I literally can not stop thinking about this machine since I first saw it.

Yes, it needs improvement but it’s a great start.

See comments on their video, many issues are addressed there. Suspension is adjustable for ride height/clearance, mudguards can be fitted, driving position/height is adjustable too for visibility from cockpit. the description of the hybrid system is a bit vague as to how they get to 35mph, but i infer from it that the stored energy from the human can be used to get there, so the computer must calculate what energy is available from that stored power and apply it to get to 35mph. They haven't thought of everything, but have covered a lot. Edit: contemplating getting one, but with a test ride or hire time currently unavailable, won't be putting a deposit down.

Props to Graham Brown for this and I wish him luck. To people who say 'it is too narrow/slow for the car lanes', I say: we should gradually phase out such big and energy intensive cars. Let's create networks of streets in cities that are just for velomobiles, scooters, bikes, pedelelecs, etc. Transport is responsible for a huge chunk of climate emissions, and we'd get a long way toward reducing those if we had networks of streets just for vehicles that go 40mph or less.

Great review and all valid points, especially from an experienced velonaut. It would be great to see more of these vehicles on the roads, especially in the USA. But, let's be honest, there is no cupholder that can fit a MEGAcup, it's too low to the ground to order at the BurgerKing drive-through window and you can't coal-roll any cyclists or Teslas, so the average 'Murican won't be ordering one. That said, it is super cool and a few design tweaks would yield a usable vehicle.

Design and price are really nice. Would like to see some on the roads.

Yes we need that kind of vehicles! ... and the price is quite reasonable compared to the s-pedelecs which are from 4000€ up to 8000€!

Great conversation! I love your critique!

An interesting concept, the price point is very good for a personal e-vehicle, and as a city commuter, it has a place. I hope he ends up building and putting several real world examples out on the roads.

With the Front wheels outside: It look a little bit like the Velayo. The 428 with Chain and I fall in love!

Hi Saukki! Thanks for these video, and for your reaction, analysis ans comments. Have good rides and continuation. Forza. 😉👍👌

11:50 „I dont know where you can drive with this vehicle“ what a great and deadly comment! How in the world did they concept this ?

Fantastic...the 428. The Quattrovelo is starting to grow on me as well.

Great Job! Really enjoy your website!

Good video. For anyone tempted to put a deposit down with Northen Light, last accounts with Companies House, in October 21 showed a balance of £100 and employees as 'nil'. Buyer beware and all that. At end of the day, there is absolutely no way you could make this for anywhere near the prices listed. I'd say around triple would be closer. Just look at the cost of a quality e-bike and then look at the spec and tech on the 428. Take your wallet and run.

Good stuff. Love NLM's look. Leitra also has quite the look. Actually they all look great. The diversity in design from two wheels to four is all very exciting! As long as the pedaling and speed factors are consistent, how can success of HPVs be questionable? Great job Saukki!

Magnifique machine !

No chain noise and maintenance. Serial hybrid is the only way to go.

8:05 When you can not pedal, it doesn´t matter, it won´t be labeled as an E-Bike in EU (at least in germany). The 25km/h-versions are just pedal-assist-motor.

10 amp battery, 1kw motor, 35 mph and 50 miles range according to the website.. I dont think so..

Thanks for taking a look at this, Saukki. I suppose what we are witnessing are the early years of what will be seen as a revolution in the ways we think about personal transportation. It is pretty clear that the internal combustion engine - in automobiles, at least - is on its way out. But, how will things play-out with the newer forms of personal transportation, like velomobiles and electric bikes? One can only guess, at this point. I suspect each area of the world will handle things in its own way, but simplicity and low cost will prevail (bicycles and ebikes).

The design of the NLM is pretty nice. I agree. I think the biggest problems are the width and how low it is. Because of the width i wouldn‘t be able to use it as a commuter. On the way there are plenty of obstacles where i have to corner sharp and it’s very closely. And as you said, it will be stuck on speedbumps. But even after that, i am still thinking about buying one and use it as an s-pedelec.

Definitely would like to see many more types of vehicles like that one

It's a good looking concept. Something this simplistic should not be expensive.

