The YikeBike is what you get when you cross a penny-farthing with a big wheel and add a dash of Segway, but I must admit it looks like a lot of fun. It is an electric bike that starts off at around 10mph and has a not-so-fast top speed of 13mph. It folds into a neat little package no bigger than the front wheel, which should make carrying the 22lb machine a breeze.
It beats walking and courtesy scooters, but at a touch under $5000 I think they will have a pretty tough time finding takers. [Daily Mail via Born Rich]
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Tags: electric-bike, expensive, Outdoors, Transportation
1 response
Sep 3, 2009 at 10:23 am
The main problem that killed the Penny Farthing bicycle was the fact that it tended to kill the rider. Almost any small object or rut in the road (which comprised every single road in the country then) would stop the bike dead and the rider would be pitched face first into the street (or post, or ditch or..etc.). Hence the appearance of the Safety Bicycle which at first put the small wheel in front.
It looks to me that the same fate could happen to the rider of this machine. Yike must be the sound of the rider when he hits a small rock or curb.
13mph does not sound fast but if your face comes in contact with the ground at that speed it would produce way more than the mere 1 or 2 G’s needed to produce a concussion. Imagine a lump of jello (your brain) being slammed into the side of a concrete building.
Other than that, it looks very clever and does look like fun but at 5k, it is overpriced. I’ll pass.
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