I think small electric powered devices such as this one will become very popular in the next 10 years. Who needs to drive a 2 ton car if you are only transporting yourself a few blocks away to catch a movie or go for lunch? I am not sure the price of this model will make it attractive though…
Via: Gizmodo
"This weird thing is a 1.2kW electric motor powered, carbon fiber foldable bike called the YikeBike. It’s real, unfolds in 15 seconds, and aims to solve the eternal problem of urban mobility, and probably become Woz’s favorite new toy."
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That’s something bizarre. So where do u accommodate yourself on the bike?
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@latestphonereviews
Funky-weird like, you sit on the seat with the handlebars behind you.
As described: “The handlebars are at the side rather than in front so in the event of an accident or need for an emergency stop the rider’s head or body is not catapulted into an obstacle.”
So, instead you slam into the object full frontal as I suppose, you put your feet down and your arms out instead of going up over the front wheel with your legs dragging the handlebars and bike behind you. It also has anti-skid brakes to give a little better control.
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Nice execution of a cool idea, except for the hands-down steering. The first time to try to wave at someone from one of these, your steering will go to hell, and so will you…unless it incorporates something like Segway’s self-balancing system.
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Unfortunately, UK law limits us to pedal assisted bicycles with less than 200w unless the vehicle is fully approved and licensed (like a motorcycle) thus effectively killing sales of such a vehicle here 🙁
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At $4900.00, I ain’t gon’na buy one any time soon!
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I can’t see going more than 2 miles on it, if it even gets that much of a charge
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@Maigo:
The range is about 10km, which is pretty decent considering the folding size and weight. Supposedly it only takes about a half-hour charge to over 90% capacity. According to the inventor the main intent for this is people with a short commute, or for those who have an awkward commuting distance (too far to walk, too near to drive) to the nearest metro or bus station – either from their residences or offices – which at least in a lot of U.S. metro’s is a common frustration which leads to reduced mass transit ridership.
Everything but the price is cool on this. I still dunno about the sitting posture/handlebar arrangement too, seems weird. But, apparently of all the people they’ve trained on the prototypes, none have fallen…
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If the bike costs $4900, how much is a replacement battery going to hurt your wallet? The Lithium-Ion battery on my ebike I use daily is approaching 2 years old and the range is now getting noticably shorter, the Urban Mover UM36 was £900 and a new battery will cost me £300.
They say the UK will be one of the places the Yike Bike is going to be sold, but it’s illegal to ride it on the roads (let alone pavements) because the motor power is too high and more importantly there’s no pedalling mechanism so it won’t come under the classification of bicycle.
I haven’t heard anything of the UK laws changing any time soon to allow non-pedalling devices to be ridden legally on the roads yet, so the Yike Bike will only legally be able to be ridden on private property.
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Too bad it seems to require a good quality flat surface. Polish roads and pavements would need an off-road version.