At 1.2 metres wide, they are probably trying to eliminate rollovers caused by evasive action in a panic situation. The front looks like it could do with a bugatti grille!

Work of art. Buy it to look at.

Objective commentary... We would all like to see progress in this area.

Looks super cool, though appears they have puts looks above functionality. A Sinclair C5 for the C21?

12:06 it has a single steering column aligned in the centre which is going to be between the rider's legs. Do you think that is going to cause an issue, especially for tight turns? Although a vehicle that long probably can't do much of a tight turn anyway.

I almost ordered one of these, £2700 is cheap in the velomobile world. I was put off by the size of it, 120x340cm is massive. And I feel it is a bit too slow for the size in traffic. Downhill I'm sure it's very fast. I think the company wants to get people out of cars and onto a much better personal transport. And I wish them luck, and I may still buy one, but I'd like to see it in the flesh and preferably test drive it. They say it's not far off test drivers, and my name is down!! No mudguards may not be a problem given how far the wheels are from the rider.

I love the idea of it and the price is low enough that more people would be willing to try out a velomobile. I also agree that it needs more development. I think this video is just a testing the waters to see what interest there might be out there. Good video . Thanks for the review. I saw. This vechicle some month back and I thought it was a velomobile.

looks really nice. :)

It is also quite wide, good luck accessing smaller bikepaths.

Good review - I’m sure it could be made a lot more practical with minimal changes to the design. And if they can sell it for that price - wow! A tilting version would be even cooler.

I love it

Saving costs by leaving some assembly to buyers is a great option.

I could also see a poorly passing motorist, hitting the front wheel that is sticking out but doesn't have much surface area

the price show us one more thing: the rediculously overprice of velomobiles. if you can build a solid 45mph+ trike-like thing with around 3k. there is no real reason why something not motor driven is on the lowest end 1,5x more expensive.

It would fit well in a steampunk movie! ;-)

It needs fat bike wheels too. Rear derailleur and as you said mud guards, windshield and more ground clearance. I believe too that the steering joints should be more thick

Thought It should have fenders and perhaps move the outer lights to the fenders. Looks cool though.

Fenders-mud/splash guards would be a major plus for wet weather or even random stones or dirt being picked up and thrown by the tires. The hood design is nice, but I agree with Saukki. There should be an optional windscreen. As far as the physical dimensions are concerned, the width on the 428 could be trimmed down to 1m or even 90-95 cm, by shortening the suspension arms on the front. Then it should be nearly as narrow as a recumbent trike. If the body on all models were to be raised even 3 inches (about 5 cm) and the seat height raised about 10 cm, then a lot of the issues pointed out could be solved. For the 428, the narrower track wouldn't be detrimental to the stability as it is intended to be the lower speed option. However the 557 and 630 would benefit from the 1.2m width due to their higher speed capabilities. Note: From what I understand, the 630 is full electric. No hybrid drive or option to pedal it. Basically it's an autocycle or 3-wheeled car. While the other two can be classed a e-trikes or pedelecs. I may be way off though. Respectful corrections from the community are welcomed of course. As far as the looks of the vehicle, I thinks it's beautiful. It does have that classic old-timey roadster look to it, as the designer intended. Very retro. I love it. From the few videos I could find, the cabin appeared to be finished with a padded material. Looked more like the interior of a car than the bare CF or fiberglass of a typical velomobile. So probably a lot less boomy and rattly inside. But at the cost of more weight. A final observation. The model numbers, 428, 557, and 630 are referencing the wavelengths of the colors of the Auroras or "Northern lights" in nanometers. Hence their Blue Green and Red options.

I think its brilliant.

You did not comment on the leaf type suspension, front and rear? I believe this is the only one with this suspension I have seen. Do you know of any other? I ask because I am thinking of doing my build with suspension like this, at least for the front, I question the strength on the rear (in turns, at speed)

It's just like, when there's people saying they create hover bikes and hover cars, but their designs were already realized in 1959, by ZV-6, ZV-7, and ZV-8. Those are small manned tandem rotors (flying car) and quadcopter (hover bike).

