Thursday, September 3, 2009

By David Ponce
After posting news of the Enicycle a few days ago, here comes another personal transportation device that purports to solve the issue of urban mobility. It’s called the YikeBike and is essentially a folding electric bicycle with a design reminiscent of the high wheelers of old (also known as Penny-Farthings). It’s powered by a 1 kW battery and can accelerate up to 20 kph (about 12 mph) with a range of 7 to 8 km (or about 5 miles) on a 30 minute charge. Made from carbon fiber, it weighs in just under 22lbs and with practice can be folded up and stashed in a bag in about 15 seconds.
There are working pre-production models and the first 100 orders should be delivered in “early to mid 2010″. But at €3,500-€3,900 (~ $5,500), you might as well get a Segway.
Hit the jump for a few videos of the YikeBike in action and a gallery.
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Wednesday, August 13, 2008
This post is syndicated with permission from Gadgetoholic.com
Whether you live in a big city and simply don’t have the space or inclination to own a car, or you’re simply looking for alternative transportation that doesn’t pollute the environment — walking or biking are probably high on your list of ways to get around. However, there’s always going to be some point when you don’t feel like walking and you don’t feel like pedaling a bike around. For these times, you need something like the new A2B Electric Bike by Ultra Motor.
I’ll say right off the bat that the bike is odd looking to my eyes. It uses mountain bike style suspension and upright riding position with an oversized seat for comfort. A small tray that sticks out from behind the bike, under the seat, and can be used for stowing computers or other items that are small. The bike has pedals that can be used if it runs out of battery power or to increase the cruise speed, but the pedals are not needed for normal operation.
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