Electrically assisted bicycles are having a moment. Their onboard motors and battery packs give riders a superhuman power boost for—well, they were

Is DryCycle the Electrically Assisted Car-Bike Thing the World Needs?

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2021-08-03 00:30:04

Electrically assisted bicycles are having a moment. Their onboard motors and battery packs give riders a superhuman power boost for—well, they were useful for commuting, until commuting sort of stopped during the pandemic. Hey, e-bikes are still good for an old-fashioned ego boost—who doesn't want their two-wheeled fitness activities taken to higher speeds and assisted during the hard parts (i.e., hills)? But are e-bikes enough of a thing these days to make anyone consider the DryCycle, an enclosed, car-like e-bike?

The name is a combination of "dry" and "bicycle" that describes the obvious, which is that the DryCycle keeps its users dry and out of the elements—unlike a regular bike. It also has four wheels, making it far more like a microcar than bicycle.

One caveat with the car comparison? The DryCycle isn't self-propelled. Instead, the rider—er, occupant—pedals the vehicle forward, receiving an assist from an electric Shimano hub motor fed by a 1-kW battery pack, just like your typical e-bike. Top speed is limited to 25 kph, or just under 16 mph, and when fully charged, the DryCycle can deliver up to 50 miles of pedaling assist.

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