Like you said, it looks very nice. But, it would not survive one hour in The Netherlands, with that little ground clearance. Speedbumps all over the place. Price is also quite ok.

Where it is said that it has pedals at all?

Here's there answer to the speed question from their website - "E-bikes have an assistance cot off at 15.5mph in the UK, how is the top speed faster than this? The unique series hybrid system in the NLM’s range allows human effort to be stored and deployed when required. If you imagine cycling on a traditional bicycle, even with electrical assistance, there are peaks in terms of required effort. Climbing hills or accelerating being the obvious examples. But with a series hybrid configured cleverly, human effort can be accumulated when demand is relatively low. For example when stationary or travelling down hill. And when braking, this spent energy can be reaccumulated through regenerative braking. But of course, it is even possible to pedal whilst braking, to store extra free energy for your next boosted launch. In addition to this, the aerodynamic drag of the NLM’s is relatively tiny when compared to tradition bicycles, so sustaining relatively high speed even when the “assistance” is turned off is possible. This is how our range differs from the prior art. Other than all of the other advantages listed already.

I like your opinion. I think its very good. The ebike looks very nice, but its a shame they did not thought about ground clearance..i think that its also a very vulnerable car/bike..not mention where to park it...maybe its practical when everybody in the world buys it...or at least a velomobile..and forget the car..😀

Not practical at all. If you have a hybrid drive train, why make it so aerodynamic? Weight doesn’t matter as well. Just put 5x the battery pack in it and make it actually a bit usefull.

Its alright, kinda glamorized too much. A little theatrical but still cool. I've been working on my pedal electric velo for about a year. They are the future

They're riding that around Manchester! It must have ok ground clearance because our roads are atrocious.

It reminds me of the dangerous cigar cars from a century ago, with the (now illegal due to safety) open wheels and the leaf spring suspension. Honestly this thing looks like it has a 50/50 chance of actually coming out. The price is exceptional for what it is, it will very likely be raised if it does come out. There are a lot of intrinsic mechanical issues, the clearance is too low and the chassis will hit the road regularly on hard bumps causing significant damage and abrupt stops. The wheels/axel will be destroyed if they collide with anything at speed. The line of sight is terrible and the rollover protection is below the head, meaning you will hit your head if it rolls over. Also, I wonder if the motor is direct drive or geared. If it is direct drive it won't be able to go up steep hills, even at 1000 watts. If it is geared it will be noisy and not very fast. Considering that it has regen it is likely direct drive. Also, because of regen the motor has to be constantly running when in motion, there is no freewheeling and you have to supply power even downhill unless you are braking. I like the concept and hope they are successful, but there are many areas for improvement.

????? It's good looking but to many faults. Mud guards, viability, size. I can't see it taking over from Velomobiles. I text drove a E-type Jag once. Bloody awful, couldn't see forward because of the long bonnet, and being so low down in the driving seat. Riding one of these around a city would pretty scary. Go and get one, test drive it and tell us what you think.👍

The drive system does have benefits. You can put in continuous comfortable input, and store power for when needed. So excellent acceleration. Short hills no problem. Big hills...fingers crossed. And no chain or gears make it simple and no maintenance. Be interesting to know what the weight difference is. Be worth having regenerate braking, especially being so heavy, and great for hilly terrain I assume the delivery bike seen on one of the Fully Charged episode has a similar drive, it seemed quite nippy for a lumbering giant.

I think since leaving the EU they may have been changing the laws on E-bikes and Velomobile assist motors and speeds achieved. They were driving around Manchester back roads that suck so bad. As you say it needs help. I would like to see more versions of E-bikes, Velomobiles and - well just less gas guzzling tractors with a single person in polluting the air.

