Highway Legal Electric Trike! - Arcimoto SRK Gen 8 prototype test rides

[@EleanorPeterson]

It's now SIX YEARS LATER - August 2022 - and there aren't very many Arcimoto FUVs on the streets, guys. Just over 500, I think (my apologies if there are more - it's hard to find data). They're awfully expensive, too. I'm based in the north of England; the roads are hilly and the weather's lousy - usually wet and windy in summer, and cold, wet, windy, icy, snowy and slushy in winter. I sold my car for financial reasons (no money!) a decade ago and since then have been getting about on my old bicycle. It's heavy (about 50 lbs) and cycling's hard work when the homemade racks and panniers are loaded with 40 lbs of groceries, but at least it costs me nothing to run. I travel 70 miles a week, every week, in all weathers, and I hate every mile. I gave up riding for leisure and pleasure a very long time ago. I can't afford buses, taxis, coaches or trains. I've just built a 2-wheeled tow-behind trailer to make cycling a bit safer (there are no cycle-lanes hereabouts, and a heavily-laden bike wobbling along in the gutter is a magnet for angry and intolerant car drivers). When will there be a CHEAP electric vehicle? I see nothing on the horizon. My very uncool bike cost about £120 [one-hundred and twenty], brand new from Halfords over fifteen years ago. It's now worth perhaps £30 [thirty]. It's got an old-school welded steel frame and should last another century. As far as I'm concerned, EVs are still absurdly complex and over-specced playthings for the Apple-Dyson-golf club demographic. Supposedly ordinary family cars cost anything from £25,000 to £85,000; trikes like the Arcimoto (ha!) and the currently imaginary Aptera (ha!) cost £20,000+; e-scooters and e-bikes cost many thousands and offer no real advantages over a regular pedal bike - most importantly, they lack any kind of weather protection. So they're just frivolous toys for bored rich people. Where are the practical, affordable EV options for scum like me? After at least twenty years of battery development, the west hasn't come up with a single one. NOT ONE. Lithium technology is garbage because it only works for the wealthy. I'd love an EV that got me out of the wind and rain, but at this rate I'll still be pedalling my damn bike ten years from now. So much for progress.😞

[@adrianmettz7463]

Thanks for commenting, I agree that the progress is ridiculous. I happen to be an ebike diy'er enthusiast. I would love a velomobile but those have held their price way up high forever too, especially if you are not in Europe. I'm in a hilly, windy area with angry drivers but we do have bike lanes most places. For your area and lifestyle I would center a build around a Lithium Iron battery. Great for low temps and longevity. This is what all the custom caravans are using. Also even with a 250watt limit you still get a boost for hills without too much weight penalty. You are obviously a savage beast and represent a small sliver of society. Your heart thanks you I'm sure. Ebikes are actually the best platform to maximize stored electricity usage. Basically the sweetspot for power to weight ratio. Highway speeds is what tips the scales and creates these absurd contraptions that don't even seal out the weather. It's opulence that the "market" tries to conform to. I also drove a MK1 VW on biodiesel for years, felt good about it and all that but realized that it couldn't be scaled up to fit many folks needs. Then I realized that it doesn't have to, to each his own...those that can utilize it, great...good on ya. Same with EVs...I agree that turnkey systems are out of financial range for most. "toys for the rich" though, I don't know. The DiY movement is pretty strong at least with 2 wheeled options. Keep on truck'n! You got the right idea...

[@coastalgirl7739]

I saw one the other day and wondered about it. It was on the Hwy.

[@adrianmettz7463]

I've seen one myself but now I've seen about 6 Rivian trucks so there's that...the website says they are partnering with an autonomous driving vehicle tech company as I suspected along time ago. They're gonna ruin the "fun" in the product I think.

[@onninihccorram2251]

There is a way to make an autoerchargeable car when it's in motion with 4 or 5 different sources without increasing much weight.

[@dustbunee2007]

Don't those vehicles have doors or something? I sure wouldn't want to be driving that in cold weather and freeze my ying-yang off.

[@adrianmettz7463]

They "had plans" for doors...but they also had plans to debut the stock model at 10K...instead they stripped the cage off and called it a roadster....anyways...they suggest to wear rain pants, lol

[@tobingentry7440]

Where can I buy this

[@adrianmettz7463]

They produce them in Oregon. 20K

[@bernesto2468]

Looking at this video from 6+ years ago, it is surprising how little has been changed, okay for $2500 more you can get half doors, but the controls, motors, and electronics and front wheel geometry look about the same. Definitely not innovating at the speed of though like Sandy Munro states about Tesla

[@adrianmettz7463]

I agree. The dual motors front drive was the most refined aspect when I tested it. We actually told them to use a twist throttle like Zero Motorcycles where if you twist backwards you get variable regen braking...dunno if they ever took the advice. Formfactor is decent, the eggshell cage will likely save you, the COG is probably the best feature...pricepoint, meh...

[@adrianmettz7463]

SP .89cents...lol

[@PaganWizard]

Nice, but not available in the USA

[@adrianmettz7463]

They’re based in Oregon, beta testing...

[@sidneyhemphill4383]

They just got 4.5 million in funding. We should see these babies next year now.

[@user-ze4jc4yc1b]

ШИРЕ МАМИНОЙ ! Зачем строить неустойчивое Т/С если на дороге оно занимает столько-же места как и НОРМАЛЬНОЕ-УСТОЙЧИВОЕ ??? В чём прикол? Дверей нет , солнце печёт башку и появляются от этого БРЕДОВЫЕ ИДЕИ- оставить ШИРИНУ МАШИНЫ, НО УБРАТЬ НУЖНОЕ КОЛЕСО.