Forget saving the planet with a Prius .. get one of these .... 😱
YikeBike - The world's first super light electric folding bike. | Urban Freedom
YikeBike - The world's first super light electric folding bike. | Urban Freedom
That was my reaction too.😱
Kind of reminds me of that segway thing.😡
I do like the way it folds up though. That's the coolest feature.
Jeff
Nice design concept but falls at the last fence with it's limited range and I suspect it's steep gradient ability. Bicycles on the flat are easy, its the hills that are the problem.
Definitely needs fuel cell or perhaps minature gas turbine generator.
😎
Definitely needs fuel cell or perhaps minature gas turbine generator.
😎
Faster, lighter and cheaper, with similar range as a segway. Pretty good idea, but I think riding a bike is more healthy. Perhaps a clamp-on electric assist for a bike would be a more practical solution?
nice... easy to use in ChCh - lived there for 7 years, but I wouldn't want to be on one of those in Sydney traffic....
In this country at least, max power is limited to 300 watts. Any more requires registering it as a motor vehicle.
For related info, see this article:
E-biking into tomorrow - life-style | Stuff.co.nz
... and for an interesting alternative:
The two-seater that can drive itself | Stuff.co.nz
Hi Don et al
the limitations of power output via legislation is one of the problems that needs to be addressed. Three hundred watts is not even half of one horsepower which is way to low to provide the required torque for long steep inclines or for carring higher body weights. The "Yike bike" has a limit of 100kg's which excludes many people and even at that limit I should imagine that the performance is reduced quite considerably with hills to navigate.
I would suggest that the power output should be allowed to increase to at least 2 horsepower, (1500 watts approx) It is poosible to buy vacuum cleaners with 2000 watt motors!?
It is the same where I live, in that, if a two wheeled vehicle has an internal combustion engine then it becomes a motor vehicle and that means a license, road tax and a helmet. If we are going to move towards more enviromentally sound personel transport methods then a compromise will have to come about.
It is not beyond the imagination nor the available technology that a small lpg (liquid petroleum gas) combustion engine,(or maybe a fuel cell in the near future) that is safe and quite could be used to power a two wheeled bicycle type vehicle, without the current law with regard to classification as a motor vehicle. The weight of batteries and their energy density capabilities will, until tecnology jumps forward by quite some margin, be a limiting factor.
It is one of the things that bemuses me when you see the most recent versions of electric cars being touted by the large car manufacturers. The reason that we drive cars around with their current size,weight and shape is purely derived from the energy density of petrol and diesel. Modern fuels allow enormous amounts of power to be delivered at astonishing rates whilst still maintaining a large range of travel.
Sure you can throw a lot of technology at the electrification of vehicles and produce similar results but with current battery technology you will never get the range unless batteries of sufficient weight are used. There is no greater waste of energy than carrying around all that weight just so you can carry one 100kg human from point "A" to point "B"
A radical rethink of vehicle design has to be made and that means shedding weight, lots of it. Cars are designed for safety in mind and weigh as much as they do because of the the very high maximum speeds that they can reach and the resultant impact forces that might come about with an impact. This is madness as only in a handfull of places are you allowed to go more than 70 miles an hour legally; and you simply do not need 2 tonnes of metal to carry around one small person down to the shops to buy a newspaper!?
This can only come about through legislation from governments, but they are not going to do that as they rely so much on the revenue generated by the enormous petrochemical industry and the revenue that it generates. So we will all continue to waste "the" most useful resource that we have (oil) in the most profligate manner imaginable.
Right that's my rant over for today, but I do feel better for it. Not a quick reply I know but what the............f***
Cheers.
the limitations of power output via legislation is one of the problems that needs to be addressed. Three hundred watts is not even half of one horsepower which is way to low to provide the required torque for long steep inclines or for carring higher body weights. The "Yike bike" has a limit of 100kg's which excludes many people and even at that limit I should imagine that the performance is reduced quite considerably with hills to navigate.
I would suggest that the power output should be allowed to increase to at least 2 horsepower, (1500 watts approx) It is poosible to buy vacuum cleaners with 2000 watt motors!?
It is the same where I live, in that, if a two wheeled vehicle has an internal combustion engine then it becomes a motor vehicle and that means a license, road tax and a helmet. If we are going to move towards more enviromentally sound personel transport methods then a compromise will have to come about.
