Lean-Neat, Clean-Swift
Active Personal Vehicle
We all get to move
fast and safely anytime to work, to socialize, to connect with Nature and selves, to stay fit, healthy, and sane.
This begets the problems:
cars are expensive, polluting traffic jammers;
public transit adds hassle and hurdles to the cars' mess;
walking and biking are not for many trips.
Thinkers would stroll or pedal out their ideas.
Warrior gets stronger and more experienced after the buttle he has fought and survived.
However, a driver gets dumber and sicker every time he gets stranded in a gridlock.
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It's the adequate physical response that turns emotional stress into the eustress needed for overall personal growth.
Public transit is misery in public...
dangerous during a pandemic or terror-attack threats
Not every cyclist shares my thrill of filtering slow traffic in less than bikable conditions.
The solution is FELA:
We offer FELA (Frugal yet Effective, Lean & Active) personal vehicle for decent individuals who, pursuing physical-mental fitness, enjoy the free mobility helping Earth - our only home.
FELA Core Values:
The Swiftest - it halves driving or quarters riding times;
Super Mobile - it goes where no off-roader can;
Service-free - no fuel, fixings, re-charge to pedal it at doubled bike speed;
Comfy & Exciting in any trip while training your body-mind;
Economical - it saves $20k on the total costs to own a car;
The Safest for all street user in car-free, smart cities.
Length 230cm
Width 95cm
Height 115cm
Weight 40kg
Traffic view camera at 6' level
Why to Care
Our commutes are among our biggest stressors. We all feel the harm long trips do to us, whereas FELA not only makes us fitter but spices up our day.
Wouldn't you redirect 20% of your income from travel costs to healthier, more joyful, meaningful things and activities?
Car-related GHGE is 20% of anthropogenic input via burning fossil fuel, trade of which strains geopolitics. Both extremes, in politics and in weather, are caused by the overuse of Earth resources. What hit first, a war or a calamity doesn't matter when we all will be dying in either case.
Do you want to live and raise your kids in a slum or in a green block of Singapore?
Ultralight FELA allows you whizzing around in multi-level gardens of the car-free districts.
FELA Story​
Ride in the rain seems fun, but my 3h in head hailstorm was a misery. Self-massaging in the hot bath I fancied an enclosed trike. Commuting 20 years later, I recalled it just to learn about velomobiles (velos) that beat my contraption in any sense. Alas!!
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Carried away by my need and curiosity I learned about Mochet's velocar of 1920-s, and Rasmussen's Leitra of 1970-s:
and about the efficiency sensation of 1980-s built around an aluminium monocoque:
The composite replaced aluminum and super efficient "classic velo" was born, e.g. Milan:
Velo limitations spurred me to develop a PV more practical and manufacturable at a minimal drop in efficiency.
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I decided on the essential human-electric hybrid, i.e. muscle-machine synergy, rather than adding an e-drive just to accelerate or to climb and then to carry the e-drive as a deadweight while cruising.
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Seven years of computer modeling and design resulted in FELA:
It took time to get results in the subjects far from the engineering, e.g. in Customer Development.
Each of thousands of velos on roads has physically prototyped speed-efficiency of a faired trike, and developed for industrial mass-production FELA renders artisan prototyping wasteful.
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Computer modeling resulted in reliable digital prototypes of the features a velo lacks.
Here, I try to find 2-3 execs and resources to build the FELA.
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Once upon a time, a solo engineer would stand under his bridge as a doubled design load was passing above him.
I don't need a prototype to prove computer modeling:
I'll buy and use my very first FELA in real Toronto traffic.
Why Personal
The sharing economy has a compelling rationale and FELA fits in. Still, in the age of individualization, we need a personal vehicle (PV), just like a private room, laptop or smartphone. Affordable PV is a tool for social mobility and self-development. Besides, the idling FELA dents sustainability 100x less than an SUV,
The PV like this:
is overly personal,
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but human-scaled, street-smart PV saves our time and turns a trudge into a fun:
Adequate PV is hedonic sustainability and freedom for
self-growth.
We need PV for 20km urban trips in less than 30min in traffic, free of parking, storage or service troubles.
Given an affordable choice, people avoid public transit:
Overcrowded transit is more economic but it makes the city vulnerable to pandemics and terror attacks. Whereas personal mobility helps city resilience through distributism.
We need PV, mobile enough for exciting physical activities in the wilderness; comfortable for various trips by people of different fitness and lifestyles.
We need the PV, safe for all of us on the streets without costly or intrusive infrastructure.
We need the door-to-door PV, practical for running errands in car-free zones, affordable to buy and keep, made for functional and emotional durability.
What your personal trips looks like? Share your problems and suggestions:
FELA Benefits
Narrow, fast, agile and legal for bike paths, FELA will halve the car driving or quarter transit riding times.
Leaning into turns, FELA goes around the shortest curb radius at cruising speed i.e. without braking to save time and energy:
If turning around within two lanes (half of a car) isn't tight enough, you just lift the stern and pivot FELA on a spot:
FELA has a reverse, spacious trunk, and upright parking - all that makes FELA a practical urban vehicle.
FELA's total costs to own (TCO) is $500 vs $20,000 of a car. When the time spent on travels and to earn the TCO is factored in, FELA price is justified 3.5x faster than the prices of the other modes that are of the same order...
