.
2) At 30kph top speed .. ??
3) The Bionx low-profile e-trike was great fun on test rides, and everybody loved to spin it around at VEVA fests. But, low-profile trikes are a death trap on the road --- ask people in Vancouver who rode them, and survived. Even a 10' orange flag, with a flashing beacon on the top, wasn't visible enough.
4) The car-share idea is great, but at 60% of the cost of a gasser car-sharing, a taxi might be better. Taiwan universities already have "electric smart-scooter sharing" right now. (This is not the Gogoro, which just launched.)
5) My Motorino electric scooters came with a rain cape. Used those rain capes on extreme rain, and they worked well. Of course, I also wore ski goggles, neoprene gloves, and at times, a full-face helmet. Rain capes are even made in Vancouver. Bicycling rain capes are used by the millions in China.
http://peoplesbike.com/pplsen/?p=4780
6) The velomobile sharing would be a good idea for Yaletown, Vancouver's West End, UBC, the flat City of Richmond --- unless bike thieves strip the velomobiles for parts. One out of every 4 bikes are stolen, every year. I hope taxpayers won't be paying for the MetroVelo velomobile experiment.
7) The $1K practical alternative to $15K to $25K velomobiles, in my mind, is a small electric folding bike, and a $40 raincape from the Bike Doctor.


MetroVelo (VeloMetro) promo YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/velometro



..
 
3) The Bionx low-profile e-trike was great fun on test rides, and everybody loved to spin it around at VEVA fests. But, low-profile trikes are a death trap on the road --- ask people in Vancouver who rode them, and survived. Even a 10' orange flag, with a flashing beacon on the top, wasn't visible enough.
Click to expand...

Back in the dumb/bad old daze, used to haul an 18ft. catamaran sailboat on its trailer behind a gas powered automobile. :oops:

Had to add a flag off the back of the even longer mast with one end supported over the car and the other end longer than the transoms ("back") of that boat. My "flag" then was a loooooong plastic drogue ("tail") from a Peter Powell "Sky Stunter" kite.

These daze rolling on a recumbent trike, have back thin plastic pole streaming long yellow plastic "Danger" tapes about head height.

Anyway. Just saying, "velomobile" style bikes might be dressed up with flags and steamers that pretty well "stand out".
 
4LivesPerGallon said:
What are your comments (reviews) about this .. ebike velomobile, made in Vancouver?
Click to expand...

My daughter rode their mule at Electrafest. The suspension, handling & everything seemed pretty solid.
It is a pretty upright seating, basically car height or more, and will have a body so I think visibility will be really good. It isn't way down low like a Quest or other velomobile.

I don't think the VeloMetro has any resemblance at all to the vehicles you list on the evalbum. Those are all heavy, high powered, have no pedals, and ride on car wheels. They are motor cycle class in US and completely illegal in Canada. The Velometro is lightweight and classified as an electric bike.

I agree with you that a cape is a much cheaper way than an enclosed velomobile. I bought the heavy cape from Bike Doctor too, it worked great. But with a cape you still get soaked on your legs. I'm feeling more water soluble as I get older, so I'm planning on getting a really long cape to cover my legs. Or maybe try to make a crude version of the zote foam shell that John Tetz made.
 
"Vancouver, UBC to test VeloMetro rides"
http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/2016/02/17/vancouver-ubc-to-test-velometro-rides
1297806154686_ORIGINAL.jpg


The company is projecting a full launch in 2017, but has partnered with the City of Vancouver by providing a handful of vehicles for beta testing, and is looking to roll out an on-campus pilot project at the University of B.C.

The “Veemo,” as VeloMetro’s vehicles are called, is like a mash-up of a smart car and an electric bicycle — single-occupant, enclosed three-wheelers that are powered and steered like a bike, featuring electric assistance for hills and long-distance travel. No driver’s licence is needed.
Click to expand...
:)

Stonier added that VeloMetro will be featured at the Globe Conference for green businesses in Vancouver March 2 to 4.
Click to expand...
:) :)
 
Oooops. Realize just now that 1JohnFoster mentioned this on ES four days before this thread started:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=71038&p=1072708#p1072708

Anyway... another article re VeloMetro:
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/v...-cars-bikes-and-ride-sharing-apps-104796.html

Hehe... on site named "autoevolution", desperate to hang on to that "auto" bit. "VeloMetro is trying to do the same thing by merging electric vehicles and bicycles". Apparently bikes are NOT "vehicles" (from Latin: vehiculum) is a mobile machine that transports people or cargo.
 
VeloMetro touting their own horn back in 2014:
[youtube]19BeUYk9ZyQ[/youtube]
 
4LivesPerGallon said:
Is this a 500 watt trike?
Click to expand...

:) Target weight of final client-ready version was about 120 kg (265 lbs). Not many hills in that city. For shorter distances... ;) Canada/Provincial legal max. 500 watts CONTINUOUS, yes. (No word in these laws that I know of re PEAK motor outputs. :wink: )

(Interesting question. Not happy with only one pony-powered?)
 