It is not beyond the imagination nor the available technology that a small lpg (liquid petroleum gas) combustion engine,(or maybe a fuel cell in the near future) that is safe and quite could be used to power a two wheeled bicycle type vehicle, without the current law with regard to classification as a motor vehicle. The weight of batteries and their energy density capabilities will, until tecnology jumps forward by quite some margin, be a limiting factor.
It is one of the things that bemuses me when you see the most recent versions of electric cars being touted by the large car manufacturers. The reason that we drive cars around with their current size,weight and shape is purely derived from the energy density of petrol and diesel. Modern fuels allow enormous amounts of power to be delivered at astonishing rates whilst still maintaining a large range of travel.
Sure you can throw a lot of technology at the electrification of vehicles and produce similar results but with current battery technology you will never get the range unless batteries of sufficient weight are used. There is no greater waste of energy than carrying around all that weight just so you can carry one 100kg human from point "A" to point "B"
A radical rethink of vehicle design has to be made and that means shedding weight, lots of it. Cars are designed for safety in mind and weigh as much as they do because of the the very high maximum speeds that they can reach and the resultant impact forces that might come about with an impact. This is madness as only in a handfull of places are you allowed to go more than 70 miles an hour legally; and you simply do not need 2 tonnes of metal to carry around one small person down to the shops to buy a newspaper!?
This can only come about through legislation from governments, but they are not going to do that as they rely so much on the revenue generated by the enormous petrochemical industry and the revenue that it generates. So we will all continue to waste "the" most useful resource that we have (oil) in the most profligate manner imaginable.
Right that's my rant over for today, but I do feel better for it. Not a quick reply I know but what the............f***
Cheers.
What you suggest would require logic and it's application there of, show me a bureaucrat with logic. I'm sure the low limit set is for them to figure how to tax such a product, if it actually takes off .
Anyway , in regards to this Yike bike , a 2 hp electric motor would kill the portability of it, well maybe ..
regards,
Anyway , in regards to this Yike bike , a 2 hp electric motor would kill the portability of it, well maybe ..
regards,
Hi a.wayne,
yes I would agree with regard to the Yike bike in particular that 2 horsepower would reduce the portability with current technology. Although I believe that the efficacy of "super capacitors" is advancing at a rate. They are used to power cordless drills and such like I believe.
In the novels by Philip Jose Farmer; the "Riverworld" series he calls a super capacitor type technology the "Batacitor"; a device that can be charged almost instantaneously and then the resultant charge bieng delivered at whatever rate that you require. He wrote these books in the seventies which makes him a bit of a visionary. This is what we need.
If you have never read the series and you like Sci-Fi/fantasy then I urge you to read them. Extraordinary books. They would be the makings of an amazing film with perhaps Peter Jackson as director.
Logic and bereaucrats................oil and water! They can be forced to inhabit the same space if you shake them hard enough, but you only end up with a messy cheesy substance that isn't water or oil.
yes I would agree with regard to the Yike bike in particular that 2 horsepower would reduce the portability with current technology. Although I believe that the efficacy of "super capacitors" is advancing at a rate. They are used to power cordless drills and such like I believe.
In the novels by Philip Jose Farmer; the "Riverworld" series he calls a super capacitor type technology the "Batacitor"; a device that can be charged almost instantaneously and then the resultant charge bieng delivered at whatever rate that you require. He wrote these books in the seventies which makes him a bit of a visionary. This is what we need.
If you have never read the series and you like Sci-Fi/fantasy then I urge you to read them. Extraordinary books. They would be the makings of an amazing film with perhaps Peter Jackson as director.
Logic and bereaucrats................oil and water! They can be forced to inhabit the same space if you shake them hard enough, but you only end up with a messy cheesy substance that isn't water or oil.
hmmmn - 100kg weight limit? I'm a big boy and I'm under that. If you are over 100kg, the likelihood is ANY bike is going end up internally fitted...
My apologies to those who are "genetically" inclined to large frames. Get a Harley.
At 300W its capable of around twice what the average cyclist can produce in a sustained manner, so as a bicycle replacement its in the ballpark.
My apologies to those who are "genetically" inclined to large frames. Get a Harley.
