Bob, I have ridden thousands of miles on the road with a Greenspeed GTO trike - considerably lower than yours. I found that car traffic is much better behaved than when I am on a bicycle. They give me much wider berth and seem to have better patience. I don't know your road, but I think you might benefit from giving it more of a chance.
One thing people think is that you are not visible on a low trike, I think you may be more visible just by being unusual, people tend to be more interested than annoyed. You can't do anything about brain dead drivers, and that's what they would have to be not to see you. I never bother with flags either - you have to ask - when can they see the flag better than the rider on the trike? Answer, when there is something in the way to block them from hitting you. Anyway trikes are not for everyone, but if you are a cyclist, so you are not so faint of heart. I think you might get used to it and even appreciate it. On Mon, Jul 7, 2014 at 10:18 AM, Robert Bruninga via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > Speaking of maneuverability. Here is my $1000 lesson learned: > > I bought a recumbent trike with the idea of riding the ideal commute 12 > mile rail-to-trail to and from work. NOT. > > The thing is comfortable, smooth, powerful easy to ride. The ideal > commuting machine.... But I only did it once. > > Reason is, the vulnerability and lack of maneuverability of sitting with > my but 12" off the ground, my head no higher than the top of the adjacent > behemoth car wheels, and a turning radius no better than my prius. That > plus the inability of escape during impending crashes, to jump-off, > jump-clear, or roll-over-the-hood. The lack of visibility (eye level at > 48" or so, and so on and so on. > > The 1 mile getting to the trail on normal neighborhood roads was > terrifying. The same route on a normal bike I do all the time and never > thought twice. But doing it without any maneuverability, while being > trapped, with no physical escape actions, and 3 feet wide and very low > visibility was not something I'd do routinely. > > So, now I ride it once a year in parades. Oh, and anothr thing. With 3 > wheels (none-in-line) you hit every single bump and pot hole GUARANTEED! > > Conclusion. Nothing like a normal bike experience. > > Oh, and yes, it does have an electric boost motor, hence, on-topic. > > Bob, WB4APR > > -----Original Message----- > From: EV [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Cor van de Water > via EV > Sent: Monday, July 07, 2014 1:51 AM > To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List > Subject: Re: [EVDL] Man power EV > > This vehicle is an interesting way to transport up to 4 people in a > slightly awkward (2 backwards facing) way, if it is legal in your > jurisdiction. Also - do not expect to go 60 MPH for long, not just because > you can't create the power to sustain that speed, but also because you are > sitting in not much more than a go-kart: no protectoin from wind and at 60 > MPH you would be surprised how uncomfortable that gets real quick. > Another thing is that this is an ultra-light vehicle with moped wheels, so > I am concerned about the safety of doing 60 on those tires. > My e-Bike has pretty sturdy 1.95" tires on a solid rim and a *very* ridgid > frame, but when I did a fast decent and approached about 40-45 MPH, I was > not comfortable going any faster. Since that was also the posted max > speed, no cars needed to go any faster or indeed dared to pass me on the > way down. > This car, where you are essentially sitting in a skiff on wheels with no > protection, is comparable to a bicycle on 4 wheels (which is probably how > it will be seen legally and if necessary, registered as such) The winnd > resistance alone will likely be comparable to a bicycle for each > passenger, so even if there are 4 in the car, the sustained speed will > likely be bicycling speed (around 15 MPH if you are doing well) and only > using the battery for hill climbing and acceleration. > Interesting idea but since there is the same weather protection as on a > bicycle (none), why not simply ride an e-Bike? > > Cor van de Water > Chief Scientist > Proxim Wireless Corporation http://www.proxim.com > Email: [email protected] Private: http://www.cvandewater.info > Skype: cor_van_de_water Tel: +1 408 383 7626 > > > -----Original Message----- > From: EV [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chris Tromley via > EV > Sent: Sunday, July 06, 2014 7:46 AM > To: Peri Hartman; Electric Vehicle Discussion List > Subject: Re: [EVDL] Man power EV > > On Sat, Jul 5, 2014 at 6:35 PM, Peri Hartman via EV <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > Really, as creative as it is, can it be more effective than a bicycle > > mechanism? > > > You'd be surprised. Any crank mechanism is rather limited in efficiency. > At the top and bottom of the stroke it doesn't matter how hard you push - > all the force goes into compressing/stretching the crank components > (minimally) and none goes into moving the vehicle. You only get full > efficiency at 90°. (What's the area under a sine curve, 60-some percent > of a constant function? That's about the best you can hope for with > linear input force.) Yes, a cyclist can apply rotary forces to the crank, > and experienced cyclists do, but the human body just isn't > kinesthesiologically configured to do this well. The leverage is all > wrong. > > A rower gets much better efficiency in terms of the mechanism that puts > power into motion, but that has its limitations too. (For example, it's > one-way only.) Years ago I did preliminary development on an HPV to > compete for the duPont prize (http://www.ihpva.org/land.htm) that ditched > the traditional crank mechanism, and should be better than a rower. But > then I detoured and went to college instead. That concept might make a > killer recumbent bike. I've always wanted to follow through on that. > Maybe in retirement.... > > Chris > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20140706/4c8b26 > 13/attachment.htm> > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA > (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA > (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA ( > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > -- Put this question to yourself: should I use everyone else to attain happiness, or should I help others gain happiness? *Dalai Lama * Tell me what it is you plan to do With your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver, "The summer day." To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html> A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. *Warren Buffet* Michael E. Ross (919) 550-2430 Land (919) 576-0824 <https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones> Google Phone (919) 631-1451 Cell (919) 513-0418 Desk [email protected] <[email protected]> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20140707/da5136b7/attachment.htm> _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
