As a Human Power Hybrid, the three-wheeled electric scooter TWIKE 5 impresses with an innovative overall concept. TWIKE also goes its own way with the steering system and uses ergonomic side-stick steering for safe and sporty driving pleasure.
Rosenthal,10.05.2023 – A bicycle has handlebars, a car steers the driver with a steering wheel – at first glance, this statement seems irrefutable. More than two centuries of auto- motive history suggest that a classic steering wheel is in practice the most mature and optimal way to steer a car. But what if this car no longer corresponds to the widespread image of a car in many other respects? Doesn‘t its steering system then also have to be questioned? From the very first version of the three-wheeled electric car, with its combina- tion of an electric motor and pedal assistance through muscle power, the developers of the TWIKE answered this fundamental question with a „yes“.
Neither the handlebars familiar from bicycles nor the steering wheel tried and tested in automobiles did justice to the design, which in a sense combines both worlds, the bicycle and the electric car. With regard to the concept of the three-wheeled design and the cha- racteristic seating position of the driver, the use of a steering lever proved to be the most suitable variant. Like all components, this steering principle has been slightly adapted and optimised again and again throughout the model history of the TWIKE. With the steering of the TWIKE 5, the extraordinary manufactory from Rosenthal presents another milestone in the development of this unique vehicle.
In the first three model series of the TWIKE, the developers relied on single-lever steering. The „joystick“ proved to be the optimal solution here, enabling safe and reliable steering after a certain amount of familiarisation. Where a classic steering wheel would have been unsuitable due to the pedal movement alone, the joystick not only proves to be an ergonomic alternative conducive to lightweight construction, but also offers owners additional driving pleasure to this day.
„Nevertheless, we didn‘t want to rest on a ‚never change a running system‘ with the steering either,“ explains Martin Möscheid, Managing Director of TWIKE GmbH. „If we had thought this way in the past, we would never have reached where we are today with the TWIKE 5.“
With the TWIKE 4, the pure prototype that preceded the TWIKE 5 on its way to series pro- duction, the concept of single-lever control was questioned for the first time. Not least with the performance gain of the Twike 5 compared to the TWIKE 3, aspects such as quick learna- bility of the mode of operation and maximum steering precision in all driving situations gain additional importance. The developers also wanted to make the transition from the classic car with steering wheel control even easier by allowing basic movement patterns to be adop- ted. The TWIKE 5 presents the solution to these requirements and wishes with a completely newly developed two-lever principle, the side-stick steering.
Two interconnected steering levers in the TWIKE 5 mechanically control the steering front axle. Even though the connection of the levers allows for one-handed steering, the principle is particularly convincing in two-handed operation. Here, the steering process in practice shows a movement pattern that is recognisably similar to that of the classic steering wheel and thus allows for very intuitive familiarisation. The driver pulls or rather pushes the levers in the desired direction of travel. This form of „classic“ steering also supports the stable sea- ting position, which pays off especially during sporty driving manoeuvres, but also on uneven ground and in dangerous situations.
Technically, the optimised steering system relies on components from large-scale automo- tive production and thus on proven quality and safety. In addition, both levers offer easy and convenient access to all important functions in two-handed operation: Acceleration, cruise control, turn signals, dipping or dimming, windscreen wiper washer system as well as control of the functions of the digital instrument cluster. The TWIKE cockpit can be adapted to indivi- dual preferences with interchangeable surfaces for the grips and a grip heater underneath as standard.
„We are convinced that the optimised steering system in the TWIKE 5 will once again impro- ve the connection between the pilot and the vehicle and thus offer even more safety with additional riding comfort,“ Möscheid emphasises.