The solar-panel-shaded parking lot accommodates 18x more FELAs than in case of only cars. All those FELAs are recharged off-grid in 6-8h:
To assist your 50km ride, the battery is recharged from a 110V socket in 2h; recharge from the sun, wind or stream takes a few hours.
Even without a battery, you can pedal FELA with 3x bike efficiency so the range per charge is irrelevant.
Negligible logistics and footprint make FELA attractive to a delivery business. Rangers, scouts, eco-tourists will appreciate minimally intrusive for the Wild FELA.
FELA bests a velo in off-road geometry enabling a crawl over 6" rocks at 250N push on a pedal. FELA crosses loose gravel, deep water or fresh snowdrifts. FELA can even sail in 20km/h tailwind - the adventurers' dream vehicle:
FELA modularity not only helps to manufacture, repair and respond to market but enables personal value appreciation via timely upgrades, which makes FELA functionally-emotionally durable.
- a bike's maintenance schedule looks daunting, doesn't it? Cars' service and costs are even worse. FELA frees you from that too.
With FELA super permeability, you are not the traffic hostage. When you are in control, you grow strong and smart.
Purpose, freedom and fitness-induced confidence lead to the lifestyle conducive to happiness:
Keeping up with city traffic, car-looking FELA makes the vehicular cycling reality and promotes cycling better than a bike infrastructure can ever do:
In cities, FELA can replace cars, democratize the mobility and cut global GHGE by 20%. FELA-centered infrastructure is a 10x less material or capital intensive due to 20x less load than from cars, so it can go on multilevel paths and in vertical gardens or farms:
FELA is 13x safer than a car to cyclists and pedestrians. Core cage (in yellow) and crumple structures (in red) increase the survival impact speeds up to city speed limits. FELA agility and nimbleness enable crash avoidance maneuvers.
Exposed pedaling, front wheels' steering angle, FELA position in the conflict zone, its tilt, and signal lights - all that clues motorists on FELA pilot's intention and reduces odds for right-of-way crashes.
The cam on the retractable mast (in purple) takes your eyes to 6ft level for the vantage of traffic. Blinkers and reflective stripes make FELA conspicuous even in the dusk.
​How do you see your active personal vehicle?
Reply below or share your thoughts on the forum.
Team & Vacancies
Common Duties and Competencies
Duties:
report the assigned project task status, problems, opportunities on the weekly meetings;
document all the project activities via Business Data Model collaborating with the other execs;
study weekly reports by the other execs to contribute with own insights and perspectives;
maintain a fair physical shape and use FELA as a PV ("walk the talk").
Competencies
knows project management, teamwork (with the contractors as well);
grasps competencies and reasoning of the other execs, social and cultural factors, to effectively participate in weekly meetings;
stays creative and effective under uncertainty and being paid for the results, not for mere activities;
be curious, socially mature and responsible, functionally extroverted when needed (if introvert by personality), eloquent and proactive, plus all the other traits of a researcher;
be able to replace an exec or a manager experience gained in a corporation with the attitude of a developer.
If you can be one of the execs or an investor or a buyer or a contributor of any kind, message us via form below.
You can support FELA mission by your donation:
B2B Developer, "BBD"
Duties:
works with CMO as a B2B deal closer;
formulate a strategy, builds and maintains B2B relationship;
rapport with assembly managers, help them with serious problems;
applies lean principles and Kaizen to FELA manufacturing;
resolves costs and safety problems;
adapts new equipment to the shop;
deploys a new shop and trains its manager;
Competencies:
aggressive, money-ambitious and autonomous with no sales manager experience;
has contacts in the industry to be bet on his 1st close;
thrives on an adventure just to close;
proven track record as a manufacturing engineer;
expertise in industrial production.
Data Modeler, CIO
Duties:
develops and maintains the business data model (BDM);.
with execs work on BDM requirements;
decides on develop or buy and integrates BDM modules;
train execs for use of BDM;
implements or supervises IT projects;
supports R&D, sales and marketing;
oversees and evaluates data security;
sets IT strategies for BDM.
Competencies:
FELA business and R&D savvy to comprehend use cases;
Hi-tech adept and of evolving IT knowledge to seize opportunities;
has the acumen necessary for smart BDM-related purchases;
knows Agile Development (Lean Startup) and Strategic Planning.
R&D engineer, CTO
Duties:
with CMO finalizes the requirements;
develops modules for functional and emotional durability;
math models parts function for safety at an acceptable cost;
computes parts specs and discusses blueprints with contractors;
tests modules and complete FELA;
improves manufacturability and quality.
Competencies:
STEM proficient and can apply it for engineering problems;
knows properties of FELA-applicable materials;
knows CAD and computer modeling;
knows PV-relevant government codes and regulations.
Michael Akulov
FELA developer, startup founder, and CEO.
Lumping into a vacancy both engineering and marketing duties is objectionable, but FELA startup can't afford silos problems.
Stan Chifrine
IT specialist
B2C developer, "CMO"
Duties:
CMO refines CEO vision, prioritizes prospect customers groups;
with BBD handles B2B partnership;
travels when Customer Development requires it;
persuades of FELA Core Values;
formulates CRM requirements;
works with CTO for market validation;
sets and monitors marketing KPIs;
timely adjust or "pivot" marketing and branding strategies.
Competencies:
Customer Development adherent;
experienced in re-segmented markets;
excited by FELA cause;
can reveal assumptions to test them,
knows a CRM app, empathize with the prospects;
has communication skills to analyze facts without speculations;
look sporty projecting FELA mission.