NC Now | Organic Transit ELFs | UNC-TV
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- Опубліковано 19 чер 2013
- With gas prices soaring, car emissions straining the environment and people spending more time in traffic instead of the great outdoors, a Durham company has developed a solution. It's called the ELF. Stephanie Bourland takes us to Organic Transit where they're producing solar electric assisted bikes. These vehicles combine the ease of a car with the benefits of a bicycle.
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I am an Elf owner, I purchased it last year in May of 2014. After driving it for a complete season without incident and never being flipped off by any motorist. More often than not people give the thumbs up and smile with curiosity when they pass. I use for commutes between my location and town (17 kms round trip). The route I use has a maximum speed limit of 60 kmh , I can clearly see anything coming to and from me. When I experience a situation where I may be a liability to road traffic I simply pull over and let vehicles pass however most are willing to wait and watch until they can pass safely. Over all I am very well pleased with this bike and recommend it to anyone looking for an alternate form of transportation. It helps our environment, health and is economic when you do the math.
I don't understand the people who say "This wouldn't work in every scenario therefore it's a terrible idea." Dude, this is a bicycle with a little protection from the rain. It's not for people who have to commute 70 miles to work daily. It's not for people who have to take a highway to work. It's not for people who live in rough mountain passes. It's not for people who live in places where you get a foot of snow every day. It's for people who live in mild climates and live within 10 miles of work or the grocery store. For those people, the savings on fuel, maintenance, and licensing might be enough to make the switch.
A car isn't fit for every situation so therefore, it's a terrible idea, i mean, how else am i gonna cross the pacific?
Attach paddles to the rear tire and add pontoons. PACIFIC, GO FOR IT. (but, triple your insurance) :)
(for those without a sense of humor, IT'S A JOKE)
oggyreidmore i
As per your suggestions which e tricycle is better for long,journey.
@@najirhusenshaikh8169 Thy aren't for long journeys. Take a car.
Brilliant! Contraptions like this are a glimpse into our future. The International Energy Agency reports that there is less than 46 years of oil left. The world as we've known it is going to change drastically.
This is just the cutest thing I have seen for a long time!! If everyone in the city uses one of these, just think of all the smog people won't have to breath! I want one!! Stay in shape and get to where you are going at the same! Kids in town can use them to go to school and get to work. They should make them affordable so everyone can buy one!
From a CEO of Organic Transit, Maureen Costello on June 16, 2019: "One of our proudest achievements is that there was not a single death in an ELF in seven years. Even when people got in serious accidents they survived. Hard as this all was we felt like angels guarded us and the ELF owners. Rob's most serious concern was keeping people safe. He once said to me, "there are precious souls in these ELFs." We took it very seriously. You are all precious souls to us. God Bless."
In my you tube searches I keep bumping into the ELF and of all the electric toys out there this one is the most practical and usable and not a toy but a solution.
I would love to ride one of these across country.
Fantastic!
Nice! Try using this in a Chicago winter!
I like! ....the ride, the app, the concept - Keep up the good work, OT!
ELF would be an excellent dual mode PRT! You could power and control them externally when in rail mode.
Awesome thinking. I live in Orlando that would be a great commuter because I am only 9 miles from my office!!
I'm still waiting for those hover bikes, damn it!.
No insurance required (in the U.S.) however several insurance companies do offer bicycle insurance for some states.In some countries like the U.K. cyclists are offered insurance anywhere there.
A good product from North Carolina, USA.
one criticism, zero suspension? it looks small and light enough that some old school chevy valve springs would be enough to give 1-1.5" worth of nerf to soften impacts of rougher pavement. sparing some damage to tires, rims, bearings etc while helping make the ride a little more comfortable. up front it could be as simple as what old RC pan cars used, and at rear not really much more complicated.
It has front elastomeric suspension. Many choose the three inch tire option. Mine smooths out the bumps by keeping them less than fully inflated.