What is the speed limit of velomobiles? You mentioned this vehicle would need registration if it was too fast.

in denmark you are allowed on the bikepaths with a speedpedelec

Ehdit ennen mua tekemään videon xD Skriptiä väsännyt jo toista viikkoa :P

I used to own a waw-velomobile, with a modified straight back tail for improved aerodynamics. It didn't have a rear wheel suspension and it was very stiff because of a really low ground clearance for optimizing speed performance. I really recognize the same flaws in this design, it looks like a beautiful fast e-bike/hybrid-velomobile/whatever... But your back will be killing you. The worst part is you'll end up getting stuck on speedbumps, sidewalks, bicyclepaths and end up ruining the bottom of the bicycle. After a couple of 1000km friction will even grinds it way trough kevlar and carbon fiber. It happened to me and my 10.000 euro velomobile. Roads and bicycle lanes aren't build for speed optimized low clearance velomobiles, better ride a heavier sturdy quest or strada with higher ground clearance. Or an old fashioned alleweder. Also, without mud guards and exposed wheels like this, be prepared to clean this thing daily wich will ruin the nice paint fast, and expect sand in your face... Lots of it!

As you said: Everything that closes the gap between open bicycles and fat cars has its legitime place. But I would prefer this vehicle build with a direct bicycle drive train as a velomobile ( ok, the width is a problem on biketrains) or as an fully licensed electric (or pedal-electric car) comparable with renault twizy but more efficient.

Greetings to all !All these Velomobile with a low landing can be used on ideal roads in Europe and it 's not a fact , on the roads of the former USSR it will hang on a speed bump and be hit by a passing car !In Russia and the countries of the former USSR, velomobiles on 4 wheels from a fatbike are needed, which are produced by the Chinese …

This seems more like an enclosed moped. A pedestrian assisted motor, pedal assisted motor. No insurance and license required.

I assume it's not meant to be a bicycle, pedelec or speed-pedelec. If they want it to go 35 mph (on battery power) they probably intend this to be a light motor vehicle, with registration, insurance and driving license. Which is not really a problem for people who want to get rid of their car. But for that they'd definitely need to add mud guards. I don't think motor vehicles without fenders are allowed anywhere in the EU

I kind of like of concept of this e-bike but iam thinging there is bigger market for things like Leiba XXL which is velo but sametime have huge storage area which can be used to transport secound person.

Hi Saukki, to me this vehicle looks really cool, and seems to have really good range (but at what speed?). To me the vehicle would be completely unpractical. It is too wide, it has near no ground clearance, it looks very fragile. One of the recommendations I would make to them is to give the vehicle bright mud flaps for its wheels, because they stick out so far, some people would not see them.

First of all, thank you for another interesting video! As you I like the design. It looks like a vintage race car. I wonder if the "see through" plastic in the rain cover lets you look through the front of the bike also🤔? So that you effectively lower the line of sight - perhaps? Do I still prefer the "ever upcoming" Fricar. Yes I do despite too long commuting distance to my job. 58 km so not realistic at all unless I find another job. Which is not realistic either. Sometimes in the summer time I put my foldable E-Bike in the trunk of my car and park the car 8 km away from my job from where I ride the bike. And opposite in the afternoon. I prefer though only to do this when there's no rain 😁 But there's also an option to drive to a nearby little town in Fricar if I buy one, and take the train from there, and finish with 15+ minutes walk to my job. To be continued ...

"too slow for the road, and too wide for the bike paths" yeah. They couldn't decide on one thing. Either make it a narrow velomobile with actually pedal assist, or a full on electrical trike that can drive on what roads at 50 kph at least

No mention was made of damping for the suspension - none visible either - that seems to me to be a potential safety concern at speed...

It has a 10 speed cassette...

This would be an electric car in Germany. The view from the cockpit and over the shoulder would be my concern as well. But the view over the shoulder is very bad in many velomobiles too. How do you see if someone is overtaking you? Or if you are going on the street, turning right and crossing the bicycle way?

From their web site, as of Nov 11, 2022: "as of June 2022, we have production tooling in place and suppliers ready. " I also wonder if anyone here has successfully registered and insured their over-25mph e-assisted velos to make them street-legal.

It looks like it may be a good start, on future cars. However I have a bad feeling about it, in its current form. I wouildn't use it around where I live.

I wonder what happens when you run out of battery. With a normal e-assisted bike you can still bike home if it has a chain. But with this one, I think you are stuck. I ride a DF and easily get 200 km's in one ride done and do not face any speed-limits... I love the design though, and seriously studied but agree with all the points Saukki makes.

