by Arun Prakash from https://www.rushlane.com
Electric Motorcycle With One Wheel – Launched By Chinese Online Sales Giant Alibaba For USD 1,850
This electric motorcycle on a single wheel from Alibaba can attain a top speed of 48 kmph.
In case motorcycles aren’t your cup of tea because they feel too safe for you then the upcoming example will surely be of interest to you. Chinese conglomerate Alibaba is known to develop some weird and out-of-the-world vehicles that run on battery. Recently, they revealed an electric motorcycle that rolls on a single wheel.
Sounds strange right when you think from the perspective of its dynamics. However, it seems to function properly without any hiccups. From the looks of it, this one-wheeled motorcycle seems a working equivalent of an electric unicycle with an un-functional equivalent of a small naked sports bike.
Features & Specifications
The body is built on a conventional Steel Trellis frame and also gets a faux fuel tank. The designer needs to be commended sheerly for his/her efforts. From a certain angle and distance, this bike also resembles a certain Ducati. However, all is not well, as things start to get tight and nervy when the rider decides to hop on board and cruise it on roads.
The first notable mention is that this thing measures only 40 kg and hence, ride stability might not be its strongest suit. However, it does provide the rider with great agility. It receives 2 kW of power which offers a top speed of 30 mph (48 km/h).
The batteries are located at a place where one would find a battery at a conventional electric motorcycle. The electric unicycle is powered by an electric motor paid with a 1.36 kWh of battery made by Panasonic.
The manufacturer claims a single-charge range of around 60-100 km. The company says it takes around 3-12 hours for its battery to get fully juiced up. These figures for a bike of this definitely look very optimistic.
Confusing Dynamics
One might wonder as to how to operate it smoothly as balancing such a thing is no small task. We suspect that like in a segway, the rider needs to lean forward or backward and the vehicle self balances.
However, the strangest aspect of this electric unicycle is that its handlebar gets a brake lever which makes us scratch our heads. If it is indeed a self-balancing vehicle and the motor always speeds up or slows down depending centre above it, then applying brakes would throw the rider towards the front.
We would certainly like to learn more about this one-wheeled bike and its mechanisms in detail. It has been priced at USD 1,850. Mass-market commercialisation is still a far-off dream for such kind of mobility. At this price, a proper electric scooter or motorcycle would be our preferred choice.