"elastomeric suspension"? Front and rear wheels are BOLTED directly to the axle and frame.
The only suspension is the aluminum frame flexing. TIRES are not suspension, springs are.
Very cool, but it needs some kind of removable side panels. (A plexi-glass sheet perhaps?) Rain doesn't always fall straight down. And the first time an SUV passes you going through a puddle, well... need I say more?
Nice ! And now a new one for commuting outside the town. I mean lighter and faster !
Santiago Chile is having a big change in terms of using bicycles. The ELFs can fill the percentage that does not use bicycles for all the unconviniences that ELFs can cover. Now price is something to think about; may be producing it here not just for Chile but for the rest of the countries (biger markets).
FINALLY. I found what I was looking for. It took me three or four year
Do you own one now?
Would love to bring this out where I'm at at a community center here in New Jersey would love to make it out here
I've seen "still" photographs of the ELF on Facebook, but this is the first time I've seen the ELF in a Video. It looks better in the Video.
I can't believe i haven't seen more on these. I can't even see that they're made in NC anymore
Both US car-bike factories went down during the pandemic. Sol Mobile bought interest in Organic Transit but is not yet making new ones. It is still in NC. Updates are in the Facebook pages. There are less than 1,500 of these on US roads today and some are broken down. The market for used ones is brisk.
@@popeyegordon thank you for the update :)
That gets along well, doesn't it? And you don't get wet!
add some doors and then you can ride it when it's pouring down rain! :D
Doors areavailablebut it is just too friggin expensive for an e-bike...
In places with an average of 35°C all year round, few bike lanes and extremely aggressive drivers where I live in Asia, or 6 months of winter, freezing rain going close to sideways in the wind, ice covered roads and only slightly less aggressive drivers where I lived in Canada, I'll skip the ELF. I really don't know what paradise this thing was meant to operate in but I'd like to visit.
Really odd comment. Every condition you mentioned represents reasons to use the ELF with it protective body shell. We use studded tires when needed.
really neat but how often do you have to replace the lipo....I know they can get expensive
the market is out their,pricing,infrastructure,a simple low cost suspension in the front and a single swing arm in the rear could make for a huge improvement in ride quality.Tweaking the aerodynamics is where the vehicle could gain the most improvement in both range[electric and rider endurance]90 percent of your effort on a bicycle is wasted on overcoming air resistance,while this is better then a standard bicycle,their is plenty of room for improvement.Aerodynamics are worth a huge boost in performance and range.A motorcycle that gets 50 mpg stock,with a aerodynamic nose and tail[not a streamliner]it will easily double to 100 mpg usa,or 2 liters per 100Km.So the Elf could really take a load off you and your pocket book,while having some good old fun.
Tire choice can change the ride comfort as well, minus the bigger weight penalty (inefficiency). If you try a road bike, then a mountain bike, you will see what I'm talking about. The fatter tire is cushy. That's the nice thing, using bike parts, the thing is like mechanical lego- modify as wanted.
wonderful vehicle probably buy one. remember something water is 8lbs per gallon X 55 gallons 440 lbs plus the wait of the container. that said be careful to make sure you spread the weight around.
nice video thanks friends
Along time ago I lived 13k form work and I would pass the same cars 3 or4 times on the journey there and back
Imagine being able to travel safely at incredibly fast speeds! Introducing the IT! Now with Flexi Grips!
Tuyệt vời, động cơ chạy bằng cơm, ngày xac ba lần, vợ con đều thích...
These start at $8000 in Portland, Oregon. That $4000 base price is misleading...
I just checked... Looks like they are now starting new at $9,100. shipping included. You must pick it up at a dealer called Garry Small Saab: portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bid/5690769821.html
That's crazy. An Elio is like $7300 and it's really powered by an engine and carries two.
Update: They are now $9,000 to $11,000 in Portland. They are cute though..! :)
FU NDA lol elio....
