The key data sound promising: plastic body for two people, fixed roof and trunk, 88 cm wide, 2.05 m long, weighs 120 kg, pedal drive with electric support up to 25 km/h. All of this for an impressive 13,000 euros. Unlike all common multi-track vehicles, the Hopper has rear-wheel steering. I want to try that.
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First test – I’m scared
In June 2023 I will test a model from the pilot series at the Eurobike bicycle trade fair in Frankfurt. I sit in it and feel comfortable. The steering wheel fits well in the hand and the pedaling feeling is pleasant. But the steering feels like reversing in a car: with the slightest steering movement, the rear swerves out. The faster I drive, the more unsafe I feel. I drive into the trade fair car park with a steep, winding ramp. It’s possible to drive up slowly, but when I go down I’m sweating with fear on my forehead: I brake hard to walking speed, lean my body far into the tight curve and just manage to get back to the flat without tipping over.
“What if I had to avoid someone now?” I think and quickly steer to the left. That was too much: the left front wheel lifts off, I try to support myself, but the high roof pulls the hopper down and I fall on my side. Nothing happened to me, but the shiny bodywork got scratches. When I reported my trip to the managing director, Martin Halama, he explained that they were already working on optimizing the driving dynamics: with changes to the chassis and electronic regulation of the speed in the curves. I should test the Hopper again when these features are integrated.
Image 1 of 6 Hopper Mobility will start production of its pedal vehicle in mid-2024, …
(Bild: Hopper Mobility GmbH)
Second test – it doesn’t get any better
Six months later I tested the Hopper again in Cologne’s Rheinpark. In order to improve lateral stability, the track was widened by 17 to 105 cm and the front chassis was lowered, explains press spokesman Sebastian Weber. The steering is now less direct. However, there are still no electronic driving aids. I drive a few laps and am glad there is no traffic because I can’t see any improvement. I’d rather let the press spokesman do the evasion test. He drives at almost 10 km/h, swerves about a meter and then drives back into the lane, similar to the moose test for cars. Even just watching, I’m afraid that he’ll tip over.
Hans Dorsch is a technology journalist and doesn’t shy away from self-experimentation.
Weber sees it pragmatically. “It’s not a go-kart, it’s a bike,” he says. In critical situations you don’t have to steer, you have to brake. That doesn’t convince me. On all multi-track bicycles that I have ridden so far – from the classic cargo bike with three wheels to velomobiles with four wheels – the tipping point was much higher. As charming as the idea of the steering rear wheel may be, it is not good for the overall concept. Sure: Tall, narrow vehicles can tip over, that’s physics. But reflexes cannot be switched off.
(jl)
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