This slightly shady $500 kit turns your e-bike into an electric snowmobile
It’s a situation we’ve probably all experienced before: you’re riding your e-bike and thinking to yourself, “This is nice, but you know what could make this bike even better? Tank tracks!”
Well now there’s an easy way to do it in the form of a conversion kit that takes an e-bike and turns it into something of a snowmobile with the inclusion of a snow track kit.
I’m not saying this is a good idea. In fact, it’s probably a terrible idea for several reasons that we’re going to cover. But none of them make this any less awesome or weird, which means it’s a prime candidate for a spot in this week’s Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column.
I do have to let you know going into this that the product page is very light on details, so I’ve had to suss out some specs here.
I do know that the kit includes a 1,000W motor designed to run on 48V, though they also describe it as 2,000W in some areas. So your mileage may vary… literally.
The kit itself seems to include the rear assembly that consists of a snow track wrapped around a motor and two idler pulleys, all mounted inside a frame that replaces the bike’s rear wheel.
A ski attachment is also included so that riders can replace their front wheel and go full snowmobile.
There doesn’t appear to be a battery included in the kit, though it does look like a controller comes mounted on the rear assembly. That leads me to believe that it’s up to you to supply your own battery, and I’m guessing that trying to jury rig the wires from your RadRover battery into this setup is going to void your Rad warranty.
I guess you could also start with a non-electric bike and just find your own 48V battery, which is likely more advisable, though none of this is what I would classify as advisable.
Then there’s the issue of control. It seems like the whole bike chain thing becomes obsolete in the new setup, meaning your pedals are now freewheeling footrests. For power, I guess you run your throttle back to the new controller, though that’s another reason just to start this build from scratch. And brakes seem to be something of an afterthought. There’s a hydraulic disc brake on the rear motor, but it seems like it’s just going to lock up the track instantly, and you’ll eventually skid to a stop when physics decides your momentum is no longer worth sustaining. It’s kind of like anti-lock brakes except that it’s the opposite: only-lock brakes.
But hey, you can’t beat that orange color! If you’re going to head too far out in the snowy wilderness on a contraption that is likely to get you stranded, you might as well have the decent manners to make it easy for search and rescue to find you. That’s just how I was raised.
I think it’s fair to say that there are some concerns with this kit, most of which come from the design. But one final surprising concern of mine is the price – not that it’s too high, but rather too low. For just $520, this Bad Idea On Ice can be yours!
I feel like any self-respecting DIY electric snowmobile should cost significantly more than this. In fact, we usually see them for 4x-5x this price.
A lobster dinner for $50 sounds like a deal. A lobster dinner for $15 sounds like food poisoning. That’s kind of where I’m sitting with this DIY snowmobile kit.
But hey, I’ll try anything once!
Disclaimer: just in case anyone is still unsure or happens to be new here (welcome!), this part of a tongue-in-cheek weekly column that explores wild, weird, awesome, and sometimes outlandish EVs found on China’s largest shopping site Alibaba. Most of these would be a bad idea to actually try, and all would be a bad idea to actually order. Please don’t risk your money on this stuff – let’s just enjoy looking at it from a safe distance.
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With the launch of the first-ever Class 8 vocational EV in the North American market, PACCAR Kenworth is raising the battery-electric bar and underscoring just how far the market has come since the Tesla Semi made its debut nearly a decade ago.
When Tesla pulled the wraps off its all electric Semi truck all the way back in November of 2017, the rest of the industry was hardly thinking about BEVs. Nearly a decade later, the world is still waiting for the Semi to begin regular production, and PACCAR is launching its second generation of HDEVs with the debut of this, the all-new Kenworth T880E vocational truck.
“The Kenworth T880E marks a groundbreaking milestone in Kenworth’s history as we bring to market the first Class 8 battery-electric solution built for vocational applications,” explains Kevin Haygood, Kenworth assistant general manager for sales and marketing. “The T880E is engineered to meet the evolving needs of operators and vocational fleets while still providing the durability, reliability and customization our customers expect.”
The new electric K-whopper is motivated by PACCAR’s in-house ePowertrain platform, capable of putting up to 605 hp and 1,850 lb-ft of peak torque to work, while delivering the same levels of drivability and dependability fleets expect from a Kenworth – but power and torque are only part of the T880E’s work-ready résumé.
Open to work
In addition to a stout, Class 8 electric chassis fitted with heavy-duty Kenworth brakes and axles, the T880E’s central drive eMotor allows for significant wheelbase flexibility so fleet buyers can spec out exactly the machine they need to get the job done. The T880E was also designed to enable lift axle installations from trusted Kenworth upfitters for a vocational-friendly BEV integration.
