Video: Electric folding YikeBike looks slightly ridiculous, totally practical
By Tim Stevens 
posted September 3rd 2009 10:57AM
posted September 3rd 2009 10:57AM
[Via WOW-POW]
posted September 3rd 2009 10:57AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
For a second I thought those were handcuffs. lol.
I thought it was totally ridiculous, right up to the point he placed it in the bag and carried it w/ him. They've got an idea; I just dont know about busy city streets and this thing.
I don't Yike it.
XD, I love puns.
I Yike how it makes people smile when they are in a bad mood!
We also would have accepted: "I yook yike such a dork."
The perfect bike for Mr. Bean. That's why he's in the ad.
Something about that makes me think it'll be really easy to totally eat it on that thing.
Actually, no. It might be really easy to have the thing knocked out from under you, but without any handlebars in front of you and your feet only resting on those little nubby things, it would basically be like jumping off a swing. It stops, you keep going, your feet touch the ground(and remember, from the position that you're on the "yike" with, your feet are in front of you and already bent) and then you just walk, maybe stumble a bit if you're totally off guard, and maybe trip into a roll if you're particularly clumsy.
People can "eat it" on pretty much anything that moves while you are in an upright position. Bikes, Rollerskates, Skateboards, go to youtube and you should be able to find at least a dozen different videos of people taking a spill while riding a segway.
It would be kind nice if there was an alternate power method you could use. Actually, rather than pedals for your feet, it would probably work better if you could pump the handles similar to a motion you would use to propel a wheelchair. Even then, if it runs out of power, you just pick it up and start walking.
As for the looks you'll get while riding it(I too noticed how instead of having the actors put on thoughtful looks, they had them put on "Oh, what a marvelous idea!" which ended up looking like "oh, what a laughable person he is") all you really need to do is have the right attitude while riding the thing.
It is too pricey though.
Check out this video to see how stable the YikeBike is on pot holes, curbs etc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWDlRkIB_uQ
Yikes! My dignity is worth more then a few parking tickets. This looks more like a biwheel rascal then it does a bike.
I like how everyone who gets passed by the yike in the video cracks up.
At least they're letting their potential customers know what they're in for: mocking and ridicule, which masks secret envy.
At least they're letting their potential customers know what they're in for: mocking and ridicule, because they look ridiculous riding it.
FTFY
looks like the cirque du soleil version of a clown bike
Neat looking design, but 9km at a max of 20km per hour is a bit limiting. I suppose those stats would be ideal for running a few errands downtown, but only if you live downtown as well. Commuting on one of these wouldn’t be a very attractive option when you can comfortable belt out much longer distances at 30km/h on a leg-powered road bike.
i wonder if you could mod it to go 1 mile at 120 mph instead. then you could coast the rest of the way.
Could it be done? Maybe.
Should it be done? DEFINITELY!
Actually I think that it's not too far fetched that you could make a similar designed compact folding bicycle, perhaps with some electric assistance. Pedals and a crank could be placed around where the foot rests are now, which could drive the front wheel directly. I also don't see why they can't put the handlebars in the front of the rider, something that would feel a lot more familiar and safer to most. But then again, a lot of folding bikes are about the same size as this when folded, so there's probably not much point to it.
It looks to be nearly all carbon, and I bet it's one thing that drives the price up. Could be aluminum or just reinforced plastic, and the price would drop like a rock.
Incidentally, it looks a lot like what the first generation of bikes were like, large front wheel and tiny rear wheel. It's come around full circle, then?
1 Km of absolute terror followed by.....
mustache handelbars, meet handlebar mustaches.
Don't get me wrong, I love this.
But you can't pedal the thing. At that price point I want a human/electric-powered hybrid machine.
Purchasers will automatically be enrolled in the "More Money than Brains Club"
5.5 mile range? Speed is fine, but you'd have to double that range (at least) before this thing would be useful at all when you consider that it has no secondary method of propulsion (like pedals). Guess that's why it comes with the bag, so it's easier to carry when you're walking home after the battery dies. I also hate the position of the handlebar, but that's me. I like the idea, just needs more refinement.
After it runs out you just get on your Segway (how you carry that while on the bike is up to you) to go the rest of the way.
One bump in the sidewalk and instant faceplant!
And with your hands BEHIND your body, that faceplant is gonna be head trauma all the way to the hospital. Yikes.
Not to mention you'll soon have an awkward bike that was following you around smack you upside the back of your head.
AND they are advertising the Yike without the use of a helmet. Take a look Mr. Bean isn't using a helmet!
Check out this video with bumps - no face plants http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWDlRkIB_uQ The reason for no helmets is that we have NEVER hit the ground testing. You are only going the speed of running and have no handle bars to fly over on a quick stop
The bike is goofy looking, but the chicks in the video were awfully cute!
few hours ago they stole my 1500$ bike :-( - 30 seconds without control, centre of Prague. I would love this, but what about curbs and other obstacles?
But the price is not so good. Todays e-bikes cost about 200$ with hundrets of types (they are quite popular in china, my friend import them, so i know this business quite good). I understand that this is not "chineese", but 5500$ comparing to 200$ ... It is even more expensive then segway .-(
Well if they stole your bike in 30 seconds, what makes you think it would be a better idea to carry around $5500 in a bag with the products name on it? Worth over 3 times as much and comes with its own easy to carry case.
Find me a 200 dollar e-bike. Want it.
Faceplant for dummies.
These guys are pot smokers.
5.5 miles range for $5,500 and when battery dies you must carry it.
pot smokers
It's has to be meyth, the pot smokers would have added a cup holder.
The future of BMX is upon us, folks.
It is clever.
Not $5500 clever, but clever none-the-less.
Anybody who can afford to drop $5500 for that thing can probably afford to pay for a chauffeur to park their limo, or pay for a reserved parking space downtown.
Of course, at $5500, they only have to sell 10-15 of them a year. Heck of a profit margin.
Bring on the KIRF.
This disregards that it may cost $4000 to actually build...
I like how every SINGLE comment is bashing this thing. What the hell is wrong with you people? Of course it looks ridiculous, because we're not used to seeing it. A regular bike would also look ridiculous if we weren't so used to the look.
I have to give kudos to the ad, it was extremely well done, great execution. The folding at the end blew me away. The product itself also looks like it may have great potential if given a chance. I hope that regular people aren't as closed-minded and ready to mock as engadget commentators.
If you love this bike so much, why don't you go and marry it then!
uhmm, Jorvay, rusty, noname and I didn't diss the design. They were dissing the OMG pricing, and offering creative suggestions for improvement. And I liked the design, not the price. Identical KIRF at $300 would probably be eagerly adopted.
Doubling the range would help, but another20# of battery would kind of defeat the whole "folds into a briefcase" concept. It would be killer for cities with mass transit, since you could quickly get from the subway to your office, or your home to the subway station. In many places, 5.5 milts would be a reasonable range, assuming you were using the subway for the majority of your commute.
Again, bring on the KIRF (cheap Chinese knockoff).
if we hated the bike we wont care enough to comment.
we just have a natural knack of seeing everything of more as a "it could be better if..."
rather than "wow its perfect lets not change anything"
ups, 9 km? nono, i need at least 12 to get to work, 30 minutes on bike. Normal ebike drive few times more (and you can even help the bike with your own muscle)
That has to be the stupidest looking bicycle EVER.
I'm not feelin' it either... It would make segway users seem unnaturally more cool.
I'd be falling off that easily, doesn't look too stable. You hit a pebble and boom seeee ya.
Yikes!
Ah, life was so much better back then.
Riding on that thing looks like it would be uncomfortable.