June 1, 20241 yr https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/01/yes-lego-car-why-small-electric-cars-could-be-about-to-break-the-grip-of-suvs
June 1, 20241 yr Does it suffer the issue a teacher at school had? Drove into his garage right to the front. No reverse gear (*), and no room to open forward opening door. (*) I think it was classified as a motor cycle.
June 1, 20241 yr Announced a long while ago at a too high £14,000, now at a ridiculous £22,000. the rather flimsy Microlino has no hope. The full size, well equipped MG EVs start at £30,000, not much more, and there will be better small EVs from China shortly, if we in Europe don't kill them with anti-dumping taxes. .
June 1, 20241 yr Renault discontinueed manufacture of the Twizi in September 2023. Being in truth a moped with four wheels and not a car, it failed in the market. It will be replaced by a similar car under a new brand name as the Mobilise Duo, but unlike the Twizy it will sensibly have the two seats side by side and the cargo version will be far more practical. Unfortunately though it will only be rentable of first and will be cursed with having no key, only operable though another idiotic App. (No Smart Phone signal and you're stranded, when will these bloody morons learn) https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/first-official-pictures/_mobilize/duo/ .
June 1, 20241 yr Author Does it suffer the issue a teacher at school had? Drove into his garage right to the front. No reverse gear (*), and no room to open forward opening door. (*) I think it was classified as a motor cycle. Allegedly, from an owner I used to know, that is why the last generation of front opening bubble cars all had sun roofs!
June 1, 20241 yr Not for me ... worrying about low steps as it's getting difficult to manage a cross-bar. I can't image clambering out of a sunroof!
June 1, 20241 yr Author Not for me ... worrying about low steps as it's getting difficult to manage a cross-bar. I can't image clambering out of a sunroof! Different health and safety environment back then! The idea made me laugh when I first heard it, and still does!
November 11, 20241 yr Is it a bike, trike or boat, or.. anyway, get a waterproof electric assist on it and..?
November 11, 20241 yr "I found an old electric bike at my local bike graveyard" Where are those exactly? And does everyone have one? Is there an interactive map showing locations of bike graveyards, ideally with photos and stock levels of free dead ebikes categorised by motor type, condition, size, colour, number of wheels etc? Edited November 11, 20241 yr by guerney
November 11, 20241 yr I suppose the top speed and range are ok, but the idea of paying £22,000 for that is ridiculous. That's over £2000 more than I paid for my new Skoda last February and it is really nice car with a 500 mile range. It costs about 10 pence a mile in petrol at today's prices. That bubble car is bound to fail as a real proposition. When I was a lad on my paper round in the mid 1960s there was a bloke who had one of those Messerschmitt bubble cars. I was green with envy every time I passed it on the roadside. At the time, I thought it was the ultimate cool thing. I had a Raleigh RM1 which I rode about with no driving license or any kind of paperwork at all. It did have a log book, but that was it.
November 11, 20241 yr Not the best bit tho!! Oh, funny, but that was a terrible waste of a gorgeous classic!
November 11, 20241 yr I suppose the top speed and range are ok, but the idea of paying £22,000 for that is ridiculous. That's over £2000 more than I paid for my new Skoda last February and it is really nice car with a 500 mile range. It costs about 10 pence a mile in petrol at today's prices. That bubble car is bound to fail as a real proposition. When I was a lad on my paper round in the mid 1960s there was a bloke who had one of those Messerschmitt bubble cars. I was green with envy every time I passed it on the roadside. At the time, I thought it was the ultimate cool thing. I had a Raleigh RM1 which I rode about with no driving license or any kind of paperwork at all. It did have a log book, but that was it. [ATTACH type=full" alt="60681]60681[/ATTACH] Love those Isetta/BMW's. Wish we had that former continental exemption for pedal motor bicycles, mopeds that is.
November 11, 20241 yr Love those Isetta/BMW's. Wish we had that former continental exemption for pedal motor bicycles, mopeds that is. Not sure what you mean about the exemption.
November 11, 20241 yr Renault discontinueed manufacture of the Twizi in September 2023. Being in truth a moped with four wheels and not a car, it failed in the market. It will be replaced by a similar car under a new brand name as the Mobilise Duo, but unlike the Twizy it will sensibly have the two seats side by side and the cargo version will be far more practical. Unfortunately though it will only be rentable of first and will be cursed with having no key, only operable though another idiotic App. (No Smart Phone signal and you're stranded, when will these bloody morons learn) https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/first-official-pictures/_mobilize/duo/ . Once followed a Twizy from Wrynose Bottom* up Wrynose Pass, don't know if he'd come up and over Hardknott. *My fave road ever, first heard it mentioned as we passed a sign for it on a family day out, aged 8, you can imagine the hilarity, not seeing it written. Not long ago I was overjoyed when Google maps directed me that way to a job near Whitehaven, I was on my own, road was quiet, so went lickety spit, boiled the brakes dropping down from Hardknott pass. Another time took LWB transit over, 4 year old granddaughter in middle front seat, she was bouncing about in joy and amazement. Teach em young.
