This Unique Electric Cargo Trike Has All 3 Wheels Inline – CleanTechnica

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Most trikes are set up in similar ways, with either two wheels in the rear and one in the front, or two in the front and one in the rear, which is the way they’ve been built for ages. However, this 3-wheeled cargo e-bike is in a category all by itself, because all three of its wheels are inline, and they all have hub motors, so it’s essentially an all-wheel drive bicycle.

As the saying goes, don’t try to reinvent the wheel, but what if you reinvented where the wheels are placed? Would that be a useful and innovative product for getting around town while hauling cargo? The German startup Dolas recently revealed the Defender 250, a unique take on the cargo bike, so I guess we’re about to find out.

With a 48V 250W hub motor in each wheel, an articulated frame that can ‘hinge’ over bumps in the road, a range of more than 100 miles, the ability to haul up to 550 pounds, and the potential to transform into a tandem bike, the Defender 250 is wild experiment in micromobility.

While Dolas has a few other e-bikes on its site, the Defender 250 definitely takes the cake for originality, and although it might take a leap of faith to commit to buying a beast like this over a traditional 2-wheeled cargo bike, those who do will probably find themselves at the center of attention wherever they go. And at the price of €4650 (~$5079) plus shipping, it’s not an impulse buy for most people, so anyone looking to get rolling on one of these is likely to do their due diligence before pulling out their wallet. The full specs on this 3-wheeled cargo bike are available on the Dolas website.

Images courtesy of Dolas.