4LivesPerGallon said:
Imo 500 watts can't help much with inclines, e.g. Oak Street. To get to UBC from Kits is hilly.
Click to expand...

Hi 4LPG, There's an alternative route for anything.
If I ever got stuck going up 6th St in Kits on my 500W ebike, I I'd have to snake like crazy, gear down to 1st, stand, and mind my heart rate. Or I could just coast down to 2nd and go up McDonald ;)

An 80 year old friend of mine pedaled every day from my place (DTES) to UBC for a week.
Where you start from in Kits? Why go to UBC anyways? All snobs there. Nice forest though.

For regulatory purposes, I believe the "Veemo" is 500W continuous. But it apparently weighs 285lbs! Hope there's lots of peak Watts!

Me, think I peak at 200W?, maybe for a few usecs. Average max output 50W? (for 10min). How much do you put out?
Speaking of putting out, I think they'll charge almost as much as a Car2Go for this thing. I'll have to do it at least once, but don't know if I'll be a lifetime sustaining member. U?
Lots of rich people in this town, hope the Gregor types pony up so we can wave thru the rain at them behind the tinted windows.
 
I prefer the bike route south of Broadway. Lots of detours for lookie-see.

Any idea how the motor will be rain-proof for this velomobile? Did you notice how Cambie cycle's velo's have silently disappeared from their shop?
 
4LivesPerGallon said:
I prefer the bike route south of Broadway. Lots of detours for lookie-see.
Any idea how the motor will be rain-proof for this velomobile? Did you notice how Cambie cycle's velo's have silently disappeared from their shop?
Click to expand...

Yeah, me too if I have the time, I like to go along the water and look at the boats and beaches.

Brock got into velombiles when his friend Steve (http://velomobiles.ca/) was actively designing & building them. Beautiful, light, very carefully designed and built, but of course, expensive! I don't know if he sold many... did you buy one? ;)
I believe Steve subsequently moved his shop (Nimbus) to an island, don't know if he is still producing the Borealis & Aurora velomobiles. Still up on the web page.

I'm pretty sure they will have everything well nailed down on the Veemo, including rain proofing the electrics. The motors look pretty well enclosed by the body. The mule had 2 chassis mounted motors, not hub motor. They spent a lot of design work thinking of everything they can. Hope it all works out well. If there are problems they will be fixing; not the types to put out crap and walk away.
 
And now shows up on website for "Canada's National Broadcaster" (with a video):
"Veemo could hit Vancouver streets as early as September"
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/veemo-vancouver-streets-1.3511685

As usual, [C]omments there amusing. (In voting there, "Yes, it should be allowed on bike lanes without a licence" gained 53.73% of viewers, with article posted late in the day on March 29th.)
 
LockH said:
And now shows up on website for "Canada's National Broadcaster" (with a video):
....As usual, [C]omments there amusing. (In voting there, "Yes, it should be allowed on bike lanes without a licence" gained 53.73% of viewers, with article posted late in the day on March 29th.)
Click to expand...

Thanks Lock, the 1st vid I've seen. Saves me a 10 block ride to pester them for a test ride. My perverse side wants to post this to the bike lists and to VEVA, which is now an anti-bike car club, just to be cruel to Kody & John for fun. They'd get banned from the bike paths _and_ the roads! But seriously I hope they do succeed.

Personally I think they should just be on the roads. I think they'll be safer than the Car2Go's which zip recklessly everywhere around here. Car2Go's are the scariest drivers on the streets, I think because 1) they're non-car drivers (maybe they are crazy bike riders like me) 2) they grab the cars when late and in a hurry.

I think people will drive much more cautiously in a piece of orange fiberglass instead of an "invincible Tridon cage".
 
1JohnFoster said:
LockH said:
And now shows up on website for "Canada's National Broadcaster" (with a video):
....As usual, [C]omments there amusing. (In voting there, "Yes, it should be allowed on bike lanes without a licence" gained 53.73% of viewers, with article posted late in the day on March 29th.)
Click to expand...

Thanks Lock, the 1st vid I've seen. Saves me a 10 block ride to pester them for a test ride. My perverse side wants to post this to the bike lists and to VEVA, which is now an anti-bike car club, just to be cruel to Kody & John for fun. They'd get banned from the bike paths _and_ the roads! But seriously I hope they do succeed.

Personally I think they should just be on the roads. I think they'll be safer than the Car2Go's which zip recklessly everywhere around here. Car2Go's are the scariest drivers on the streets, I think because 1) they're non-car drivers (maybe they are crazy bike riders like me) 2) they grab the cars when late and in a hurry.

I think people will drive much more cautiously in a piece of orange fiberglass instead of an "invincible Tridon cage".
Click to expand...


One such car2go actually squeezed by my car to pass. Let the nutter through. Was astonished at the maneuver. I didn't think we'd both fit in one lane.
 
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