Bricklin Back in the Race, Now Peddling an Electric Bicycle
Is Malcolm Bricklin peddling another product whose time has not yet come?
Bricklin followers will recall that he has twice filed for personal bankruptcy--in 1975 after a gull-winged “safety car” bearing his name didn’t fly and again in 1991 after the low-priced but even lower-quality Yugo automobile he introduced to Americans sputtered.
Now Bricklin, 57, has rolled out his first two-wheeler: an environmentally friendly electric bicycle.
During an introductory event Thursday at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard, proponents of cleaner air were quick to embrace the contraption as an occasional commuting or errand-running vehicle for those not up to pedaling all the way.
But persuading the mass consumer market to get on board could prove to be another uphill battle.
With a suggested retail price of $1,400 to $1,900, depending on options, the “EV Warrior” will be sold only through auto dealerships. To date, Bricklin said, more than 100 dealers nationwide have signed on.
They include Webb Automotive Group, which said it has in stock or on order 2,000 bikes to sell at four of its dealerships, in Buena Park, Cerritos, Garden Grove and Irvine.
In the view of Bricklin and his partner, Malcolm Currie, a retired head of Hughes Aircraft who years ago served as an undersecretary of defense, the electric bike is a promising first step to winning people over to the idea of electric cars.
Among investors in their Electric Bicycle Co. are the former Los Angeles Rams football club, now of St. Louis, and Sidney Sheldon, auteur of steamy novels.
The motley group is not alone in seeking to tap into this as-yet unproven market. AeroVironment Inc., based in Monrovia, has sold about 1,000 of its $2,000, beefed-up electric bikes to law enforcement agencies.
But at least one supporter of alternative forms of transportation questions whether the bike will ever become more than a novelty.
“In comparison with other vehicles, the thing loses from an economic standpoint,” said Alan Collinge, a researcher at USC’s Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies. “Unless you had some strong environmental bent, I couldn’t justify buying that bike when a Honda scooter [at $2,000 or so] would do a lot more for you.”
The EV (for electric vehicle) Warrior, which comes in seven colors and was three years in development, resembles a mountain bike with a steel box behind the seat that straddles the rear wheel. Inside the box are two 24-volt electric motors powered by two rechargeable 12-volt lead-acid batteries.
The rider can pedal unaided by the motors, or can activate them with a thumb switch on the handle bar. That will smoothly, quietly and quickly take the bike to 20 mph if the rider pedals, or to 15 mph with no pedaling. Among the special features are high-tech turn signals and brake lights on the two rear-view mirrors.
On a single charge, the bike can go about 15 miles--although steep grades, high speeds and bad weather can slash that distance.
