TWIKE – THE answer to regional mobility (1/2)
As announced in yesterday’s article, the second article in the Mobility in the Future series is being published today.
On Saturday, February 9, 2019, we went for a “test drive” in Rosenthal in central Hesse at the manufacturer’s premises – and what can I say, I’m completely thrilled…
We had an appointment for the afternoon to “test drive” the TWIKE 3 and the prototype “Twike 4”. While researching an electric car for myself, I accidentally came across a website on which almost all of the photos showed vehicles beginning with KB (district of Waldeck-Frankenberg). That made me wonder. Should there be a manufacturer of electric cars that should be within reach of an electric battery?
I couldn’t find any information about vehicle prices on the twike.com website, let alone find a current offer for a used vehicle anywhere, even though these vehicles have been built since 1996 and over 1700 vehicles have already been sold. The place name “Rosenthal” also meant nothing to me. However, I did find some promising videos on YouTube. I then found the zip code 35119 and the telephone number beginning with 06458 on the imprint page, and it really is true: Rosenthal is only 55 minutes away from us.
My first hurdle was getting in touch: I tried several times a day and days and couldn’t reach anyone – no one answered – should the company no longer exist? I tried by email and… got a reply! After many emails back and forth and the problem of my very tight schedule, I was able to make an appointment for a test drive at short notice. As my children weren’t interested, I drove to Rosenthal with just my wife.
I found out about the town of Rosenthal and the sights and local businesses beforehand – again, not a single reference to TWIKE. It was all very suspicious to me. On the way there, I realized that I’d been very close to the town many times before – but never to Rosenthal. The town lies between Korbach and Marburg in beautiful central Hesse!
On the approach, I also didn’t see any signage that drew attention to TWIKE in any way, and I promptly drove past it when I turned into the road. I had actually expected something else – an industrial area or something similar.
In the street, however, I knew immediately where we had to go, the (private) house with attached workshop + warehouse + showroom clearly stands out from the other houses in the street. It was at this point that I realized that ecology is a top priority here and not just a greenwashing operation(i.e. it only pretends to be ecological) – ecology is lived here. Part of the building is currently being renovated.
We were greeted in a friendly manner by Mr. Moescheid and his dog – as I later realized, this is the managing director of FINE Mobile GmbH, the manufacturer of the Twike. He briefly explained to us about the Twike 3 and the Twike 4 prototype and then we were off.
Thanks to all the information I had painstakingly gathered on YouTube and the website (and later received by email), I already knew that a twike cannot be ridden without driver training – a twike doesn’t have a steering wheel. We hadn’t booked a driver training course, so we were driven. My first concern was whether I could sit in it at all – because I’m so tall.
To anticipate: This is possible with a seat rail extension or by moving the seat rail stop screw – a decisive advantage over some other vehicles.
The Twike 3 is a vehicle that can best be described as a combination of a recumbent bike and a really comfortable car. The special thing about it is the drive: there is not only an electric motor, but also a manual drive – you can (but don’t have to) pedal. The ingenious thing compared to other solutions: Pedaling does not affect the speed or assist the motor, but rather reduces the load on the battery. This increases the range. The range record on the road(!) is 613 km with one battery charge. If you compare this with other vehicles, I find this performance enormous, but it’s no wonder, because the Twike 3 would only need 0.5l/100km as a petrol-powered vehicle.
But now to the test ride: The Twike 3 is not suitable for people who have difficulty getting on and off the bike or who cannot take long steps because their clothes are too tight. You have to step onto the aluminum crossbar with one leg and then push the rest of your body into the vehicle, which must have looked very funny the first time I tried it. But once you’re sitting in it, this feeling disappears immediately. I retracted my head as a reflex when closing the soft top, which wasn’t necessary at all. Finally a vehicle in which I still have room above my head. Smaller people can still benefit from the panoramic window, but unfortunately this is no longer possible to the same extent with my height.
And then we were off. I’ve dealt with electric drives before, so I was prepared for it to be quiet. But it’s different when you ride it or observe electric motors at a standstill.
About the acceleration behavior:
During our conversation later, Mr. Moescheid explained to us that a Twike 3 can generate around 250Nm per wheel from a standstill(!), while the Twike 5 will be around 500Nm per wheel. The latter is also roughly the amount that can actually be transferred to the dry road via the tires. Every Nm more would always result in spinning. Here is a comparison: the highest torque that my 103kW (140PS) 2.0l TDI can produce is around 320Nm (but not at an engine speed of 0, but much higher). To brush the figures to one side: even the Twike 3 has enormous thrust – and that’s what we men like!
But how would the Twike 3 behave on a mountain? After all, Wittgenstein (and Sauerland, where I work) is full of beautiful hills and mountains.
I’ll put it this way: it depends.
I wasn’t convinced by the equipment I was allowed to ride with. But it’s a lightweight vehicle, which means that it really depends on how many kilograms you have to transport. Mr. Moescheid will have been around 65 kg (I estimate) – I don’t have to “transport” this weight if I’m allowed to drive it alone. In the later conversation, we also talked about battery performance and the possibility of “racing” software that can get more out of the battery and the motor for a short time. As a former electrician, I can imagine that this would work. (See the Fleckenberg-Jagdhaus route).
The Twike 3 still has sufficient luggage space, which is filled from the front. If you need more space, simply fold down the front passenger seat and you have even more storage space.
The Twike 3 can go up to 85km/h – brilliant for the route to my work, because it’s faster than any pedelec/e-bike, most of the route in the Lenne Valley is possible at max. 70km/h anyway, because of the speed limit – so no loss of time.
The steering here is not done with a steering wheel (which would get in the way when pedaling), but with a “handlebar” with which the front wheel is moved directly. Acceleration is possible with buttons on the handlebar. A second bar (to the left of the rider) is the mechanical brake and there you can also select the level of manual assistance in 5 stages – so up to over 300W is easily possible – brilliant, because I also always pedal at around 300W on my ergometer.
Incidentally, the Twike can also recover braking energy (recuperation) – a decisive advantage over almost all other electric vehicles. This not only saves battery power, but also protects the brakes.
Afterwards, we test rode the Twike 4 – it was really brilliant. Twike 4 is a prototype that is intended as a “template” for a later production model. It has considerably more space than a Twike 3 and drives a little differently, the two levers are both for steering, although one lever can also be used to steer at times. The finished Twike 5 will have a trunk that can be conveniently loaded from the rear. The entry is also more comfortable and in the finished model this will be even more comfortable with a low entry.
All in all, a Twike 5 would be my dream vehicle. Right now – would? More on that in the second part.
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