53 MPH with pedals? Check out the Twike!

Mon, Jul 19, 2010

News

53 MPH with pedals?  Check out the Twike!

We recently got an email from Bas Putter, and in it he asks if we had heard of the Twike. The first time I read it, I saw “Twinkie”, revealing my years of childhood television commercial programming. It’s actually “Twike”, a combination of “Twin” and “Bike”. Bas says:

I see them quite a lot here in Switzerland, its a 2-person electric powered recumbent bicycle type thing:
http://www.twike.com/
http://www.greenskid.com/another-small-car-the-twike

If you click on the German flag you get more info than if you stay in English (but it will be in German though)  *unless you translate it like THIS*

Maybe something for your blog ?

Kind regards,
Bas Putter

Well YES!  Yes, it IS something for my blog.  The Twike was first introduced in 1986 and has evolved into quite a well polished machine in those 24 years.  Take a look at the interior:

About everything you could want to know about the Twike, cost of ownership, battery options, history, etc can be found on the lovingly maintained Wikipedia entry.  As for the Twike’s capabilities, back in 1998 a posse of Twike fans took six Twikes on a 6,832 mile round trip (the equivalent of a round trip from Seattle to Boston and back).  The best part?  It cost them less than $50 in electricity!  Chicago native, Margaret James, was the first to register a Twike into the US back in 2004 and by 2006 there was about a half dozen of them around the USA.  Today there are about 25 of them here.  The funny thing is, that even with its $23,000 – $42,000 price tag, the Twike is always sold out.  If YOU want one, you’d better get a caretaker over HERE>.  Thanks for the scoop Bas!  (OH! And if you’re going further than 55 – 140 miles, depending on your battery type, you could always look at getting a range extender!)

2 Responses to “53 MPH with pedals? Check out the Twike!”

  1. Tim Says:

    I hope it corners better than the Reliant Robbin!

    Reply

  2. Barbara Van Dyken Says:

    I want a Twike. How and where do I order one of these? Please respond. I’m in Southern California.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Barbara Van Dyken