The USPS is already testing mail delivery by electric bike with these neat little US-built mail bikes

"A"

"A"

Well-known member
Local time
10:56 AM
Joined
Feb 13, 2022
Messages
970
Interesting e-trikes... I guess it beats walking with a huge bag of mail.

https://electrek.co/2022/06/03/usps-mail-delivery-electric-mail-bike/
usps-header-mail-bike-1.jpg
 
Interesting! I do question two things for commercial use like this:
  1. Spoked wheels might be a problem, if potholes are hit. Maybe upgrade to one-piece "mag" wheels.
  2. Bosch mid drive (on the front crank) doesn't seem to make a lot of sense here. It will wear the chain & sprockets prematurely with that much torque. Some kind of geared drive on the rear axle would make more sense, or even a big outrunner motor in the front hub.
  3. With this much weight to pull, does it make sense to have a pedal drivetrain at all? How much would the postman actually be helping by pedaling?
 
1. Similar sized 20" spoked wheels are used in dirt jumping BMX, I'd think delivering mail, even with heavy load, their speeds will not exceed 30 mph. Those spoked wheels should be fine for mail carrier speed.

2. I do agree with the mid-drive motor being dependent on chain & sprocket health.

3. Front wheel with hub-motor would likely slip with majority of the weight residing on the rear cargo box; I would think mail & packages can get pretty heavy.
 
Another cool thing about them is that they probably don’t need any infrastructure upgrades to charge them. (as they would with a fleet of mail trucks)
 
Love these new electric delivery vehicles.....wonder what the fitness requirements for drivers will be......gotta be in shape to ride around town all day delivering packages from these beauties! Our current UPS driver wouldn't be a good fit.
 
Interesting for more than one reason. At least from a casual viewpoint, these vehicles would appear to have a rather limited use. Can’t see them being used in inclement weather conditions or anywhere that is otherwise dangerous to any other cyclist. Requiring employees to place themselves around faster moving cars seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen but perhaps not. Also curious of how effective they would prove in time management? Might well be too slow for many applications.
I suppose one potential gain is that usage of these vehicles could promote increased infrastructure favoring all cyclists?
 
One of the more positive aspects of these E-mobiles would be no starter. Legally they have to turn the motor off if they leave the vehicle. In my neighborhood they get out at every house and you can hear the starter grinding 3 blocks away. I asked the mailman about it and he said they go through at least 5 starters a year, that's a lot of starters per truck, never mind having to be towed back to the depot whenever it dies.
 
Back
Top