WONDERFUL & ECONOMICAL VEHICLE
It actually uses a 480 watt/hr rated Lithium Iron Phosphate battery.
These can be good up to around 3,000 full battery charging cycles.
Sometimes less (or more) though but at least around 1,000 cycles.
Basically a 480 watt/hr Lithium Iron Phosphate battery can be purchased for around $500 or so.Maybe a little more.Myself I have a 240 watt/hr Lithium Iron Phosphate battery on my 250 watt electric assisted motorized bicycle.
The wheeles as it turn can also generate power in addition for solar and heat power...
I hope this product trikebike can reach here in my country because we need also like that organic bike for our delay commute specialy when rainy season
Muy buena idea, ecologista, saludable y funcional... que precio?
I would feel like a nerd in this!
Thats ok, nerds are cool now.
Another welcome mean of eco transportation system for the year 2015 and 2020!!
Fakat farklı ve özgün tasarım olmuş. Tebrikler
These are pretty darn cool.
Wonderful ,Allah bless you,thank you so much
I like it! It needs to get up to about 40 to 45 mph though (in some cases/places)
I think, they can upgrade it to your request for extra thousand $.
That's a legal battle.
...reminded me of The Flinstones
When you see the feet bobbing under this vehicle, YUP, FLINTSTONES. *_8D_*
HEY POOPEYE DUDE, THIS ==> *_8D_* is a laughing face. It's used where someone is making fun of or a joke about... or even a simple PUN. Hopefully you understand ONE OF those explanations. (GOOD GOD the simple things some people just DON'T understand)
Not even close, loser. Flintstones had no pedals
[the late JERRY REED] *"It's a joke son."*
*_Popeye Gordon:_* "Not even close, loser. Flintstones had no pedals"
______ GORDY DUDE... Lighten up, someone stole your ELF? CHEEEEEZE!!! ______
Flagged, downvoted and reported to G+ for trolling. Blocked.
BLOCKED?! WOW, that's the best thing I heard from you.
POOPEYE DUDE, you really need to go back to school, you NEVER learned what a JOKES is.
Turning in the rain looks wet--those fenders can't possibly be adequate enough to avoid rebound splashing off the frame. That said, it looks fun. I was looking at other Velomobiles but they were all too expensive. If they could just mass produce this thing, it might only cost $3k. A reasonable trike costs less than that--this just has a shell and some accessories.
Love it :)
This is pretty cool, I'm going to model this and add it to the gmod scars pack, So people with an Oculus Rift can "Try before you buy" in VR
You sound like a geek.
i wonder how the suspension is on these things? Bumpy ride?
Love it!
Most of it's pros are already present in a bicycle, especially a good recumbent.
I wanna try this c:
Love biker untuk Indonesia 🇮🇩🇮🇩👍
tienen mucha personalidad, lucen muy bien.
Fantastisch
I like the idea it's 5 ft tall so people can see it. it is ideal for warm weather climates. Wish it was 2k and not 4k -then i think it would pay for itself after 3 summers
Mine paid for itself in full in less than three years because I got rid of my car.
I would buy one, i live in NYC. My only gripe is theft.
+jlly16 i completely agree, i also live in ny, the bronx
+casey suriel Brooklyn! No one would be dumb enough (I hope) to steal the entire thing seeing as NYC is not populated with the ELF. But I could imagine coming back to it after work, with no wheels, solar panel, chair, or chains. Just a big shell of what it once was waiting for me. Until I move to a nice suburbia setting, I'll get a Hoverboard(Self Balancing Scooter) instead. I can at least carry that indoors.
+jlly16 Oh wow! I understand your concern. You can secure an ELF the same way that you can secure a bike and that's with a bike lock. Other than that, we do have a security cover that would make it more inconvenient to steal without drawing a lot of attention. Unfortunately, that would really be the only defense it would have against people taking actual parts off, aside from the fact that they would need a few tools to get it done. But that goes for any vehicle.
