Traveling from Rosenthal in the district of Waldeck-Frankenberg to Genoa in Italy, then crossing over to Tangier in Morocco: This route is reminiscent of a camping tour. But it is also possible with a twike as a companion. Martin Möscheid has shown how it’s done. It sounds like an unusual journey: Because a twike is a futuristic appearance with three wheels, space for two people and the first and only vehicle that combines an electric motor with pedal drive.
Möscheid is the managing partner of TWIKE GmbH in Rosenthal, which has been the German producer behind Twike for twenty years. He and his business partner Bernd Werner see it “as their contribution to a better world.” Depending on the battery pack, the vehicle can travel up to over six hundred kilometers on a single charge – a range record of 613 kilometers on the Rosenthal-Putbus route in 2015 proves this – and consumes the equivalent of 0.5 liters of petrol.
Pedal drive supports the motor
The Twike 3 has been sold over a thousand times since 1995, in Germany, Switzerland and the Benelux countries. One can be found in Norway, another in Agadir, Morocco: “Germans who bought them took them there,” says Möscheid, who talks enthusiastically about the many advantages of the Stromer – such as the pedal drive, which can support the motor.
Muscle power is converted directly into kinetic energy, which increases the efficiency and range of the vehicle. The principle of coupling the pedal drive and electric motor as well as the handling are simple: both drives go directly to the drive shafts, the pedal drive via a chain, the motor via the gearbox. The speed can be regulated using cruise control.
Like a training device
Another advantage: pedaling while driving turns the vehicle into a training device. How much muscle power the driver uses is up to them, says Möscheid. When asked how often he pedals himself, he replies with a grin that he is rather comfortable in this respect.
The performance is good for more than just city traffic. The vehicle is also fast on country roads and suitable for short stretches of highway. “Some people use it to commute to work every day,” says Möscheid, who uses it for shopping: “Four crates of drinks fit in easily.” And the charging time? With the current model, about one minute for one kilometer of driving at the household socket.
Developed for the Expo in 1986
The energy transition and electromobility are on everyone’s lips today – with the Twike, the Rosenthal-based company created facts as a German general importer back in 1998 and as a manufacturer since 2002. In 1968, Swiss students developed the original Twike for the World Expo in Vancouver, Canada: a two-seater bicycle with a body, weighing fifty kilograms and with pedal drive. The Twike 2 was then fitted with a powerful electric auxiliary drive in 1991 to make it more suitable for everyday use.
Four years later, the Twike 3 electric vehicle was ready for series production and the battery power has been continuously developed ever since. At that time, Möscheid’s brother Wolfgang, who was a Twike customer, and later himself, joined the project. Since then, the premise in Rosenthal has been: “We want to make people happy,” says Möscheid, who is a car mechanic and mechanical engineer.
The new model arrives in 2023
“So far, a Twike 3 has been completed every week in our assembly hall,” he reports. Production of the model is currently paused. The Twike 5 is due to be launched on the market next year. Its predecessor, number 4, was only built as a prototype for participation in the Progressive Automotive X Prize in 2010 – in cooperation with the Department of Lightweight Construction at the University of Kassel, among others – and came third in the international competition.
“As good as the Twike 4 is, we knew from the outset that it would only be a prototype,” explains Möscheid. “The Twike 5 was to be even better and go into series production.” After a good eight years of development work – partners from the automotive industry were on board – the vehicle is ready for its customers: lighter, more powerful, more comfortable, more suitable for everyday use.
Up to 130hm/h fast
Möscheid points to better aerodynamics, improved ergonomics, faster charging times and high-quality equipment compared to model number 3 as examples. Even the smallest, larger battery should enable a speed of around 130 kilometers per hour instead of the previous 85 and a range of more than 250 kilometers. The highlight: with the same driving profile, energy consumption is even lower than the previous model.
The company is reorganizing production for the new model and the factory has already been expanded. “Five Twike 5s will then pass through the factory every week,” says Möscheid. Only a few specialists are involved; the company has ten employees, including mechanical engineers and aerodynamicists. The number of units will be limited to 500: for better planning and as an incentive for customers.
Petrol prices promote e-mobility
Möscheid believes that e-mobility will receive a boost in view of rising gasoline prices. He sees a possible future market in the USA. Twenty units were already sold there in the 1990s. However, expansion needs to be well thought out, for example with regard to product liability or service. Partners are currently only available in German-speaking countries.
The Twike has long been internationally renowned. Numerous competitions have contributed to its reputation, such as the North Cape Challenge in 1998, which covered over 10,000 kilometers from Bern to the North Cape and back again. This was rewarded by the Guinness Book of Records in 2000 with an entry for the longest distance traveled by electric vehicle and energy efficiency.
Source: Economy North Hesse 06/2022
