We should have seen it coming...

[madscot13]

I'm a fan of the Revo wheel and I dare anyone to call me lazy. As far as transportation goes I think I may have taken the hard way around. Living in MN without car is sort of hard. It involves a lot of compromise and hardwork moving between the suburbs and St. Paul. Living in DC with only a bike is a life risk.

Powered bikes are already here either gas or electric. The Revomotor, which I am anticipating to be really exciting- if it ever comes out, it has been delayed for a year or so now.

I think it is quite inventive: it is simpler to set up than electric bike motors, and does not need to be recharged either. Also rechargeable batteries have a limit to how many times they can be recharged after which they are discarded. current gas motors are pretty loud, so loud that I seldom here see them around. It's also just a wheel- nothing crazy requiring rack mounts and special bags.

I'm living without a car right now and I intend to do it for quite some time. The only thing is I'm a slow biker and I have places to go. When I decided to stay in DC for another year, I strongly considered buying a moped. If we are going to talk about consumerism and environmental waste that would have been a huge mistake. I would have rushed out to buy a product that required a lot to build in the first place and I'm not sure how long I would be using it when I have a perfectly fine bike that can probably haul more than the average moped. The Revo wheel would have let me use something I already have (REUSE!) or take a friends old junker mountain bike and use it as a new form of transportation. The way it looks, I think I could disconnect the throttle and switch out the wheels when I wanted to just ride my bike. But for getting up around and buying groceries I think it would be awesome.

Okay, so the marketing is trying to appeal to a broad audience, but I think anything is better than driving a car when you don't need to. What is the percentage of gasoline used to move the car? The car has its place but I don't have children, large objects to haul, or work related needs. Without getting too crazy, there is this idea that if you really want people to understand your point of view, a concept, or some theory you need to sync with their way of thinking and either stretch it or tweak it just a bit. Get people on their bikes remind them of the feeling of flight. Maybe they will catch on. maybe the motor will cut out on them and they will have to pedal. maybe they will enjoy it. People do drive for 5 miles and they have their reasons, but this could be an alternative. When I was in college I didn't know that everything I needed to get to was within 3 miles, it took some time but when I realized that you can't imagine how much more biking I did.

sorry for the rant but I really believe that this thing could be awesome.
But I also agree with everyone, it is time to do something about the state we are in.

[Tuckervill]

Maybe the "5 miles" thing has to do with the thing's cruising distance at max speed? The article doesn't really clarify that. It gets 200 miles to the gallon, but it doesn't hold a gallon of gas--it holds a bottle's worth.

I think it's a good idea. Would I buy it? Maybe, under the right circumstances.

Karen

[KnottedYet]

the actual company website has lots of info: http://revopower.com/the_wheel-specifications.html

[bean fidhleir]

I hear people claiming the new 2-stroke engines are clean, but I've never seen any data, only handwaved claims. The only data I know of says that a 50cc 2-stroke is worse for particulates than a 1.0 liter car.

[alpinerabbit]

The data I know of is standing behind a 2-stroke at a redlight and seeing, and smelling, what comes out from behind. No solution.

We have electrically aided bikes here. At least you could put up a solar panel or wind turbine in your yard to power that sans fossil fuel.

[OakLeaf]

There are clean direct-injection two-strokes, but them ain't it. Below a certain displacement (50cc?) they're not subject to the same emissions regulations as other motor vehicles, so they still use the old, dirty technology.

[sgtiger]

I think that even with an inefficient engine it would still use less fuel than a car that is fuel efficient to move a person short distances. So, in that case, it still seems better than a single occupant vehicle.

However, I would rather have a Stokemonkey when and if I ever get a cargo bike. Then I could comfortably peddle when I wanted to while being able to have assistance when I needed it. Some people even use them on regular bikes due to mobility issues. A friend of ours, Gypsie, had hers mounted to a recumbent that she used during her rehibilatation from an accident to help her up the hills around her home. After her recovery she moved it to an Xtracyle to help her haul her DS and cargo. She and her DH are car-free. Anyhow, her DH has one mounted to a Bakfiets and he helped to push me up a couple of the steeper hills near their home(West Seattle) after a cargo bike ride. I was totally surprised how powerful it was. I'm a total hill wimp even when I'm not trying to pull our child trailer(~30lbs) with DD(~30lbs) in it. But boy, did it ever feel like I was trying to pull a boulder at the end of that day! I could definitely feel the difference from when he had his hand on the trailer and when he took it off. BTW, he had his DS and my DS in the Bakfiets box:


The Stokemonke is the red cylindrical thing behind the box:

More pics of the cargo bike ride:
http://alexandchristine.smugmug.com/...9977#191584882