Cool>practical in most minds

I'm not sure what is more energy efficient. With a velomobile you have to eat extra to compensate for the energy used to power it. It depends on your diet how much energy this costs. If you would charge the battery with solar panels it could be more efficient energy wise. There is an interesting comparison on fietsers dot be that compares fossil car, electric car, ewaw, waw, regular bike and walking. They calculate that depending on diet it can be more efficient to drive the ewaw than the normal waw.

Yes I want it

In the US 45kph (28mph) is legal in most states for e-bikes. But usually only as a "pedal assist", which I'm not sure how this would technically count. Still, its fairly important to me that the bike stays under 1m in width, ideally max 800mm. 1.2m is almost 4ft wide, which is exactly the same width as lots of bike lanes in the US. And if its not 4ft wide, its usually a 5ft (1.5m) bike lane. Thats not to say that this should be illegal. If they want to make it 1.2m wide to handle 35mph (56kph) top speeds, thats fine. In my opinion we should have another e-bike class here in the US that can faster than 28mph like a "class 3", or "45kph pedelec" in europe. Call it a "Class 4". And it could be limited to 37mph (60kph), and not allowed in bike lanes or on cycle paths. I believe there is something similar in Germany, because Canyon's velomobile concept included 2 driving modes. One limited to 25kph for urban areas, for use in bike lanes, and a 2nd mode that goes up to 60kph for suburban and rural roads where there are no bike lanes.

Would love something like this but registered as a moped so you can drive it at higher speeds.

From their website www.northernlightmotors.com/630-red-e-bike: "The 630 features an interchangeable race ECU unlocking 1kw of assistance up to 45mph making it a speed demon on the track." Notice, 45 mph is "on the track". I am guessing the street version will properly be a speed pedelec with maximum speed of 45 km/h and 500 watts. Not driving on the bicycle path do not matter for that vehicle, as it is too wide for most bicycle paths anyways.

Looks good, but i would rather buy a Milan sl

bigger tires and the ground clearance and the comfort will improve!

Just get a velomobile and add an e-motor.

A serious problem is that all of this design took place with MANY better conceived and more practical designs already on sale today. It's not a practical proposition.

A magical mystery tour in a vehicle that could put an end to the unfortunate rider. I agree with your review Saukki. 1) Ground clearance unacceptable 2) View of the road unacceptable. Long nose and low rider position spells danger. Concealed rider position makes visual communication with traffic difficult. 3) Long wheelbase means wide turning radius. 4) Builder's attention focused on design and zero attention on practical use. 5) Difficult to use freely on city roads since it can't be classified as a bicycle. 6) No mudguards, no good.

Hey =) really enjoyed your review. But I must say, in this state the vehicle doesn't look very useful to me. I think it's not practically enough. Why is this so "inexpensive" compared to a Quattrovelo... I dont understand why... Cheers! :)

