If you are not just talking, then there is nothing stopping you from having what you want. You can even get useful electrified velos off the shelf.
- I still love the idea of an electric velo, A velo implies not carlike speeds. Presumably you are OK with that part. If you want more than 20mph on electric only then you have exceeded the federal limits. - but the bureaucracy (registration, insurance, road right-of-way, etc.), For example, the Organic Transit ELF is classified as a bicycle, it has a bout a 1HP hub motor on it, no registration, no licensing, no insurance. If you are willing to exercise and make some adaptations you can average 24mph. (I do this when ever I commute to work with it) It is legal though not completely practical for mixed use greenways. It is just like a bicycle or any automobile in its right to use the roads, not limited for road right of way except on Interstates and some other limited access roads. There is an exception for interstates, if there is no useful alternative. - the heat buildup (I'm in Arizona), I have ridden in 100°F plus heat and it is not bad. You are shaded - a big deal, and the large doors let in a lot of air. Adaptations could improve it , even a small 12V fan would be very easy. I find it better than other faired recumbents I own partly because I can back off on the physical effort when it is very hot. It is also quite good in cold weather , paradoxical but true. I have been to Phoenix and you might be limited by the heat. But elsewhere not so much. You could move to a more natural location... Phoenix is so artificial it might be a model of extraplanetary living. - and the danger of riding a low-profile There is nothing low profile about the ELF, but having put many miles on a Greenspeed GTO recumbent trike, I can tell you that low profile is an imagined problem. If you make a minimal effort for conspicuity (clothing and reflective stiuf) traffic is not a problem. However, traffic is no fun on any xxcycle; but, finding your way down 25mph streets works very well, because you are able to make the same speeds as cars.;. this is what every cyclist does in urban areas as a matter of course. - un-armored vehicle in the middle of Phoenix traffic (you wouldn't believe how many red light runners I saw just on one trip the other day) And yet millions of cyclists across the US do it anyway. Phoenix is no different than most other US cities. If you live like you might die any minute (and that is the truth for us all), then the life you have will be better. But, certainly many people are scared to ride in traffic. I find the ELF is a very good in-traffic vehicle, but I do avoid traffic as much for aesthetic reasons as any. I won't barge out into a 45mph, 4 lane for no good reason; but I won't let it stop me from riding either. - all conspired to tip the scales away from it for me. But there's definitely a place for such vehicles, even if it's not in my own driveway. WIthout a doubt. You could do it if you wanted to. On Sat, Sep 27, 2014 at 12:12 PM, Ben Goren via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > On Sep 27, 2014, at 8:39 AM, fred via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > > > My first velomobile was equipped with a Stokemonkey. > > Some years ago, I gave some serious thought to getting a Quest velo and > electrifying it. This article I just found has an excellent discussion of > the practical and mechanical permutations and tradeoffs...as well as the > legal quagmire you're potentially setting yourself up for. > > > http://www.resilience.org/stories/2012-10-25/electric-velomobiles-as-fast-and-comfortable-as-automobiles-but-80-times-more-efficient > > I still love the idea of an electric velo, but the bureaucracy > (registration, insurance, road right-of-way, etc.), the heat buildup (I'm > in Arizona), and the danger of riding a low-profile un-armored vehicle in > the middle of Phoenix traffic (you wouldn't believe how many red light > runners I saw just on one trip the other day) all conspired to tip the > scales away from it for me. But there's definitely a place for such > vehicles, even if it's not in my own driveway. > > b& > -------------- next part -------------- > A non-text attachment was scrubbed... > Name: signature.asc > Type: application/pgp-signature > Size: 801 bytes > Desc: Message signed with OpenPGP using GPGMail > URL: < > http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20140927/252a9cc7/attachment.pgp > > > _______________________________________________ > 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/20140927/b366762c/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)
