Electric Bikes - Electric folding YikeBike looks slightly ridiculous, but totally practical

This was on our folding bike forums but I don't see it here yet and it's electric.

http://www.yikebike.com (http://www.yikebike.com/)


I looks very futuristic and funky.
not sure if i want to be seen with it in public. but yeah at around 5k USD it's for the very eccentric to ride such a thing.

no details on the range though which can make or break it cause you can't really pedal your way home if the battery dies.

I'm not sure this device very practical and, at least for the US, it probably wouldn't be street legal in most states. (Most states require front and rear reflectors, if not lights for night riding; it looks like it would be very difficult to add those to this thing.) This is more of an expensive toy and I wonder how long they be produced, given the state of the economy, worldwide.

It appears to have a range of 7-8 km. So between 4 and 5 miles. Not so good.

Plus, I didn't see any real carrying capacity. I couldn't commute on it.

Nice, but the range is too small (7-8 km). Also, there's no option for pedalling. (so I guess it's not really an e-bike).

Nice, but the range is too small (7-8 km). Also, there's no option for pedalling. (so I guess it's not really an e-bike).

Yeah, I couldn't tell about the pedaling. It looks like it might have something resembling pedals, but the guy in the video never used them.

Maybe this is a glorified Segueway?

It is just a sit down Segway. I don't see much use for it since you can't pedal it. The ad implies that no one will steal it because it doesn't have pedals I guess. This isn't a bicycle and should be in some motorcycle forum somewhere. If it goes slow, it should have pedals so you can get exercise and increase the range of the batteries.

7-8 km is a really crappy range! Even the cheapest ebike goes further, seems like I can't even make it to work on this cause any hills will drain the battery even faster. Oh yeah as for lights the handle bar ends have two front headlights while the rear has brake lights have turn signals. So at least they thought about that already else it'll be really hard to install them anywhere at all.

I think this bike is kinda neat. No, it is not an electrically assisted bicycle by anyone's law. Yes it's meant to just move between buildings in New Zealand cities where the laws must be looser. And yes it has lights, reflectors and skid controlled electric brakes. A lot of tech stuff, but a LOT of money.

What I would buy, if I were a city person is an IF-Reach-DC-Folding bike described on the page below.

http://ridethisbike.com/2009/07/if-reach-dc-folding-bike-first-ride.html

It IS a real electrically assisted bicycle, 250 Watt motor with torsion sensing,Lithium Ion battery, has 20 inch wheels, uses its 8 speed deraillieur system to transmit motor and leg power, weighs 42 #, but folds to 36 * 16 * 26 inches and is wheelable folded. It is fully suspended. Its listed price is $2,500.

In a further review the 30 mile range is sited.
http://ridethisbike.com/labels/IF-Reach-DC.html

ridethisbike.com is presently a dealer for the IF-REACH Folding bicycle. The electric version arrived in US in July 09. I expect they will become a dealer for it as well. I have no connection with them. I just think the bike is neat, especially the BB-Motor. The IF-REACH comes in an 18 speed 'Sports' version for $1824.

Also see http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=531040 in the foldable forum for more.

It's a high-glorified uncomfortable electric wheelchair with lights for able-bodied people who can balance on two wheels and have lots of money to buy a gimmicky thing like this. Try riding 7-8kms in that weird hunch-back position with your hands clenched at your side, no back support and no suspension on that tiny backwheel and see what your butt, your back and your shoulders think after that. How are you going to hold your laptop and attache? Around your neck? No thanks.

It is the first time I've seen a hubless wheel actually work.
I'd call it a mini-farthing-scooter and a nice study in design, but not a practical vehicle.

If they sold this for 1K usd you'll start to see people buying it as a quick alternative to get around the short jaunts of the city. But at this price it's going to fall into the same fate as the seqway another overly expensive toy for the rich and eccentric that never took off and just disappear out of existence from the public eyes.

If they sold this for 1K usd you'll start to see people buying it as a quick alternative to get around the short jaunts of the city. But at this price it's going to fall into the same fate as the seqway another overly expensive toy for the rich and eccentric that never took off and just disappear out of existence from the public eyes.

I don't think so. It's too odd of a design to appeal to more than just a few people. Pretty, but not entirely practical.

