Anyone who remembers their physics lessons will also remember Sir Isaac Newton. Legend has it that he was hit on the head by a falling apple, which is said to have inspired his famous law of gravity. In 1687, he formulated the principles of mechanics that are still valid today. The formula for force is central to this:
Force = mass x acceleration
What does all this have to do with us? For the driver of an electric vehicle, it means that they can accelerate less if they want to save energy. For the manufacturer, however, it means that they have to build lighter vehicles.
Less weight = less consumption
In our opinion, there is relatively little point in building heavy electric vehicles. It may be a great new drive system, but it saves little or no energy. In principle, the electric drive is ideal for building lightweight vehicles, because the engine has a much lower mass than a combustion engine. There is no gearbox, clutch, tank etc. in an electric vehicle. The lower the weight of an electric vehicle, the smaller (and therefore lighter) the batteries can be and the shorter the charging times.
According to the current state of planning, the TWIKE 5 will weigh between 380 and 500 kg, depending on the battery configuration. Some TWIKE riders are now asking “Why is the TWIKE 5 twice as heavy as the TWIKE 3? Isn’t that a step backwards?” You can certainly see it that way. However, the “heavier” TWIKE 5 will offer more riding dynamics, more speed, more stability, more safety and also more comfort – points that many have missed in the TWIKE 3 so far. We have also succeeded in improving the efficiency of the drive system and the aerodynamics so that the TWIKE 5 even consumes less fuel from around 50 km/h upwards.
When we look at the electric vehicles on the market – a Tesla Model S weighs more than four times as much, a BMW i3 almost three times as much as a TWIKE 5 – then we are sure that we are on the right track with the TWIKE 5. The world doesn’t need any more giant vehicles weighing tons. The vehicle of the future must be smarter . Let’s TWIKE.