At 300W its capable of around twice what the average cyclist can produce in a sustained manner, so as a bicycle replacement its in the ballpark.
yep - and the lambo, ferrari, and roller are all bloody expensive cars. Segway is an eye-wateringly expensive way to walk. Yet they sell...
It's brilliant that so many people are attempting to develop post internal combustion personal transport. New transport solutions have not historically emerged from current transport providers. Thus the motor car did not emerge from locomotive workshops. I'm not delirious about the riding position. What happens when you slam on the anchors? Have they reinvented the imperial crowner of the old Ordinary (penny farthing) as you rotate around the front wheel to plant face on the ground?
There is often a aesthetic problem with these types of vehicles. At the same price point, you can buy a seriously well specced bicycle. So many of these electric vehicles just look cheaply made. Turntable users will understand this point. All the works are on show, so they'd better look well finished.
There is often a aesthetic problem with these types of vehicles. At the same price point, you can buy a seriously well specced bicycle. So many of these electric vehicles just look cheaply made. Turntable users will understand this point. All the works are on show, so they'd better look well finished.
Hi aardvarkash10,
yes, I would agree that 300 watts is probably twice what an average cyclist can produce in a sustained manner but the Yike can only sustain that for around 10km's or about 6 miles; thats nothing. An average cyclist can sustain 10- 15 miles on hour on flat ground for hours at a time. The range needs to be at least 30miles and it must also have the ability to climb fairly long and steep gradients as this is what stops many people using bicycles in the first place. If it cannot meet these requirements then it will only ever appeal to a small niche' market; especially at that price.
I am 5' 11" and weigh 90 kg's and I am not in the least bit fat and I know that there are many, many people who are considerably heavier and shorter than I am; it is the heavier members of our society who need access to newer forms of transport that we are talking about, not just those who conform to a more ideal body plan.
I think that the Segway is an astonishing bit of technology, as correctly powered it would be ideal for those of us who are less fit or too big or unable due to disability to use a bike. It still needs work though.
The problem with the Segway (as you pointed out) is of course cost; mass production and shared production systems could bring the cost down very considerably. It needs to be below the £1000.00 barrier and preferably down as far as £500.00 then we would see a shift in personal transport habits.
yes, I would agree that 300 watts is probably twice what an average cyclist can produce in a sustained manner but the Yike can only sustain that for around 10km's or about 6 miles; thats nothing. An average cyclist can sustain 10- 15 miles on hour on flat ground for hours at a time. The range needs to be at least 30miles and it must also have the ability to climb fairly long and steep gradients as this is what stops many people using bicycles in the first place. If it cannot meet these requirements then it will only ever appeal to a small niche' market; especially at that price.
I am 5' 11" and weigh 90 kg's and I am not in the least bit fat and I know that there are many, many people who are considerably heavier and shorter than I am; it is the heavier members of our society who need access to newer forms of transport that we are talking about, not just those who conform to a more ideal body plan.
I think that the Segway is an astonishing bit of technology, as correctly powered it would be ideal for those of us who are less fit or too big or unable due to disability to use a bike. It still needs work though.
The problem with the Segway (as you pointed out) is of course cost; mass production and shared production systems could bring the cost down very considerably. It needs to be below the £1000.00 barrier and preferably down as far as £500.00 then we would see a shift in personal transport habits.
hi jerry - dunno about where you live, but the average trip in a car here in NZ is less than 5 km. The range for the yike seems well suited to that.
As for the "larger" people, I edited out my earlier statement on those exceeding 100kg but I'll put it the esence of it here now in response to your statement.
The majority of those over 100kg in weight need to get off there abundant rear ends and walk. Forget the yike , the motorbike, the car, public transport or whatever. You are fat and overweight. Your health is at risk, as is that of your partner and children. Don't be so freaking lazy. Do something - you look like crap.
I think that covers it.
As for the "larger" people, I edited out my earlier statement on those exceeding 100kg but I'll put it the esence of it here now in response to your statement.
The majority of those over 100kg in weight need to get off there abundant rear ends and walk. Forget the yike , the motorbike, the car, public transport or whatever. You are fat and overweight. Your health is at risk, as is that of your partner and children. Don't be so freaking lazy. Do something - you look like crap.
I think that covers it.
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