I thought this Pedal Powered 4WD looked interesting as a potential Bug Out Vehicle if you didn't want to take well travelled roads.

It might be more energy expenditure than it's worth versus a good mountain bike, and geared for fun rather than work. Unfortunately I don't read German so...

TrailCart's Site


If you go to www.treehugger.com and flip through the recent articles you can find some information in english. I'd link it, but every time I post a link to that site it doesn't seem to work.

Interesting idea, but a mountain bike would be faster/ cheaper / widely available.

I agree with TeacherRO, a mountian bike with panniers is going to carry about the same amount of gear, be better over more terrain, and be lighter, with more ready supply of spare parts. Unless balance on the bike is an issue, and pedaling still possible, I think a mountain bike is a better choice.

Looks like fun.

Try using Google translate to translate the web page.

Lets see if this link will work for you also: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=...tl=en&tl=en

Cheers,

This sounds like a post I made a while back about a motorcycle as a bug out vehicle.

Back then the consensus was that the SUV was superior...now it seems to be opposite

I think it's a cool contraption. I could see the benefits of it over a bicycle but I'm curious to know which is more efficient. The bicycle is lighter and has less rolling and mechanical resistance...but the recumbrant pedalling style allows way less force to be wasted compared to a standard bicycle where you're pushing against gravity.

I think when you look at pedal versus engine the analysis changes as to whether 4 or 2 wheels is better. Depending on circumstances, I could see the motorcyle being better than the SUV. But I see few scenarios during which having the pedal cart is going to be better than having a bike. Of course, if I had to room and money, I'd have all four. Maybe I will next year.

I have to wonder how much fun it could be horsing this thing over a downed tree as opposed to doing the same with a mtn bike...

The only time I wanmt to be using this cart is during my vacation with a FLAT batch of beach sand.

In survival situation ? A bike (even a street type) is much better. At least I can load it up and push it.

Now if this cart was designed with a dual system (pulling system and pedalling system) then it is worth consdering. When it is rough, you can pull it, and when going downhill or on a smooth surface you ride and pedal. That would be nice ... but even then, a 4x4 is going to give more drag than you'd like. It will make you appreciate the work your SUV's engine is doing for you.

Cool Beans on the translator. I've used it many times before, and I yet I still forget about it.

Regarding the TrailCart, yes I wonder about how efficient a machine it is to use as well. Mountain Bikes (and others) have multiple gears for a variety of situations, but at best I can only guess from the google translation that the TrailCart has 8?

It could be that it doesn't need any more because you can apply more force to the pedals than you can on a bicycle...you can only push so hard when the only thing you're pushing against is your own weight.

Pedal clips and technique help boost this but there are limits.