Additionally, the T880E features a wide selection of factory-installed options that include both high- and low-voltage ePTO (electric Power Take Off) ports, mechanical ePTOs, and the same wide array of body configurations as the ICE version.
Speaking of the ICE version, the electric T880E also can also be had in the same set-back front axle and set-forward front axle configurations with the same multi-piece hood construction. Inside the cab, the latest in driver-focused technology includes the Kenworth SmartWheel and a new 15″ DriverConnect digital touchscreen. Dash and vocational features like RAM Mounts and factory-installed PTO switches are available. The T880E is also offered with Kenworth ADAS packages for customers interested in DigitalVision Mirrors, Bendix Fusion, and Lane Keeping Assist.
It’s so big, you guys
The T880E was on static display at last week’s ACT Expo in Anaheim, California. Check with your local Kenworth dealer for availability.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Kenworth.
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The tire-blistering SU7 Ultra has been the Xiaomi brand’s flagship super sedan since its launch, but a controversial software setting has limited the car to “just” 900 hp in regular driving – resulting in an outcry from owners who ponied up for the big boy numbers. With its latest software update, that missing 648 hp is back on tap!
The SU7 Ultra made waves throughout the performance car world when a bright yellow striped example lined up alongside a white quarter mile king, the 1,000+ hp Tesla Model S Plaid, and promptly smoked it.
That wasn’t all. A preproduction SU7 Ultra prototype lapped the legendary Nürburgring circuit in just 6 minutes and 46.874 seconds, firmly stamping the 1,500+ hp Xiaomi’s alphanumeric into the track’s record books with a time nearly fifteen seconds quicker than a Rimac Nevera or, on the ICE front, either a Corvette ZR1, Viper ACR, or Porsche 918 (take your pick).
It’s hardly any wonder, then, that the customers who signed up – in droves, too – were disappointed to learn that the SU7 they were allowed to buy had been neutered by the safety nannies to the tune of nearly 650 hp. (!)
We’re so back
The outrage from SU7 Ultra owners was immediate. And, facing mounting pressure online and on social media, Xiaomi ultimately decided to withdraw the performance-limiting features while acknowledging the need for more transparent communication about future software updates they messed up, saying in a statement, “we appreciate the passionate feedback from our community and will ensure better transparency moving forward.”
So, rich people can rocket themselves down the road in 9 second hypercars again and all is right with the world. A happy ending – but one that sort of illuminates a fresh set challenges for automakers peddling “software-defined vehicles” to a market that still thinks of their cars as very much hardware defined products.
That’s evidenced by the resistance to pay for features by subscription and complaints by more informed customers that “software locked” range and convenience features just subsidize the cost of more expensive trim levels and pad profits for manufacturers and suppliers.
The new reality is playing out in real time now, and the Jeff Bezos-backed $20,000 electric compact pickup from Slate Auto is going the other way entirely – time will tell whether more, or less tech is the answer.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Xiaomi, via CarNewsChina.
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Tesla (TSLA) has started offering reduced interest rates on the new Model Y in the US — this equates to a direct discount on the brand new vehicle that was supposed to spark Tesla’s demand back.
The automaker has announced “1.99% APR or $0 Due at Signing available for well-qualified buyers” on the new Model Y in the US for the first time:
This amounts to a direct discount worth a few thousand dollars. It is the first widely available discount on the new Model Y coming just weeks after the cheaper non-Launch Edition launched in the US.
It follows a $2,000 direct discount that Tesla offered to early Model Y owners last week.
These discounts and subsidized financing point to soft demand for the updated best-selling vehicle in the US. Tesla just delivered a disastrous first quarter, which it mostly blamed on the Model Y changeover, resulting in lower inventory.
However, industry watchers, including Electrek, noted many signs that the Model Y changeover was not the only issue. Tesla added significantly to its inventory in the first quarter, and the wait times for the new Model Y were extremely short.
Now, the discount weeks after launching the new Model Y confirm the soft demand in the US.
It’s not as bad as Europe and China, where Tesla has already been offering 0% financing on the new Model Y for weeks.
Electrek’s Take
I think it’s clear by now: the new Model Y is not coming to save Tesla.
Let’s be honest: It will still be a significant vehicle program by volume. It just won’t help Tesla return to growth this year.
The RWD Model Y is still coming and has a chance to help in the US. It is already available in China, and it’s not helping Tesla much there, but that’s in a hyper-competitive market, especially at lower prices where the RWD Model Y operates.
Tesla’s performance in Q2 in China will be interesting since it is basically back to its regular lineup for the whole quarter.
The US appears to have been Tesla’s least affected market, but Q3 will be the real test with the full lineup and no backlog of demand for new Model Y.
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