Project

The great need for safer cycling should start with improvement of the cycle itself, of its stability. The vast majority (70-80 %) of cycle accidents are single accidents. The cyclist falls to ground when he/she loses the balance of the cycle. A normal bicycle (bike) is an un-stable two-wheel vehicle at speeds up to about 15-17 km/h and therefore needs to be balanced by the cyclist. A cycle with a third wheel, a tricycle (a trike), should be much more stable under most cycling conditions. There are some typical situations the stability of a trike compared with a bike should reduce the risk of injuries sustained by cyclists: When you enter the bike – a risk situation especially for elderly; Slippery road conditions for various reasons (sand/gravel, snow, ice etc.); Cyclists want to keep momentum and don´t want to brake and stop, when they should (at red light, before crossing streets etc.); Cyclists many times mix with pedestrians and suddenly need to avoid impacts with them. A safer and a more stable electric cycle concept has been discussed with Cycleurope the last two months. The concept is a narrow cycle, max 700 mm wide, with two front wheels (about 500 mm between the wheels) and one rear wheel with electric motor support. This trike will be tiltable, when you make turns. The narrow trike should not take more space in traffic than a normal bike. The space needed for parking the trike should also be the same as for a bike. A source of inspiration for this e-trike concept is the three-wheel scooter Piaggio – MP3. You can drive this scooter with “just” a driving license for a passenger car, because it is easier to drive than a normal two-wheel scooter. Cycleurope AB and its subsidiary Monark Exercise AB in Vansbro, which manufactures specialized cycles (e.g. Swedish postal bikes and 3-wheel handicap bikes), will make a first prototype of the described electric trike concept within a few months. When the e-trike prototype has been made, it can be evaluated in different ways. Since the mathematics of dynamics of cycles are very complex it should be much easier in a first stage to experimentally (by cycling) evaluate the stability of this e-trike compared with an e-bike in some typical situations (see above). It is also reasonable to believe that ideas for improvements of the e-trike concept will be suggested during this proposed pre-study.