November 11, 20241 yr Once followed a Twizy from Wrynose Bottom* up Wrynose Pass, don't know if he'd come up and over Hardknott. *My fave road ever, first heard it mentioned as we passed a sign for it on a family day out, aged 8, you can imagine the hilarity, not seeing it written. Not long ago I was overjoyed when Google maps directed me that way to a job near Whitehaven, I was on my own, road was quiet, so went lickety spit, boiled the brakes dropping down from Hardknott pass. Another time took LWB transit over, 4 year old granddaughter in middle front seat, she was bouncing about in joy and amazement. Teach em young. I remember riding my Dawes Galaxy up Wrynose about thirty years ago. I was heading from Egremont railway station to stop at Tebay for the night, and then on to Newcastle over Smardale, Teesdale, and Weardale the next day. It was an excellent climb into the Lake District, except on the way down the eastern side, there was a heavy shower of rain that so stung my eyes, that I had to stop because I couldn't open them at all. They just clamped shut of their own accord. It was a bit late in the year and by the time I got toTebay for the night's stop over, I had been riding at least an hour in the total dark on little remote roads. That climb must have just about drained the battery on that Twizy! How fast was it going?
November 12, 20241 yr Announced a long while ago at a too high £14,000, now at a ridiculous £22,000. the rather flimsy Microlino has no hope. The full size, well equipped MG EVs start at £30,000, not much more, and there will be better small EVs from China shortly, if we in Europe don't kill them with anti-dumping taxes. . The Dacia Spring at just £13,000 is the cheapest EV available by a long way. https://quotes.carwow.co.uk/deals/gva/789a0d03338a1e8c0a28da97cc26bd05
November 12, 20241 yr Love the idea of an microcar EV, different times, but my wife's parents were bold enough to travel all the way up to Scotland in their three wheeler, yet our "Del Boy" Reliant Regal supervan always seemed to be travelling on a wing and a praver, especially on the hills. Is it a bike, trike or boat, or.. anyway, get a waterproof electric assist on it and..? Flip the boat 180 degrees, instant velomobile!
November 12, 20241 yr Love the idea of an microcar EV, different times, but my wife's parents were bold enough to travel all the way up to Scotland in their three wheeler, yet our "Del Boy" Reliant Regal supervan always seemed to be travelling on a wing and a praver, especially on the hills. Flip the boat 180 degrees, instant velomobile! How much for one with a slightly larger transparent boat on top, so that it opens like a clam? Does anyone know what this gizmo is? "is a two wheel drive system which functions similarly to a differential" (cued) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soMV--uBHZ4:560 Edited November 12, 20241 yr by guerney
November 12, 20241 yr Does it suffer the issue a teacher at school had? Drove into his garage right to the front. No reverse gear (*), and no room to open forward opening door. (*) I think it was classified as a motor cycle. Until 1963 only people with a full car licence could have a reverse gear on a 3-wheeler, which anyone with any sense would see wouldn't work so I suspect quite a few Reliants had their blanking plates removed. You can still buy a Messerschmitt kabinenroller, but the Nimbus EV project looks like it is dead in the water, which doesn't at all surprise me.
November 12, 20241 yr Re: Small EVs. This is "available"pre-order: Drive For Free? Cute-As-Heck Wink ‘LSV’ EVs Soak Up The Sun’s Power https://www.forbes.com/sites/billroberson/2022/12/23/drive-for-free-cute-as-heck-wink-lsv-evs-soak-up-the-suns-power/ https://winkmotors.com/ ...and: https://www.eli.world/ https://www.better.bike/ The version below isn't "Fully enclosed", there's a big hole under the rider's feet. If the bike + rider +cargo don't exceed about 180kg, with the right gearing, if my experience towing a heavy bike trailer is anything to go by, a legal 36V 250W BBS01B with the controller at 15A would be enough to get something like this (but fully enclosed) up steep hills. It'd be faster than treacle slow ascending steep hills, with the controller at 20A. To the garden sheds chaps! With folding capability please, to fit in car boots, trains, buses, hallways (minus battery), under supermarket trolleys etc. And with fat tyres to cope with potholes. Must I wait for suitable developments of aerogel? Where can I buy cheap custom formed hemp fibreboard body panels? There's got to be a high seated folding reverse trike donor somewhere out there, perfect for BBS01B conversion, which can can have solar panelled folding bodywork attached... Edited November 12, 20241 yr by guerney
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