this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2025
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micromobility - Bikes, scooters, boards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility

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Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles, heelies, or an office chair: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!

"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.

micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"

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Karbikes: The Future Of Urban Transport Is Pedal-Powered (cleantechnica.com)
submitted 6 days ago by FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io to c/micromobility@lemmy.world
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[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 24 points 6 days ago (3 children)

I'd love to be wrong but I don't think this format will ever find a market.

There doesn't seem to be any tangible benefits over an electric cargo bike.

Once you exceed a 250kg system weight your pedal power input isn't worth the extra weight of the drive train et cetera - you're better off with more battery so obviously you're just an electric car at that point.

The faring (and the extra width) creates a lot of wind resistance which, over a moderate distance really adds up and becomes a significant factor. You also need to wonder how many occasions this faring would make the vehicle usable when a rain coat wouldn't. For example, if weather is a spectrum between 1 (calm & sunny) and 10 (cyclonic), then 1-5 you don't need the faring and 8-10 it's probably not safe to drive and 6 is just rain-coat weather.

The only benefit I can really see is that it's more approachable for people that just don't do bikes. For example, my cargo bike has a seat on the back that my kids love to ride on but my partner just won't. It's not because it's uncomfortable but because she finds it embarrassing. I respect her feelings on the matter, and I think she would feel better about something like this.

[–] JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Weather protection. That's the crucial benefit over cargo bikes. Otherwise this is basically a cargo bike, they've just taken it to its logical conclusion.

[–] Samskara@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 days ago

The problem with these fabric cabins is they add to wind resistance. You tend to get more wind in bad weather.

[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 4 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Weather protection on bikes is a solved problem, theres panchos and various types of covering that doesnt cost >10x more than a new motorbike.

[–] JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Sure, but a pancho is a "solution" like a soft-top is a solution on a car. Normies want an enclosed space with a door that you close behind you, and honestly I see where they're coming from.

On cost, that's another matter, this model is obviously too expensive.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I should get a rain poncho at some point. Would ideally want one that works for cycling and walking, if it's airy then it doesn't need to be expensive goretex either so it would be more comfortable than a coat and cost less.

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I got a cheap one for like 16 bucks that goes onto the handlebars: 10/10 would recommend!

[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 3 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Dont those block your mirrors? Are you worried you might not be able to bail? I have a 2 piece I got for 6 bucks, but its hot and inconvenient enough I rarely use the pants unless theres a literal typhoon.

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 2 points 5 days ago

I can if I fuss with the snap but normally I don't bother and look over my shoulder by default to double check on turns.

As for bailing, it just uses snaps and a bit of stretchy fabric. With force, they pop off (and if they didn't, the force of me pushing mysef away from the handlebars would tear the fabric anyways). I'd probably be OK. You could also just not snap it and hang it over the bars. It's not shaped like a normal poncho so it'd probably stay on.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 2 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Most bikes don't have mirrors

[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 3 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Sorry, I thought we were talking about the motorbikes/motor scooters, the thing in OP is an electric bike, but priced 5x more than high-end electric scooters.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 4 points 5 days ago

I suppose its a bit difficult to say what the karbike is more similar to. But as its pedal assist I would have thought closer to an ebike than an emoped.

Though it costs more than both combined.

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 2 points 5 days ago

I was talking about anything with bars for the purpose of the poncho: It'd work fine on a moped, scooter, bicycle, whatever.

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 1 points 5 days ago

All mine do.

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 2 points 5 days ago

Frog Toggs are nice and cheap too.

[–] Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 5 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I'd love to be wrong

So I have good news for you ;)

but I don't think this format will ever find a market.

pedal power input isn't worth the extra weight of the drive train

There are many countries where "having pedals" is the precondition for using the bike lanes. And then using the bike lanes gives you lots of advantage during heavy traffic in the cities.

There's your market.