Nice video once again from your side, Saukki......they get more professional looking every time! I would call your channel a best value in the velomobile (and alternative human transport) scene. My opinion about the vehicle itself would not have been as friendly as yours. One can clearly see that its polarizing design (which actually has something) was the major goal. And that's about it! I have rarely seen a personal transport that has been constructed that far away of practicability. It is almost an artpiece to include that many design flaws into one and the same construction. The people involved have obviously never operated anything in this or a similar class of vehicle in every day life situations. It seems to be all about efficiency. Which efficiency are they talking about? I mean just take a look at the aerodynamics (which is an important part of efficiency....). An almost flat design-cluttered nose standing vertically in the wind, front wheels without any wheel wells and mounted way too far away of the body, the open roof acting as a perfect aerobrake ensuring that you never go too fast, an unfaired rear wheel..... How about ground clearance? Hey, designers! Never seen a speed bump? And ridden over one? 1.2 m of width? As Saukki says, how many cycle paths on earth are this wide? And lots of them are designed as two-way traffic so no crossing of two 428s unless the road is wider than 2.5 m. Yeah, why not switching over to single track roads with passing zones like the ones seen in the Scottish highlands.....LOL. 3.4 m long? Hmm, a beast of this length most certainly isn't meant to be used in crowded urban areas (although I believe that this specifically is the planned purpose of its creators). Just imagine finding a parking space in a bike park for ex. in the Netherlands, LOL again, sorry. That long nose sure is cool looking but just isn't that great when you are not using a straight american highway where the next obstacle is visible a mile ahead. At least there is some decent lighting in front. Installed high enough so not most of the lumens are swallowed by the (occasionally) wet asphalt roadsurface. But WHY on earth do the headlights have to be placed on the inner sides of the front wheels, so the driver is guaranteed to be blinded by the glare and reflections at night time. Just switch them to the other (outer) side and, wow, even the curves and bends on the road get enlighted that way. I wonder how long the tail light on this rattling sort of holder will do the job? The turning light are cool to look at but will they be seen or even noticed by other traffic? The list of flaws and misengineering could fill another few pages but I'll stop here. And, people, don't get me wrong on this. It is a cool looking machine but so many of the mentionned flaws have been made a million times before by others that I do not understand why they are repeated over and over again. And besides all that: the drivetrain concept is likely to not fit in any (but perhaps the US) legal vehicle category currently available. I hope Northern Light Motors (amongst other with similar ideas) will make it, but I am afraid they probably won't......we'll see what happens.

The problem is the norms that are maintained by the existing infrastructure and laws.

From what I've read it is designed for ROAD use and I think they are targeting city commuters as the average speed of a car in London is 7-8mph. As you pointed out visibility and ground clearance are not looking good. Also they only said that it doesn't pay Road Tax, they make no mention of driving license or registration. Nice Idea, poorly thought out.

Great observations from someone who has a lot of practical experience driving a velomobile in varying weather conditions. I found it very confusing that it spent most of it's time in the demo video, riding on cobbles, slowly. Who cares about a streamliner if you are going to go slowly over cobblestones? They should show it in some high speed downhill stretches, and winding it out on fast twisty sections. I can only guess it's a fussy situation to get in, because they don't show that. Color coding the trim levels is a bad idea. I want my vehicle in my chosen bespoke color. Letting your trim level designate your color or your color designate your trim level is a rookie, hipster move. BTW, the model numbers are also based on the color spectrum frequency of the lightwave, so they've doubled down on the color fixation in a bad way. I'd say the two things it has going for it is big suspension travel (but the ground clearance erased that) and the novel styling. I do wish all alternative vehicle manufactures much success. We need lots of options, and there may just be someone with a 20 mile commute in each direction who doesn't encounter speed bumps along their route and could really enjoy riding in this. I would be interested to hear more about the practicality of series hybrid pedal power and if the efficiency losses as atrocious as you guess they might me, Saukki. I honestly don't know, but I suspect it's a mushy, uninspiring pedaling routine.

They should make a model with 50kW motor, 200 km/h top speed, 300 km range and under 200 kg. Maybe add another wheel too.

Who clicks thumbs down on Saukki´s videos? Someone with very poor taste I suppose.

I like how it looks, but there it stops. I see this as a moped/motor. As it was shorter and narrower with a chain, then it would be in my opinion better. With a both bigger wheels, more power and a bit better construction, I would put this on the road as a car/motor. Else I would go the other way, ad a chain and make it smaller and lighter and sell it as a pedellac/e-bike/velomobile.

اللهم انصر إخواننا المسلمين في فلسطين

Is it that much smaller though? I mean a motorbike is the ultimate 1 person vehicle as a car replacement, arguably a bicycle but obviously the happy medium being a scooter of some sort.. This is really more an exercise in fuel efficiency at best. Especially when you consider how little these things actually carry given the width. I can fit a fridge in my little VW polo. For a vehicle of the similar size to this.

The prices went up pretty much btw.

Good comments , it looks like a velayo brother, but its not😉

not enough clearance for road humps

The PodRide is the best commuter velo ever thought up. Everytime a new one comes I think of PodRide and how its so much better and designed with use in mind, not marketing or emotions. I wish PodRide would release one already...

The only way this vehicle is going to get that range is if it's going downhill all the time.