I know it's not for sale yet and I'm not even sure it can be considered a real bike but I thought this was an interesting concept. http://www.yikebike.com/
Whoops! I guess I should have done a better search. Currently being discussed at http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=581052

http://yikebike.cachefly.net/yikebike/images/yikebikestudio/yikebike0.jpg

S. Geralnik

In the US, it wouldn't be street legal in most states since it doesn't appear that required minimum safety equipment could be mounted, like front reflectors. This seems to be an expensive toy and the timing's probably all wrong for a launch of something like this. The global economy still isn't doing too great and I just don't see many people buying this thing.

In the US, it wouldn't be street legal in most states since it doesn't appear that required minimum safety equipment could be mounted, like front reflectors. This seems to be an expensive toy and the timing's probably all wrong for a launch of something like this. The global economy still isn't doing too great and I just don't see many people buying this thing.

It seems to have a complete set of lights.
The front lights are mounted on the bar ends.

Nice, but the range is too small (7-8 km). Also, there's no option for pedalling. (so I guess it's not really an e-bike).

But think of the market it is aimed at- Train commuters into a city and just a short trip to the office from the station. Recharging is quick so no problem on getting it charged for the trip home at night.

I wonder if you could legally ride it on public roads anywhere in Europe. They wouldn't be street legal here in the states. Looks like an expensive toy to me and I just don't see them selling in this economy.

Super cool and neat looking......TOY

Less practical than a Segway except that it's light enough to lift up stairs and the like.

Still can't beat the smaller electric scooters like this

http://www.amazon.com/Razor-E125-Electric-Scooter-Black/dp/B001I45YMG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1252008131&sr=8-2

Just retrofit a lithium pack and you're good to go.... I guess it doesn't look as cool of course...

I looked around at the ad. It says it can be charged in 20 minutes. I guess it would work if you had a bunch of short trips with wait time and the ability to charge in between.

...But there is no way that my butt would be liking that seat.

changing the seat there doesn't look like an option at all from the design of that seatpost.

Recently posted on Engadget by by Tim Stevens Sep 3rd 2009

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/03/video-electric-folding-yikebike-looks-slightly-ridiculous-tota/#continued


You know the opening sequence of The Jetsons where George's flying car folds right up into a briefcase, then he goes inside and kicks his feet up at the desk of the future? Well, we may not have flying cars -- or moving walkways that sweep us to our office chairs for that matter -- but soon we will have the YikeBike, an electric bicycle that tucks neatly into a bag little bigger than a briefcase. Its styling queues are decidedly futuristic penny-farthing, with the large front wheel, tiny rear, and little mustache handlebar, but that front wheel is driven by an electric motor giving a range of 9km and a top speed of 20km/h. No word on how long a full charge takes, but 80 percent requires only 20 minutes. It looks like fun and is due to start shipping by the middle of next year, but at a cost of over $5,500 it's going to be something of a tall sale for a short ride.

Gallery: YikeBike

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/09/yikebike-20090903-468.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/09/yikebike4.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/09/yikebike2.jpg

It did not seem to me practical at all. arms necessarily clenched down, fixed riding position, short range, low speed, less stability than a normal bike, unknown and suspicious performance on rough or different surfaces.

The only apparent plus side seems at first the ingenious folding concept but again there are lighter bıkes that fold smaller and get carried in better ways such as rolled on the ground, backpacked, held aloft, held squeezed between body and arm, put in a Ikea bag, packed in a suitcase or a dedicated bag, or in a light bag.

To me this is a concept product that might find its way to a market success only if there are enough people that might just spend that sum of money for its inital wow factor expected by the onlookers.

Biont

I agree that the yike is only pracitcal for a small group of people. It works if a person needs to go only a short distance between stops without bike storage, probably a city. I'm don't think there are enough city dwellers in New Zealand to make this a go. Your comment about the WOW is apt. The yikes web page http://www.yikebike.com/ is a classy sales pitch matched by few bikes. WOW is US. Great song and singer.

But your comment:
"arms necessarily clenched down, fixed riding position, short range, low speed, less stability than a normal bike"
Doesn't work for me. The rider looks to be in a position (with regard to arms) much like me on my under seat steering SWB recumbent. I love that posture for riding. Come to think of it the yikes stability might well be like my SWB too. A lot of SWB's are on the road regularly.

Don

Don, I might be wrong in my negative expectation for the riding position since I have never ridden a recumbent let alone one with a similar "guidon" that fıxes the arms down. However it looks to me that thıs arms position also does not let the rider to reposition his torso and neck to get rid of stiffness that one might accumulate around the spine and neck in prolongued fixed postures. Well maybe this will not be the case due to shorter rides targetted by the Yike.