+Ben Jackbag Mank You could secure an ELF the same way, but it wouldn't protect individual parts from being stolen if that's what someone decides to do. Also, our ELFs don't have one wheel in the front, but instead one in the back and two in the front to balance out the payload and to assist with the steering mechanism. You should definitely stop by for a test ride if you can! Then you can see the pros and cons directly.
I wanted a vehicle that was covered Canopy style), but not a car.
Granted the ELF isn't for everyone, or for all situations. It seams to me though that the makers of the ELF are trying to better our lives in a small way. What have we done today to help our fellow man/planet? I'm all for it, and I'm not even a hippie.
bike components with e-unit cost them ~$2K +solar panel +shell material &labor(?) So, $4-5K price is fair considering payoff in 6 mo if it is used to commute AND workout..
I would buy it, if I were 9 to 5 clerk of $30K salary.
This ELF does a lot of things really well. Every vehicle has it's downfalls in one way or another. Pointing out things like it's crash worthiness or lack of speed is silly. It's a bicycle class vehicle. You don't go to every bicycle or motorcycle video and point out how you have no protection in a crash. Let's go watch some car videos and complain about how they don't offer any exercise for the driver. That's the logic I see in some of these comments.
LOVE IT!!!!
very beautiful and amazing
I love the idea. I want one.
Meu sonho de consumo.
is it too wide for bike path access? are there going to be shocks ? I could hook up a bike trailer to rear wheel shafts like a bike? will the price come down when sales go Wild? 4000 sounds reasonable , Henry ford changed the world using low price (he got rich too).
Fiber cam ve plastik kullanılması çok iyi olmuş. Bu sayede denizlerdeki plastik kirliliğini en aza indirmiş oluruz, dünya insanları olarak. (Uzaydanmı geldik? 😃)
Será que fica muito caro a importação? E no caso de representação das vendas aqui no Brasil. Seria possível?
I want one :D
idk about that "protection from the elements" part....maybe if they added something to cover those gigantic openings on the sides....oh and how do you stop people from stealing it?
Sehr gut und wie Teuer ist das teil und wo kann man so was Kaufen.?
Felicitacionessssss
Can you buy these in England,they seem a good idea.
I love it, but...does it have to be so wide and so big? And it does need a leaning mechanism (cf. Drymer from Holland). If you must make it so wide might as well make it so that a child can also ride as passenger in a back seat.
The battery is changeable easily in less than 1 minute ? Where can we buy this bike in Vietnam?
I love it
lov having 4 of them .can it be use in burke county N.C. I wonder !!!!!!!!!!
Are you kidding? These are MADE in N.C.
Sounds wonderful but ... I'd get killed driving around in NEW JERSEY in this thing. There are way too many high-speed highways around here and trying to anywhere NOT taking an interstate would make commuting a total nightmare as one would have to take back roads everywhere. And as for our winters ... this thing wouldn't last a day in the snow. Pity - really does look well designed.
You need to move out of that hell hole if you have any self respect at all.
Weather is not a problem - these are used on snow and ice with studded tires. Videos of that are here on youtube.
With simple electric power available on Ebay, this could be a good purchase if the price is right.
Does it have any kind of doors to go on the side to protect you from splashes & spray on rainy days?
Yes, two door options. But I don't want doors on mine. Makes it too hot and the windows fog since I am exercising. I don't get wet, the rain just blows past the doors and gets my elbows damp.
Wow ! That´s a great idea !
i build home recumbents on my own,i would love to own this,!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like the egg shape for a body, but this has a much larger frontal area than a biker on a conventional bike. You'd have to peddle much harder (or use the electric assist a lot) in order to make up the difference.
This shape makes it more aerodynamic than an upright bike making it more efficient. Also the recumbent position makes it easier to pedal. I like that it is the same height as an average car making it highly visible.
