The seller of today’s Nice Price or No Dice fully enclosed hybrid pedal E-trike describes it as “A pedal-powered alternative, vehicle for long-distance transportation.” Let’s see if we think it’s priced to go the distance.
In modern parlance, a siren serves as a warning, most typically announcing the presence of an emergency vehicle or, not all that long ago, an impending air raid. The word is derived from the Latin sīrēn, which is adapted from the Greek “Seirēn,” the name the Greeks gave to unearthly creatures that would lure sailors to their doom through hypnotic song.
Today, we use the term “siren’s song” to describe things that are overwhelmingly compelling but perhaps foolhardy to attain. Nothing fits that description better than buying an older (but not too old) near exotic car like the 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage we looked at on Thursday. A $26,900 asking price puts that car within reach of the masses, but doesn’t ameliorate the wallet-emptying expense of future maintenance and repairs. Still, our car’s siren song was wickedly strong, as proven by the comments and the 71% ‘Nice Price’ win it received in our voting.
Lay Down Sally
Monty Python, the British comedy troupe, popularized on their Flying Circus TV show the skit segueing phrase, “And now for something completely different.” In their honor, I would now like to present to you something completely different: a fully enclosed recumbent trike with an electric motor assist. Whoa, whoa, where are you going? I’m not asking you to ride the thing, just to weigh in on its usefulness and, once we get through that, its value.
First off, though, we have to discuss the whole idea of a recumbent bike or trike. Basically, they are pedal-powered vehicles that position the rider in a more lounge seat position than a traditional bicycle. This allows greater force to be applied to the pedals, as the rider has the seat back to push against during pedaling. It also allows for a wider and more comfortable seat, eliminating the atomic wedgie effect of a standard bike saddle.
The first recumbent trikes arrived around the same time as the modern, commonly called safety bicycles, in the 1890s. A fun fact: those safety bikes were first popularized by the Englishman John Kemp Starley, whose company would evolve into Rover and today’s Land Rover. The recumbent bike was the idea of the Italian engineering professor, Charles Challand, who named the design the “Normal Bicycle” because its seating position seemed more natural than the upright stance of a traditional bike.
Slippery as a suppository
Today, recumbent trikes are less popular than traditional bikes, owing to a number of factors: they take up more space, are less visible on the road due to the lower height, and they just plain look weird.
This one addresses the latter two issues by being painted neon green for high visibility, and cloaking its rider in full bodywork, nominally for aerodynamics, but also for anonymity. According to the ad, the bodywork is made from a combination of fiberglass and Kevlar and is light enough for “one person of average strength” to move. For storage or maintenance, both the nose cone and tail piece can be removed.
That fighter plane canopy is also removable and can be stored on board in the included snood when not in use. Headlights, brake lights, side markers, and mirrors help with visibility for both the operator and passersby, who will no doubt be stopped in their tracks to marvel at the machine. The ad doesn’t give us any background at all about the trike, so it’s hard to gauge its make or even its age. That all would be interesting to know, so shame on the seller for excluding it.
A very green machine
It should be noted that this isn’t motivated by pedal power alone. You don’t think I’d foist something like that on you, do you? In addition to the people power, this trike has an electric assist motor and comes with not one but two batteries to keep the sweat equity at bay for as long as possible. Per the ad, that motor is 250 watts—not kilowatts, watts—and comes with 10 power settings (off being one of those) and a small digital display. Steering is via a pair of connected tiller arms on either side of the seat. Those also hold the shifter and brake levers.
Based on the pictures, getting in and out of the cabin’s high sills must take some practice and a Cirque du Soleil performer’s level of flexibility and dexterity. Once in, however, it looks like it’s snug as a bug in there. And there is an intake in the nose to let air flow over the operator, so they’re not just marinating in their own sweat while out for a ride. An adjustable rear suspension means rough roads shouldn’t be too punishing, either. Despite the electric assist motor, this is still considered a pedal-powered vehicle and, hence, doesn’t come with a title or vehicle identification number. It would also be best to stay in the bike lane when riding in it.
See how it fits
Okay, look. I know this isn’t the standard fare for us here, but with the world in turmoil these days, we really should take a moment and look at something silly. Also, don’t you kind of want to get in this thing and see what it can do? No? Okay, let’s just get to the price tag, then.
The seller is asking $8,000 for the trike, and before you comment on all the cars one could buy for that kind of money, yes, we know. The thing is, if you look at what new recumbent E-trikes go for, you might be in for a shock. And none of those have the cool, so-smooth-a-cat-may-have-pooped-it-out aero body.
So with that in mind, what’s your take on this trike at that $8,000 asking? Does that seem like a fair deal to never skip leg day? Or is this just too much of a compromise at that kind of cash?
You decide!
Facebook Marketplace out of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Glemon for the hookup!
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