Yacht people would love it I guess ;):)

you can't pedal it........

you can't pedal it........

No you can't.
Anyone want to second the motion of folding this into the Scooter Sticky?

I'm posting about this on this thread because it seems to have the most replies.

Is this a bicycle? Depends on your definition. It doesn't meet any current N.A. rules that I know of for bicycle or ebike or power bicycle. Whether it can later be classed as such later depends on the local authority. Not gonna happen in a hurry in N.A. they seem to be already pushing certification in Europe. Such things are better regarded there because they have such problems with traffic.

Is it useful? For it's intended market, probably. In Central London, this could be a winner. You can get a train into the heart of London, but unless your office is close to mainline stations, you still could end up with 2-3km to cover, Bicycle? How do you get it onto the train? Folder is the obvious answer, but even they are getting to be problematic, this folds way small. And many people don't want the effort. Taxis are expensive and sometimes not there, and even they have trouble with traffic. Buses are a pain. ( So are the trains really ) So, yes, there is a potential market.

Cost. $5,000 is aimed at first adopter, if it takes off, the price is going to halve pretty quick.

Some things that aren't obvious unless you did some reading are,

Acceleration, this thing doesn't go fast 20mph, but it gets up there quick. 1.2kw? Hell yes.

Braking, it's been designed to be idiot resistant. (There's no such thing as idiot proof ) Anti skid braking etc.

Easy to ride. From the way people at the launch party were taking to it, didn't seem like it takes any great skill.

Comfort. It's obviously meant for short trips, 20-30 minutes max, more like 15.

This thing doesn't come close to answering my commute, but I find it important because of what the technology implies for what will.

FUN! Great to see something so different. The Yike may not be very practical but we might see that front wheel on all four corners of electric cars someday. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.

As the Yike doesn't have pedals, it would not be legal in any state in Australia. Technically speaking (and in some states legally speaking) all/any electric bikes must have working pedals that are able to propel the bicycle without any motor input.

As far as its practicability goes; the laughably short range makes it a non-starter in the Aussie urban environment, and it can only be used (in real-life terms) on billiard-table smooth pavements. It's interesting that the bloke in the promo vid doesn't turn any right-angled corners, or travel up any sort of gradient, or travel over grass or gravel. The tiny back wheel almost makes the Yike a glorified unicycle -- which are notoriously unstable in demanding conditions.

As the Yike doesn't have pedals, it would not be legal in any state in Australia. Technically speaking (and in some states legally speaking) all/any electric bikes must have working pedals that are able to propel the bicycle without any motor input.

As far as its practicability goes; the laughably short range makes it a non-starter in the Aussie urban environment, and it can only be used (in real-life terms) on billiard-table smooth pavements. It's interesting that the bloke in the promo vid doesn't turn any right-angled corners, or travel up any sort of gradient, or travel over grass or gravel. The tiny back wheel almost makes the Yike a glorified unicycle -- which are notoriously unstable in demanding conditions.

this.

At that speed, might as well get a high quality folding bike. No need for plugging it in, is lighter, goes faster and is standard. If the balance is as bad as a recumbent, then it will never sell.

Great video ... worth watching. :thumb:

http://www.yikebike.com/site/gallery/video/yikebike-discovery-channel

As far as its practicability goes; the laughably short range makes it a non-starter in the Aussie urban environment, and it can only be used (in real-life terms) on billiard-table smooth pavements. It's interesting that the bloke in the promo vid doesn't turn any right-angled corners, or travel up any sort of gradient, or travel over grass or gravel. The tiny back wheel almost makes the Yike a glorified unicycle -- which are notoriously unstable in demanding conditions.

This might be of an interest to ya. but for the pedals not much they can do atm it seems.

http://yikebike.com/site/blog/yikebike-testing-video

This 'bike' isn't really a bike at all, cause i am sure after watching 3 different demonstration videos on the yikebike that you cannot pedal it. Watching the first posted video the guy looked reminiscent of a young Mr. Bean, and the bike being such new technology to most of us fits right in with seeing 'Mr. Bean' riding around on something silly!
However I did like the way you could fold it up and stick it under a desk and charge it. No one would even really know it was there unless they looked under the desk or saw the charging cord.
One further note, I believe from what I now know about E bicycles, this vehicle would be illegal in Canada. Too bad. (not that I have $5,000. that I don't know what to do with anyways...LOL)