Wheels without a Hub

[EddMarkStarr]

In 1964 I discovered that if I woke up very early on Saturday mornings, (say 5am, before the first cartoons of the day), one local television station ran old Movietone News clips from the 1930's and 1940's.
A news clip from 1932 showed a man riding a Monowheel motorcycle for a crowd of onlookers. Once you see a monowheel you never forget it.

Over the years I've seen updated monowheels, hubless two-wheel motorcycles, hubless quadracycles, hubless automobiles.

Now I can add the Reevo Hubless E Bike to my list, but the startup that created it has closed shop and ran off with the startup money.

 

[unloadonme]

E-bikes are common in Birmingham, being particularly favoured by people delivering fast food for the likes of Just Eat and Deliveroo. They're silent, faster than a normal bicycle, routinely (not to mention inconsiderately and dangerously) ridden on footpaths (sidewalks) and in pedestrian areas and they're completely unregulated. There's no need to have a driving licence or insurance, as there is for motorcycles. In my view they should be banned.

 

[HoodedRat]

^
We suffer from a plague of those horrible little rentable e-scooters in Bristol. Even when inconsiderate twats aren't running people down on the pavements, the parked-up/abandoned scooters are everywhere, blocking the footpaths etc. At this very moment there is about a dozen of them creating an obstacle course at the the entrance to my block of flats.

 

[unloadonme]

^ We have those in Birmingham too, although they don't seem as popular as they once were. I'd happily ban them as well.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

E-bikes are common in Birmingham, being particularly favoured by people delivering fast food for the likes of Just Eat and Deliveroo. They're silent, faster than a normal bicycle, routinely (not to mention inconsiderately and dangerously) ridden on footpaths (sidewalks) and in pedestrian areas and they're completely unregulated. There's no need to have a driving licence or insurance, as there is for motorcycles. In my view they should be banned.

To my shock, the State of Washington treats e bikes the same as regular bikes, no license or insurance required. However, electric scoters do require both license and insurance because they are treated like motorcycles. Maybe the difference is the e bike lobby has their act together when presenting to the state legislature.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

Bryan @ CitizenCycle just bought a Reevo and posted his first ride video:

 

[smokeshadow]

IMO, e-bikes defeat the purpose of a bicycle And, it's a good thing that he had roll-over curbs in his neighborhood. He'd probably have hurt himself running over a standard 6 inch high curb

 

[Dargelos]

High curbs, potholes and broken drain covers will be dangerous hazards on a bike like that. With a "proper" bike you can jump across obstacles by pulling up the front wheel then the back wheel. I would not want to try that on clunker like the Reevo. The classic lightweight bicycle is an amazing example of a design evolved so closely towards perfection that any "improvements" are quite the opposite.

 

[MusicMan321]

Wouldn't want to ride that bike

 

[Thad1527]

I'm just aghast!

 

[pigface]

Looks like designed by arts students who had no consultations with engineering graduates.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Methinks the technology is riding on the cool factor, like so much of what is in the Sharper Image catalogues, etc.

It's all about impressing the onlooker and being seen to be a futurist.

It's like the electric car. Smoke and mirrors. You aren't saving the planet until the charging electricity isn't produced chiefly from fossil fuels, and until there is infrastructure that can support widespread use (meaning power grid won't have brownouts if everyone uses electric). And then there are the toxic metals . . .

 

[NotHardUp1]

IMO, e-bikes defeat the purpose of a bicycle.

I can understand that if you think bicycles are for exercise or clean transporation. However, I'm sure there are plenty who simply use them as cheap alternatives to cars in urban areas, and for others, a legal alternative to cars when they've had their drivers licenses revoked for habitual DUI or non-payment of fines, etc. You can definitely spot those guys on them.

And, there could be a few who simply want to get outdoors but are unfit to pedal up hills, likely aged and infirm.

 

[smokeshadow]

I say this facetiously; but, if one needs a motorized, 2-wheeled vehicle, you can get a moped To me, a bicycle implys a manual operated, 2-wheeled conveyance And, as to "aged". . .I'm aproaching 70 this year; and, still riding 2 to 3 times a week, some 12 miles or so

 

[Kahaih]

 

[EddMarkStarr]

Methinks the technology is riding on the cool factor, like so much of what is in the Sharper Image catalogues, etc.

It's all about impressing the onlooker and being seen to be a futurist.

It's like the electric car. Smoke and mirrors. You aren't saving the planet until the charging electricity isn't produced chiefly from fossil fuels, and until there is infrastructure that can support widespread use (meaning power grid won't have brownouts if everyone uses electric). And then there are the toxic metals . . .

No doubt about it, going hubless increases the cost while decreasing the long-term reliability.
When it comes to tech - "cool" always costs you money.
And just listen to this thing! The rider needs ear protection!

 

[NotHardUp1]

Definitely won't attract any nature lovers. Noise is a non-starter. Just imagine what ten of them going by together would sound like.

Also seems odd they would promote saddlebags obscuring the "cool" part of no hub.

This thing sure seems to need a long runway.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

The good news is the Reevo E-Bike is now an object lesson in "doing stuff that looks cool".
I hope Hubless Wheels are restricted to Science Fair displays.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

The Reevo Teardown. What's inside all that cheap plastic?

 

[smokeshadow]

^^great comment about taking enought bolts out of anything, it'll come apart