The video reports the cost is about $4,000....Going on to their site, that is less than half of what the webpage for the company says it costs....the beginning price is $8496.
You missed the publishing date on the video when it was produced, so yes its natural for price to increase, its like looking at the Ford F150 and needing something like the 450 or 650 and your going to be paying much more. Sure computers started out high but then price came down but lasted in that lower price for a few years, you would be lucky it last you more than say 4 years at a couple hundred bucks. Thus why you see computers costing thousands since they can be upgraded part by part as needed to operate efficiently as possible along with the recommended upgrades of said OS programming.
Solar panels are best fixed to a structure, out of the shade, and pointed at the sun. On vehicles, they add weight for little power. A lot of vehicle designers don't get this, but engineers know better.
I don't know much about the subject, but the panels are more for trickle charging while the ELF is parked.
wow so thats how solar panels work, pointed at the sun and out of the shade.
and those panels weight next to nothing bud. they are the flexible type, made of very thin plastic.
haha yeah, and vehicle designers and engineers NEVER work together right?
cody mason Its better to just plug it into a solar array on the roof. The roof is out of shade and always optimal oriented to the sun. The solar on the Elf is only 60W in the best case scenario, but if the solar is pointed the wrong way or shaded it will not make much power at all. Check out solar race if you check out a solar race car, you will see that all of its top surface is photo-voltaic cells.
my apologies. I still think the weight of the panels compared to the battery and electric motor is negligible. that way you have a passive solar charging system as well as a plug in option. seems pretty cool to me.
THEY SEEM TO BE A NICE THING TO Maybe rent to do little things "shopping trips, get light workouts, for older people who no longer drive cars.but here in Detroit, U need to enclose it against bad weather. Put some doors, A wiper,enclosed the floor area against water from rain/snow.
About half the cost of a Velomobile and with greater visibility and ease of entry. When the reporter crosses through the intersection, she crosses over bumps and it seems clear that this doesn't have suspension. Without suspension, I would worry that the constant shock of bumpy roads will shake and rattle the shell, causing cracks that can't be repaired. Those cracks would occur, likely, in key stress-points, greatly shortening the life of the shell. Am I correct there are no shocks and, if so, why not? Thank you for your effort to create a sustainable future. This kind of work must continue. Wayne
Can I use one of these in the UK? Would love one! It's amazing. Can u carry someone in it with you?
jasmine - they have a two passenger version. You need a modification to use this in Europe.
I like this
5:33 The Reporter and Alix laugh with the same laugh at the same time.
Uma byke com carenagem.Bonita e prática.
I want one!
I wish I can have one of those.
This Be AWESOME
Sou brasileiro e gostaria muito de ter um desse,e triste ñ ver um elf aqui na minha pátria,mas qual seria o valor de um desse se fosse vendido aqui no brasil
Boris should get these for Central London
What happens if the chain break or you get a flat tire who would be able to fix?
There are two chains - if one breaks the other one gets you home.
I like the design.
I hope these become available in some parts of Australia too.
I would take a long distance bus to Brisbane; QLD to test ride (and hopefully sort out purchase of) one of these: we've got more than enough solar power.
I also hope NSW (the state I live in) changes it's laws to allow more footpath pedalling (within reason: while I wouldn't ride this on a motorway, at night where I live I'd rather cross one of the footbridges at night while the battery is not charging) like the other states in Australia
Sou do brasil!
Eles Importam pra cá??
great for the warm weather but in the cold weather it would be a different story
No you are exercising so you stay warm and out of the wind chill.
Popeye Gordon a little heater would be nice
Not needed. As I already reminded you, you are exercising while pedaling and you are out of the wind. Heaters are VERY power hungry and require a substantial expensive extra battery for something not even needed. So much smarter to dress in layers and peel off a layer once you warm up. You can also use a heat pad on the seat, warmed in the microwave before leaving.
Popeye Gordon good idea