Organic Transit Elf vs Virtue Pedalist

[Denverthane]

Anyone have any experience with or thoughts on either of these enclosed tricycles? Thoughts on which would be better for rain or snow / ice?

 

[Jmfrank79]

I really like the Pedalist, however I feel like the cops would give me a hard time in one of those on the road.

 

[Denverthane]

I really like the Pedalist, however I feel like the cops would give me a hard time in one of those on the road.

Good point. Have you had a chance to test drive one? I like how it is much thinner than the ELF, and would seem to fit much better in the bike lanes and on trails. I feel like the ELF is too wide to ride in bike lanes or on the shoulder comfortably.

 

[Jmfrank79]

No, I haven't ridden anything yet. I'm new to the ebike world and looking to buy my first one in the next week or two. I am in NJ, just outside of Philly, and there is not a big market here in Southern NJ. I am hoping to go to a shop I found in Philly this weekend, but doubt they carry anything like these. Would love to try one though!

 

[Teresa]

I've test driven the ELF and yep, have the same concerns. It is far to wide to fit on the bike trails and as much as I love the concept, far to small to be out on the roads. The Pedalist though looks cool. I wonder if it rides better.

 

[Denverthane]

I've test driven the ELF and yep, have the same concerns. It is far to wide to fit on the bike trails and as much as I love the concept, far to small to be out on the roads. The Pedalist though looks cool. I wonder if it rides better.

Hi Teresa, Thanks for your input. I'm also wondering how the Pedalist rides. I believe Court did a test ride recently so I'm very interested to see his review. (He already has posted a review of the ELF from a few years ago.)

 

[Winnipeg_Rider]

I was looking around at the pedalist the only thing is apparently (reading reviews) it is tippy and it is an upright ride you sit on a regular saddle vs the Elf which is more of a recumbent

I have been looking at a new startup much like the elf it is called the PEBL www.better.bike looks the same but since they are on kickstarter (like the elf started) they are looking at a start price of $5500.00 for some units then going fully into production after that with a bit of a step in price (according to the site)

I emailed the owner Kevin and the next morning he called me on my cell we chatted for atleast an hour about his creation etc.. wow first impression was nice guy..

I know the base elf is about 6500 - 7500 depending on options etc... and that is a 1 seater with no doors and no floor they have a 2fer with is a 2 seater but still no floor or doors

the PEBL apparently is a fully closed bottom and includes doors (like a jeep) are canvas material like that roll up out of the way and zip down for a seal for winterish rides. also standard is a 2 kid / dog / 1 adult back seat as well as cruise control and reverse so you don't have to flintstone the thing around

all in all I am impressed by the innovations the better.bike has made in their creation of the car like electic / human powered e-velo-ish machine.

can't wait to see what is next from whomever....

if you want to have a look at the PEBL they have a video on their kickstarter page

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1191606185/the-pebl-a-hemp-based-four-season-pedal-electric-v

and some more info specs there as well and on their site www.better.bike


there was another one I saw from russia but it was a 4 wheeler and I know in Canada an electric bike has to have a max of 3 wheels..... it looked cool too but only one seater.

I believe the elf is 48 or so inches wide
the PEBL is 44 inches wide
not sure about the russian 4 wheeler

 

[Denverthane]

I was looking around at the pedalist the only thing is apparently (reading reviews) it is tippy and it is an upright ride you sit on a regular saddle vs the Elf which is more of a recumbent

I have been looking at a new startup much like the elf it is called the PEBL www.better.bike looks the same but since they are on kickstarter (like the elf started) they are looking at a start price of $5500.00 for some units then going fully into production after that with a bit of a step in price (according to the site)

I emailed the owner Kevin and the next morning he called me on my cell we chatted for atleast an hour about his creation etc.. wow first impression was nice guy..

I know the base elf is about 6500 - 7500 depending on options etc... and that is a 1 seater with no doors and no floor they have a 2fer with is a 2 seater but still no floor or doors

the PEBL apparently is a fully closed bottom and includes doors (like a jeep) are canvas material like that roll up out of the way and zip down for a seal for winterish rides. also standard is a 2 kid / dog / 1 adult back seat as well as cruise control and reverse so you don't have to flintstone the thing around

all in all I am impressed by the innovations the better.bike has made in their creation of the car like electic / human powered e-velo-ish machine.

can't wait to see what is next from whomever....

if you want to have a look at the PEBL they have a video on their kickstarter page

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1191606185/the-pebl-a-hemp-based-four-season-pedal-electric-v

and some more info specs there as well and on their site www.better.bike


there was another one I saw from russia but it was a 4 wheeler and I know in Canada an electric bike has to have a max of 3 wheels..... it looked cool too but only one seater.

I believe the elf is 48 or so inches wide
the PEBL is 44 inches wide
not sure about the russian 4 wheeler

Very interesting, the PEBL looks very similar to the ELF but I like the fact that it has an enclosed floor and roll down doors for rain and winter weather. I had spoken with the Pedalist owner a few months ago, and he had mentioned that they were also looking at roll down windows for the Pedalist. I do wonder about the stability aspect of the Pedalist. I like the narrowness of the Pedalist in terms of fitting more easily into bike lanes, but do wonder how that affects its stability vs. the wider ELF or PEBL. I wonder if @Court has any thoughts on that? My understanding was that the smaller diameter wheels helped to lower the center of gravity to avoid a tendency to tip over, but I haven't done a test ride.

 

[E-Wheels]

Denverthane,
Check out this discussion which might be of interest
https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/electric-velomobile-for-4k.304/

 

[Ezra Hug]

Anyone have any experience with or thoughts on either of these enclosed tricycles? Thoughts on which would be better for rain or snow / ice?

RE Pedalist- I just put a deposit down on a Pedalist. It's arriving in Early September. I live in Brooklyn and am excited to commute to work in Manhattan and do grocery shopping more easily (without a car).

 

[Denverthane]

RE Pedalist- I just put a deposit down on a Pedalist. It's arriving in Early September. I live in Brooklyn and am excited to commute to work in Manhattan and do grocery shopping more easily (without a car).

Nice! Will it have the roll down windows? Have you ridden one yet?

 

[Denverthane]

RE Pedalist- I just put a deposit down on a Pedalist. It's arriving in Early September. I live in Brooklyn and am excited to commute to work in Manhattan and do grocery shopping more easily (without a car).

Just wanted to follow-up to see if you had received your Pedalist yet and your initial impressions?

 

[Sharon Blue]

RE Pedalist- I just put a deposit down on a Pedalist. It's arriving in Early September. I live in Brooklyn and am excited to commute to work in Manhattan and do grocery shopping more easily (without a car).

How do you like the Petalist?

 

[Dewey]

Anyone have any experience with or thoughts on either of these enclosed tricycles?

No way around it you’ll stick out, one early adopter tried using an elf on the bike trails in the northern Virginia suburbs and attracted a lot of adverse attention from regular cyclists. He reports he mostly tries to stick to the road shoulder now, kind of like the straight story, but he’s reported a recent accident where he was side swiped by a car turning into a gas station. I suggest you would be better off on a regular ebike with a velotop or a good cape if you want to stay dry, and an electric trike if you want the recumbent seat and a trike will be much narrower than an elf and accepted on bike trails.