Once ‘connected autonomous mobility solutions’ destroy the automobile, these alternatives could still be a lot of fun
Mostly we get cars here at Autoweek, but occasionally other stuff filters in. When that happens, we jump on it and go!
Italjet Ascot E-Bike 2016 – What happens when style — even fabulous Italian style — takes precedence over engineering? Yes, the Lamborghini Countach, but also the ItalJet Ascot electric bike. Everyone who saw it said it was beautiful. There’s no doubt it is very stylish. The brushed aluminum frame is a sight to behold. The dual front springs are cool to look at and fully functional, smoothing out the ride. The brass fittings complement the extensive leather nicely. It looks like what the kids call steam punk. So if you want to look really cool cruising The Strand or The Lido or The Exercise Yard In Your Prison, this is your machine.
A couple things we’d have changed: The Ascot is supposed to be an electric bike, with a 36-volt system putting out 250 watts good for up to a claimed 44 miles of range. But the electric motor doesn’t operate unless you are actively pedaling, making it not just a hybrid but a dual-power contraption. “It’s not a moped,” said the Italian technician who handed it over. As soon as you stop pedaling, the electric assist stops and you coast to a halt. Then you have to try to start again, and good luck with that.
The electric motor won’t start until the bike has been moving for a short distance. But that can be awkward. You go from zero assist to full assist immediately when the electric motor decides you will. You start pedaling but the thing is so big and heavy… then you figure out the rear-wheel drive system: the inboard twist grip on the right handlebar changes the infinite gear ratio of the very clever NuVinci N360H rear hub, the one you’re pedaling with your legs. This hub transmission may eventually replace derailleurs on bicycles. That makes starting easier. But then…
Some great detail on the ItalJet, especially that analog clock on the stem.
The electric “throttle” is not a twist-grip but a pair of + – buttons on the left handlebar. So you have five positions for the electric accelerator. Imagine having that on your car? Not five gears in your transmission but five clicks on the gas pedal and nothing more. The pedal effort is infinitely variable but to control the electric motor in front, rather than a standard rheostat accelerator of some sort as you’d find on everything from an RC airplane to a car stereo volume, you have to select one of five accelerator positions and make do with that. And within each of those five positions, the power application is either on or off — there’s nothing in between. Power goes from zero when you’re struggling to get the bike moving to full on. Come on, man!
Then there’s the seat. It is made of the hardest, slipperiest leather we’ve ever smothered a keister on. We were sliding off this thing all over the place. It took actual concentration to stay on top of it.
On our first ride we went 3.7 miles uphill and gained 415 feet of elevation. This used up 2/5 of the battery charge, according to the five-bar charge status indicator. So on level ground we would have gotten well over that 10-mile extrapolated range, but it’s hard to imagine getting 44 miles unless most of that was pedaling hard with the accelerator set on the lowest setting.
It does recharge quickly. We plugged it in for two hours after that first ride and it was fully charged. The spec sheet says it will fully recharge from zero in four hours and to 85 percent in two hours. That’s plenty for someone commuting to work and back. But commuting on this would take some getting used to.
However, it is stylish. Oh so stylish. It would be the perfect gift to give the concubine you keep at the winter quarters in Conquba del Boca, as long as they didn’t slide off that seat, fall into a canal and get eaten by manatees. Electric bikes are so demanding. For instance, you wouldn’t want to just chain this to a bike rack somewhere. All of the beautiful trim elements would be stolen immediately. That analog clock would be the first thing unscrewed. We took it up the freight elevator and parked it in our office cube for safekeeping at work. Everyone stopped by to say how beautiful it was. Yes, it is beautiful, but beauty isn’t cheap. This little piece of petulance will set you back just under $ 6,000. You could get a good electric bicycle for half that price. But anything else would look like just a bike. This one, well, this is an E-Bike, Italian Style.
Arcimoto SRK – This tandem-seated three-wheeler will be in production by the end of the year, the company says. Top speed is rated at 85 mph with range between 70 and 130 miles depending on the battery option you pick. Curb weight is listed at 1,023 pounds. A bare-bones model is expected to start at just under $ 12,000, while the body side panels option kit will add another $ 3,000. We’re told it can even come with heater and air conditioner. It’s made by Arcimoto in Eugene, Oregon.
We haven’t driven an Arcimoto SRK yet, but we did sit in one while we were in Las Vegas for CES and it felt promising, with handlebars instead of a steering wheel, infinite elbow room since the demo model had no doors, and plenty of seat area for even the largest raging buttocks. If we owned a pizza delivery service in Eugene, there’s no question what we’d use in the delivery fleet. Arcimoto seems like a serious operation and they sound like they really do mean to get this out by the end of 2016. We’re hoping to get a ride in one soon.
EcoReco M5 Air Scooter – This is a followup to last year’s foldable commuter pal, the E3 scooter. The M5 Air adds rear suspension, regenerative braking, a pneumatic (instead of solid rubber) front tire and what EcoReco calls a “triangle fork front.” The refinements indeed make for a more comfortable ride, especially when thwacking across sidewalk expansion joints. It’s smoother than last year’s E3, but it’s also more expensive, retailing for $ 1,250 as opposed to the E3’s $ 999. As with the E3, it folds up to carry on a train or bus (curb weight is 34 pounds) and stows under your desk at work to recharge while parked. Range is still listed at 20 miles, which we more or less matched through extrapolation while riding it all over Las Vegas during CES. Top speed is still 20 mph, which we also felt was representative, if a little scary. It oversteers very easily in the rain, especially with a slightly loose front end, but you get used to that and ride slower in the wet. Yes, you could buy something like it much cheaper at Al’s Toy Barn, but it wouldn’t ride as smoothly nor perhaps last as long as this.
eHang 184 AAV Personal Drone – Who cares if this never gets manufactured? Isn’t it nice to dream? Most drones carry nothing heavier than a GoPro. Some companies claim they will someday use drones to deliver pizza, others beer. We’re in favor of pizza and beer, but the eHang 184 goes a step further and delivers you to the pizza. eHang had a 184 parked on its stand at CES and everyone went gaga. It can lift a single person weighing up to 220 pounds and fly them for 23 minutes at up to 62 mph, eHang said. Will it ever see the light of day? Who knows? But like all those classified ads in the back of Popular Mechanics back in the ’60s and ’70s, it’ll launch a thousand dreams.
