Treecycle: 75kg Family eBike

[truth2all]

Have you heard of the Treecycle? The Treecycle Sedan from MGT Engineering in Shanghai is unprecedented in that it weighs only 75kg, is made of bamboo, offers front and rear assist, comes standard with a 100 liter luggage compartment, about a meter wide, seats 3 people, and costs only $6300 new. The price list is attached. Do you think this product would be viable in your city?

 

[truth2all]

Interview with the cofounders from 2011.

 

[truth2all]

Australian pedicab business, EcoCaddy, the solely uses the Treecycle Sedan.

 

[ebikemom]

If you work for the company or are promoting this brand, we can move this thread to the area of the forum for promotions. If you are just an interested person, we can leave it here.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[truth2all]

Welcome to the forum![/QUOT

If you work for the company or are promoting this brand, we can move this thread to the area of the forum for promotions. If you are just an interested person, we can leave it here.

Welcome to the forum!

Hi! No, I am not associated with the company in any way. Just an “interested person”. I just think it’s a really cool electric bike for getting the elderly out especially (I.e. programs like Cycling Without Age). I did ask the company, and there is one Treecycle owner in California. Really, I would love to see EBR do a video review of this bike. Cheers!

 

[erider_61]

Doesn't look like Treecycle is still in business. Can't find any info online. Too bad as these would make great pedicabs in the Philippines where I am trying to set up a business with my girlfriend's family.

 

[erider_61]

Interview with the cofounders from 2011.

I find it interesting in this video how the inventers mention they don't intend this trike to ever become an electrically powered vehicle. Of interesting note is the dual front disks.

 

[erider_61]

There are other bamboo ebikes out there as well.

https://evnerds.com/electric-vehicles/electric-bike/bamboo-ebike-frames-by-james-wolf/

 

[Alex M]

I would say this is a pedicab, not a "family ebike". The concept of human-powered family sedan somehow didn't take off. There is sure market for pedicabs, though I don't think this one will be viable in my city. Bamboo is the material of choice where there is plenty of it, and also cheap labor, because in developed countries structures from fiberglass and aluminum are more practical. Maybe India or South-East Asia. Without doors it will be limited to warmer climates or summer-only use.

The concept isn't new. Rickshaws without motor have been around for centuries, and India is full of pedicabs and cargo trikes with stinky moped motor.

Check homepage of this EBR site -> electric trikes reviews. Quite a few trikes, mostly singles, because this is what individual consumers demand. There must be more electric pedicab models than we are aware of. In San Diego CA there is a thriving pedicab business near Mexican border, cheaper than a taxi. Don't remember what e-bike brand they use, if this is even a brand.

 

[truth2all]

Doesn't look like Treecycle is still in business. Can't find any info online. Too bad as these would make great pedicabs in the Philippines where I am trying to set up a business with my girlfriend's family.

Hi erider_61. The company is indeed still in business. Their website is http://mgt-engineering.com/contact-us/. The price list is also current through March 2019. All orders are placed over email. I emailed one of the cofounders, Florence Trees, in mid-January. Here is what she said:
"
Thanks for your email. I attach a Price List giving you the costs of the 2 models we have in stock at the moment. Both models are based on the same rolling chassis but they have quite different bodywork. The standard bamboo Sedan has only one motor whereas the Explorer has two which gives it more power and allows it to tackle small hills. The Treecycle was however designed for mainly flat areas.

Should you be interested in buying either model, please be aware that our tricycles are very high end products.They are both unique in their way, the Sedan being the only tricycle in the world to our knowledge that has a handcrafted laminated bamboo bodywork and the Explorer the only tricycle with fat tyres, double electric assistance and a lightweight aluminium body. If you want a basic tricycle or pedicab, there are many very similar products available including some US brands. People buy our vehicles for particular reasons and certainly not as a cheap solution to their requirement. Shipping will be expensive for a single unit as we have no stock in the USA. If you have really set your heart on acquiring a Treecycle, what we can do is offer very favourable payment terms.

Kind regards
"

 

[truth2all]

I would say this is a pedicab, not a "family ebike". The concept of human-powered family sedan somehow didn't take off. There is sure market for pedicabs, though I don't think this one will be viable in my city. Bamboo is the material of choice where there is plenty of it, and also cheap labor, because in developed countries structures from fiberglass and aluminum are more practical. Maybe India or South-East Asia. Without doors it will be limited to warmer climates or summer-only use.

The concept isn't new. Rickshaws without motor have been around for centuries, and India is full of pedicabs and cargo trikes with stinky moped motor.

Check homepage of this EBR site -> electric trikes reviews. Quite a few trikes, mostly singles, because this is what individual consumers demand. There must be more electric pedicab models than we are aware of. In San Diego CA there is a thriving pedicab business near Mexican border, cheaper than a taxi. Don't remember what e-bike brand they use, if this is even a brand.

Hi Alex M, interestingly enough bamboo does grow wild in parts of the American South. It is of note that a successful bamboo fixie bike shop Hero Bike, that operated in Greensboro, AL sourcing their bamboo from within three blocks from the shop. Here is an article about the shop:

 

[Alex M]

Bamboo grows even in Northern Pacific, including BC Canada. But it's not widely available in the states, as a raw material, more suppliers here stock on Asian bamboo than on locally-grown. I can imagine how much cheaper it is at source, in Asia.

A local shop in the states could sell bikes made of local bamboo, but when you need to fix it elsewhere, you won't find bamboo sheets in hardware stores and nobody would custom-make it for cheap. Though, I see that frame on these trikes is stainless steel. Bamboo works as a structural material too, but has many features making it less than ideal in this application. A tricky material to work with.

Pedicabs that I saw in San Diego suburb San Ysidro, were rather utilitarian. Metal tubes, flat fiberglass or plastic sheets for bodywork (or maybe it was a painted plywood, didn't have a close look). Cheap to manufacture, easy to maintain. To shuttle people around the shopping area. Many US border towns have big shopping malls, catering to Mexicans who cross on foot, legally and in huge numbers.