My Aerotail on Audi A2

[Weather Spotter]

whats the range on that electric bike at what speeds?

[Piwoslaw]

It's good to see you here, Theo. I'm sure there are quite a few questions floating around here.
For starters, I'd like to know if you had to legalize what you did to the original hitch-mounted bikerack? Have you had any problems with police? I noticed it has its own registration plate.

BTW Here is the first thread about your AeroTail:
DIY hitch-mounted boat tail on Audi A2 3L

[Quasimoto]

Welcome theo22, I for one would love to see a detailed account of both your builds; the aerotail as well as the ebike. Both look great, good job.

[theo22]

[QUOTE=Piwoslaw;254672]It's good to see you here, Theo. I'm sure there are quite a few questions floating around here.
For starters, I'd like to know if you had to legalize what you did to the original hitch-mounted bikerack? Have you had any problems with police? I noticed it has its own registration plate.

Hi, I'm using the Aerotail since june.
In Europe it's totally legal. I checked it. It's allowed to have something stick out at the back, as long as you have the lights an the licenceplate at the end again, it's just the same licenceplate as the car

The bikerack I used has an Eurepean approval.
I drove it to Italy and back and the police saw me but never stopped me.
I think the stickers help to make it look like a real product

[theo22]

Originally Posted by Weather Spotter

whats the range on that electric bike at what speeds?

Just 50 Km at 65 Km/h but it get's me to my work.
16 cell 48V 40 Ah so about 2 Kwh battery 23Kg.
The whloe bike just 100 Kg
top speed 75 Km/h.

I messed up the batteries once, i had no BMS and lost 3 cells.
that was an expensive lesson.
Now the pack performs a little less than it should.

The design was to get at least 90 Km/h speed, but the battery and the controller don't perform according to the specs. I should have known.
Maybe I'll change it, then i'll have to replace battery, controller and motor.

I could also get more range end speed with a better fairing.

[euromodder]

Welkom op ecomodder.com , Theo.

It's great to see you've improved the already efficient A2 a bit more.

Originally Posted by theo22

Most people who see the Aerotail tell me to get a patent or to start selling them.

Patenting won't work, there are plenty of aerotails out in the wild already, so one can't claim the idea any more.

I think there could be a market for a trailerhitch aerotail that would fit on several cars.

I hate to be a spoilsport, but IMO it's going to be a niche market at best - well, I bet they said that about velomobiles as well - and few cars are similar enough to fit one aero-hitch.

Originally Posted by theo22

In Europe it's totally legal. I checked it. It's allowed to have something stick out at the back, as long as you have the lights an the licenceplate at the end again

Did you happen to find some EU regulation allowing these racks for general purposes ?

In Belgium and on passenger cars, an extension is only allowed for carrying bikes and wheelchairs - and even then only in a rather roundabout way.
It's allowed to stick out 1m.

In Italy, you'd even need a red/white striped plate on the back.

[theo22]

[QUOTE=euromodder;255165]
Patenting won't work, there are plenty of aerotails out in the wild already, so one can't claim the idea any more.

-- I know this, but the people who tell me to get patent don't


I hate to be a spoilsport, but IMO it's going to be a niche market at best - well, I bet they said that about velomobiles as well - and few cars are similar enough to fit one aero-hitch.

-- In Holland you can buy trailerhitch boxes .(i can't post pictures yet)
They are just square plastic boxes costing between 400 and 700 dollar.
They could make one that has somewhat of a boattail shape. So it at least doesn't increase fuel consumption and hopefully lowers it a bit.



Did you happen to find some EU regulation allowing these racks for general purposes ?

In Belgium and on passenger cars, an extension is only allowed for carrying bikes and wheelchairs - and even then only in a rather roundabout way.
It's allowed to stick out 1m.

-- I kept my tail just under 1m

In Italy, you'd even need a red/white striped plate on the back.
[QUOTE]

-- I looked up the rules for Holland.
You can have basically anything attached to the back as long as it's safely attached.
The only rule is having freely visable lights and license plate.
This means you need an extra set of taillights and an extra license plate.