New Zealander Invents Segway Alternative 282
RainbowBrite writes "The YikeBike is the invention of a New Zealander aiming to alleviate city congestion. 'It might look like a collision between a praying mantis and a child's scooter, but it's the result of five years of work to reinvent the wheel, with one important addition: an electric motor. It's a bicycle, but not as we have come to know it. For a start, you sit upright and steer with your hands at your side.'" The YikeBike weighs in at a measly 22 lbs but has a hefty price tag of almost $5,000 US (£3,000). The battery's expected lifespan is only 1,000 charges, but the device has a projected range of around six miles.
Can you spell Face Plant? (Score:4, Insightful)
Seriously, this looks like it could trip on your average pothole, curb cut, or simply breaking hard.
Yes, your feet are fairly forward where you might be able to catch your self, but I see a lot of separated shoulders in this this bikes portfolio.
Safety? (Score:3, Insightful)
Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
The real alternative ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Really good ideas... (Score:5, Insightful)
Wow, that's a really negative way to put it. If someone I know starts biking a lot, I think, "wow, good to see you making an effort to improve your health" along with, "thank you for reducing your carbon footprint", not, "you're a drunk loser!"
About the most negative thing I think of when I learn someone I know is switching to biking is, "Gee, watch out for all the idiots in cars who are trying to kill you!"
Personal mobility (Score:5, Insightful)
I find this personal mobility devices pathetic for able bodied people.
Why aren't we satisfied with walking anymore? I will be walking 30 minutes twice a day from September.
The only issue is boredom and wasting of time. I will counter this with podcasts.
Re:Sobriety, please (Score:5, Insightful)
This thing does one thing the Segway can't: it folds into a shoulder bag and weighs 22lbs. That means I can bring it upstairs into the office once I get to work, or hell even bring it onboard a commercial airliner as unchecked baggage.
In my opinion, if the longevity could be extended to somewhere north of 2500 charges it'd be a pretty compelling gadget even at $5,000.
Re:1000 charges? (Score:4, Insightful)
Agreed; this is ridiculous. Less range than your average e-bike and more expensive than your average e-bike. Who would buy this? Heck, you could buy a 60-70mph, 35-60 mile range electric motorcycle [electricmotorsport.com] for just a few $k more.
Re:Really good ideas... (Score:1, Insightful)
You obviously don't live in "the South". Down here, they switch to riding lawn mowers or golf carts. Seriously.
£3000?! (Score:3, Insightful)
I can buy a mopehead ("scooter") for less than £1000 which can go over 30 MpH. Why would I buy this? You cannot use it on roads OR on footpaths in a lot of locations and it is too small to really work as a carry-around and too big to park up.
$5000 .... 6000 miles projected (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Really good ideas... (Score:3, Insightful)
If you're in the US, you must live on one of the coasts.
In the midwest, bicycles are generally seen as being for children.
Drunks, though, usually take the bus or have a spouse drive them around. Or, probably more frequently, just drive without a license.
The whole time I lived in Missouri, I never saw anyone else commute to work via bicycle.
Enough please (Score:3, Insightful)
Stop trying to one-up the bicycle. It works, it is cheap and it is time tested.
Slashdot: Negativity From Nerds. (Score:5, Insightful)
Yet another article where a bunch of know-it-alls put down an invention for not being the status quo. "It's too expensive. It looks dangerous. Ride a bicycle. Ride an electric bike. Ride a motorcycle."
Go back to your basements and play WoW. The creative people are busy creating.
Re:Really good ideas... (Score:5, Insightful)
You're not ostracized because they think you got a DUI. You just smell bad because you biked 10 miles to work and haven't had a chance to shower.
Re:Personal mobility (Score:1, Insightful)
If you're on a bike, it's 5 minutes of podcasts
Cause God forbid you're alone with your thoughts for five minutes. Actually, come to think of it, I might literally die of boredom if I had to spend 5 minutes listening to *either* of your thoughts. Carry on.
Re:Personal mobility (Score:5, Insightful)
I find this personal mobility devices pathetic for able bodied people.
Why aren't we satisfied with walking anymore? I will be walking 30 minutes twice a day from September.
The only issue is boredom and wasting of time. I will counter this with podcasts.
So... you don't actually do this *walking* stuff now? You don't actually know what it's like walking to work in a suit, when it's 95 degrees with 95% humidity? You don't know what it's like meeting with clients smelling like you just walked out of the gym? You don't know what it's like having to spend $100 a week on drycleaning? And you're calling people pathetic.... that's funny.
