Monday, November 16, 2009

Yike Bike

I had a go on one of these last week. I was a little bit nervous and wobbly to begin with, but managed to stay on board and emerge from the experience having not made a complete arse of myself in front the guys who invented it.

They can go up to twenty kilometres an hour, the battery lasts for about ten kilometres and they weigh about ten kg and when they're all rolled up they just look like a big handbag.



I have to say, if you see four of them coming towards you at one time, you do feel like you're trapped in some type of futuristic film. I told the guys this and they said they were working on getting lasers to shoot out of the handle bars.

P.S I started writing this post last night and then saw this morning that the bike has made Time Magazine's Top 50 inventions for 2009, coming in at number fifteen.

Bloody good old Kiwi ingenuity, eh?

10 comments:

injaynesworld said...

That is freakin' awesome. I totally want one.

laughykate said...

They're very cool.I think the first lot they're selling will be in Europe, May-ish.

Fat Sparrow said...

Oh dear gods no. They're like Segways, but lamer.

It's almost the end of 2009, and I'm still waiting for my flying car. Tell some developers to get busy on that.

laughykate said...

I think they're in a way different league to Segways. In my world Segways are the bottom of the food chain.

And how cool is a bike that fits into a bag that you can sling over your shoulder?

SaS said...

Doesn't carrying a bike rather defeat the purpose...

Fat Sparrow said...

I'm supposed to ride it and carry it?!

This is beginning to sound like exercise!

laughykate said...

Sas, not when you're jumping on a train. They're targeting the commuter market.

Fat Sparrow, it's only ten kg, about the weight of my handbag on bad day.

Jeez, listen to me, I am beginning to sound like their P.R person.

Fat Sparrow said...

Uh huh, PR person... That must have been one hell of a vibrating bike seat. Go on, you can tell us.

Holemaster said...

Yike of the Conchords!

laughykate said...

And taking my PR duties very seriously Fat Sparrow, I have been reliably informed that they're on the cover of this week's Time magazine!

Holemaster, brilliant!