[–] azertyfun@sh.itjust.works 6 points 6 days ago

Ewwww no. No no no no NO. Fuck no. I don't want to share my bike lane with these things! They're heavier than most motorcycles! That's dangerous as all hell. A rear-end collision is likely to be deadly. Americans might be used to Surron being able to slap a couple fake pedals on their motorcycles to skirt the law, but that's absolutely insane. The point of a bike lane is to reduce conflict between heavy vehicles and fragile road users, not to separate "pedal havers" from "pedal not havers".

Thankfully in France - where they're from - and presumably most of the EU, bicycles with too much power (here in Belgium it's "speed pedelecs" which are capped at 4kW /45 km/h) are banned from all cycle lanes except where authorized by explicit signage.

[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 6 days ago

This doesn't really respond to my point though - a cargo bike is superior in every regard, and has pedals.

[–] Tehdastehdas@piefed.social 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

The ability to pedal enables exercise and gives you accurate longitudinal position control for parking. A servo generator as a forward-backward interface complicates nothing compared to a car-like interface. If it doesn't have that now, it will because it's an old invention and the natural solution for all pedal-electrics to evolve to.

Fairing in velomobiles reduces wind resistance a lot compared to unfaired recumbent trikes of the same size. I believe this with doors on has the same drag as a regular bicyclist. Doesn't even matter because electricity is cheap. Rain coat can't stop the weather from hurting my face.

[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 6 days ago

Fairing in velomobiles

Doesn't increase width and height

I believe this with doors on has the same drag as a regular bicyclist

I believe that's incorrect

Doesn't even matter because electricity is cheap.

So don't bother with pedals.

Rain coat can't stop the weather from hurting my face.

If the weather is bad enough to "hurt" I don't think you'd be riding around on one of these either.

[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Weather doesnt really hurt until you get to what, 70 mph?

And if youre going that fast, wear a proper helmet.

[–] Tehdastehdas@piefed.social 4 points 5 days ago

When it's cold enough, or just raining freezing cold water, biking hurts.

[–] AceBonobo@lemmy.world 15 points 6 days ago (1 children)

$13,000 is definitely a price.

[–] Tehdastehdas@piefed.social 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

If they invested ~1 million in manufacturability design, it'd be about half the price, but investors usually don't dare because decades-old lawfare attacks by the fossil fuel industry are still in effect in many countries.
https://xfwnofqagsnmdxuf.quora.com/Lawfare-against-tiny-cars-velomobiles

[–] AceBonobo@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

That quora link really hates bicycles

[–] lessthanluigi@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 5 days ago

This just looks like a golf cart with pedals. I guess it would work in a place like Palm Springs where there is golf cart infrastructure.

[–] cholesterol@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

[–] pulsewidth@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I gave up motorbike riding due to too many close calls with bad drivers - swerving into me without indicating or looking. Cutting me off due to 'not seeing me', etc.

Call me safety-obsessed but if I'm on a road surrounded by cars increasingly driven by a greying population - I'm not gonna be in a $13k go-kart with a plastic tarp roof and crossing my fingers that I don't have an accident.

[–] SaneMartigan@aussie.zone 13 points 6 days ago (1 children)

The future of urban transport is changing the infrastructure to focus on safety for all rather than having cars go fast.

[–] pulsewidth@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Sure, but we live in a world where these will coexist with standard cars, just as bikes often do now.

I don't see how these 'carbikes' by Kubi focus on safety at all. They go from 25-35km/hr top speed and are as heavy as a petrol scooter / light motorbike, yet require and encourage no helmet and have very little in the way of safety features inbuilt (headlights, indicators, horn. End of list). They proudly state you don't even need a licence to drive one (as you generally do for a motorbike).

So while they reduce top speed and weight of a car, they also lose 90% of the safety features and discourage any PPE you'd see a scooter/motorbike rider wear.

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 3 points 5 days ago

Oh hey, I had one of these when I was 6. It was navy blue and made in the 60 or 70s.