#HTE

An Off-Road Electric Bike–With Gas Tanks in the Wheels

Reportedly in production, the Ultra Bike 2x2 is a very unusual vehicle concept. It’s a utilitarian off-road electric bike, with a 1KW motor in each wheel powered by a 48V battery in the lower center of the frame. The unusual part is that the wheel rims are actually fuel tanks meant to hold 6 gallons of gasoline.

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Why do you need gas, for an electric bike? Because that white thing you see in the frame, in the area where a fuel tank would normally be, is actually a gas-powered generator.

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You can use the generator to charge the bike’s battery to extend its 40-mile range, or to power objects (up to 800W) in remote locations. You can also pop the generator out of the frame to use it away from the bike.

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The Ultra Bike’s gigantic, low-pressure tires certainly make it look competent in snow and mud:

It is telling, or at least suspicion-inducing, that they’ve omitted some key things from the video. How easy or difficult is it to fill, and draw fuel from, the in-wheel fuel tanks?

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And how well do those pontoons work, if at all?

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Nevertheless, the company claims they have inventory and are currently selling the bikes, though the surprisingly low asking prices again raise suspicion: The starting price is just $1,990.



https://www.core77.com/posts/115714/An-Off-Road-Electric-Bike-With-Gas-Tanks-in-the-Wheels