The device would have been great for my last office. It was a 4 mile ride to the train station, the commute into the city, and then a 2 mile subway ride. Would have been fine by bike, but you couldn't take the bike on the train, so you would have needed two bikes. Which I wouldn't have minded either, one bike from home to station, one in the city from station to work, but there wasn't any place to lock up a bike at work and you weren't allowed to bring the bike into the office. The YikeBike could be stowed in a garment bag, that would have been perfect.
Re:Slashdot: Negativity From Nerds. (Score:3, Insightful)
You misunderstand.
Creativity is good. In developing the next something, there should be a massive burst of creativity with ideas flowing all over the place. Then there's this point where you start winnowing. This one's a cool idea, but nobody wants it. That one's a great idea and people want it, but it will cost us more to make than anyone will pay. Etc.
It's a hard lesson, but perhaps the value which should come from bashing unsuccessful products is the warning to the next inventor. It's not enough that you think it's cool. It has to fill a need in the marketplace. If it doesn't, it won't be commercially successful.
Re:Can you spell Face Plant? (Score:4, Insightful)
However, if I were spending that sort of money, I would save a little, and get a plain old folder, with no assist -- faster, longer range, "lifetime" warranty on the motor.
The guys are chasing the "biking's-too-hard-for-me" market -- which, to be fair, is pretty good sized here in the US. It's mind-boggling, here in fat-land, to see all the people who drive to the gym (and all those who just drive, but not even to the gym).
Re:Personal mobility (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Can you spell Face Plant? (Score:4, Insightful)
What exactly is mind boggling about people who drive to the gym?? You have 1.5 hours to workout, shower, and get ready to go. How much of that time do you want to spend in transit? Not to mention the fact that a lot of people go to the gym to attend classes because they enjoy the social component. How about people who drive to the gym, work out, get changed, then go to work or on to some other engagement. You think they should jog there and show up in sweaty gym clothes? What an asinine comment.
Re:Meh- I'll take a Stokemonkey... (Score:1, Insightful)
Here's a video of a woman riding one with 2 little kids and 4 sacks of groceries. [google.com]
Sure, it's big, it's bulky, but for the most part, you will no longer need a car.
Shenanigans! I love seeing things like this. That video, and even suggesting it, means you live somewhere very flat. Where I am, I can guarantee you that Mum alone would not even make it to the shops or back on a bicycle at all. It's just too hilly and steep.
Bicycles are not an alternative to the modern car. Horses are better than bikes. Now, on the other hand, the powered ones have something going for them.
ws
PS: Yes I do ride around the area, but only for fitness (or lack of) purposes. There's no way I could carry kids or groceries.
Re:Can you spell Face Plant? (Score:3, Insightful)
I just cycled home about six miles, and I'm so drunk I'm not sure which comment I'm replying to (and this will probably be a bit of a ramble). There was no electric assist, but possibly there was some ethanol assist.
And I did it on a bike that cost about £80 from a supermarket, since my nice bike was stolen. The cheap, shit bike weighs twice as much, but hey, it's exercise, and I need it after all that vodka.
Even if I'd only used the bike for this one day (round trip 16 miles, to work and back) I'm already down to £5/mile, use it for over a week and it's cheaper than this "Segway alternative". That's "alternative" as in "Alternative way to pretend you're being all green while some power plant spews out shit to manufacture and charge your stupid divice".
My maths is probably wrong, I think I forgot to convert the currencies. I'm drunk, live with it.
Re:Can you spell Face Plant? (Score:4, Insightful)
This is not fully appreciated: the I-don't-want-to-turn-up-to-work-smelling-of-sweat crowd are one of the major lock-ins on full planet destruction. We could solve the environmental crisis if only people were willing to show up not smelling like roses.
I'm only being mildly facetious. These details matter.
I can get to most of my appointments in this town by bicycle in twenty minutes, but I can't get hardly anywhere dry. I'm not out of shape. The human body only converts about 25% of caloric energy into propulsion (this is the coefficient on the Concept II rowing machine, which I've seen supported elsewhere such as Tour de France VO2 max estimates). The other 75% streams out my pores.
Re:Can you spell Face Plant? (Score:3, Insightful)
Sounds like a good argument for having showers available at workplaces.