Folding Bikes - Folding three wheel "bike"? Urban transport device? Mover?

When is a folding "bike" not really a bike? What should be the criteria for to be a bike?

Take the Trikke www.trikke.com or the Unscooter www.unscooter.com none of these are bikes.
Sport Entertainment Gadgets? What term is best to apply to them?

Or take these. www.kickbike.com they add the word kick to show that one doesn't use the pedal and the gears in the hub to move. And when it is not a bike then you name it a board. Kickboard. Or you name it a scooter.

I like these gadgets. http://www.esla.fi/eng/kickcycle.html

Not a bike the inventor says this is a Kickcycle. What an odd name but it show how difficult it is to find a good term for not a real foldable bike.

Yes most of them are foldable and all of them are on wheels. But are they bikes?

Then we have movers like this one. http://me-mover.com/

The Me-mover.

No pictures yet and not entirely clear how one moves on them. You stand on something and do things with your feetslegs that is more like skiing? So most likely something like the Trikke and Unscooter but more protected from wet conditions three wheels and foldable.


Human anatomy is the inspiration for the propulsion system and vehicle geometry the Me-mover is easy to ride with good balance and high energy efficiency, if you can walk you can ride the Me-Mover. It is propelled by using your foot in fluent roll using your lower leg muscles at low speed (Peroneus and Tibialis) and the whole leg at high speed.

Safe and fun driving in all speeds. Steering and handling is described as a combination of biking and skiing. The three wheeled design offers a unique stable ride, even at low or no speed. Due to its cambering design the vehicle is able to lean with the driver when turning in higher speeds, giving utmost control to the driver.

A Mover not a real Bike. A HPV mover?

so where in the bigger Bike Forum should one write about odd HPVs like that?

Kickbikes and kickcycles don't seem to fold, and I'm not sure why one would use these as opposed to a bicycle or tricycle. For example, Worksman Cycles makes a folding cargo trike that strikes me as a much more efficient transport solution for senior citizens than a kickcycle.

I could see having a scooter or Trikke-type vehicle for the ultimate compact wheeled transport solution.

The Me-mover sounds promising, but it's hard to understand what it is until they show pictures/designs. Somebody also posted a thread about a French inventor working on a lightweight HPV--I think it involved standing on a board while sliding one's feet back and forth.

I don't know any big Kickbike that folds. They are used to get excersise and are more like odd competition in going fast along a track?

Kickcycles are for Elderly people that need to go shopping and a Worksman would be too big to take with you into the Mall. The smaller of the Kickcycle from Finland is most likely allowed in the Malls there. It is slightly bigger than the big Rollator/Walker with wheels.

Kickcycles are either take apart or folded for transport by car or storage over summer. In Finland the Elderly use it in winter and spring when a bike makes you easily fall. I've tested them on pure slipperly wet ice and they are very safe. Much more safe than a real bike with three wheels and take up less space indoors. I have one in my hall now.

Interesting about the French guy. Could you give more clues so I can find more texts about his thing.

Did he show a youtube video clip? Was it on a Design site. Was it only a student idea competition and not a real product.

Me-mover hopes to be able to show it in action in first quarter of 2010 IIRC.

But these are not bikes are they? They are not boards and not really Scooters either.

So where should one write about them. feels wrong to do it here where you expect Brompton like real bikes.

No use to go the Kickboard community and write there either. These are kind of too new to have their own communities?

HPV lite? Or HPV for fun?

So a kickcycle is primarily used by the elderly in place of a bicycle during bad weather? What is the typical distance they are used for? And how fast can they go?

About the French guy: his name is Jean-Marc Gobillard and his HPV is called a Dreamslide. More info about it (including pictures) is available at http://www.dreamslide.com (in French). There's a great video of it in action at http://www.dreamslide.com/site/animation.htm

I want one. It looks like it gives a great full-body workout (unlike a bike) and would probably be easy to use for multimodal commuting. No carrying capacity, though--anything you needed to carry with you, you'd probably need to put in a backpack.

The site says the Dreamslide will become available for purchase in spring 2010.

So a kickcycle is primarily used by the elderly in place of a bicycle during bad weather? What is the typical distance they are used for? And how fast can they go?

About the French guy: his name is Jean-Marc Gobillard and his HPV is called a Dreamslide. More info about it (including pictures) is available at http://www.dreamslide.com (in French). There's a great video of it in action at http://www.dreamslide.com/site/animation.htm

I want one. It looks like it gives a great full-body workout (unlike a bike) and would probably be easy to use for multimodal commuting. No carrying capacity, though--anything you needed to carry with you, you'd probably need to put in a backpack.

Thanks excellent detailed info. I guessed it could be him referred to but I had forgot what he named it and how to find it.

I looked for it some weeks ago to see if he had developed it further which he has. Compare with his oldest video clip?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmAyWgCwlvc


Version 01
that one does look different, smaller wheels too. He even had at that time a mini version of the 01? Ahh Micro Slider 01




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKYJ3CyQeLc

Now they have bigger wheels looks like 16 inch to my hasty look.

aah Finland. Neighbor country with a very different language but some Swedes lives there since 600 years back.

Maybe a few use it in summer too. But I trust most are elderly and only use it for short distances. They are heavy. 16 kg so that is a bit too much to carry around if one are not allowed to let it roll. :D Very sturdy. I have tested three different versions of them. ESLA are the most stable one on wet ice.

It is half the speed and double the effort to go fast. or even worse than that If it take me 5 minutes to the food shop on bike then it takes 7 to 10 minutes on the ESLA and my hearts beats much faster and me more sweaty so it is great for getting fit.

Compared with walking they are a god send HPV. A bit expensive though.

Are kickcycles used on roads or sidewalks? Do the riders wear helmets? Does one alternate the kicking foot? (A trainer told me that when using a kick scooter, one should regularly alternate which foot does the kicking to ensure even muscle build-up.) And what do they typically cost?

Are kickcycles used on roads or sidewalks? Do the riders wear helmets? Does one alternate the kicking foot? (A trainer told me that when using a kick scooter, one should regularly alternate which foot does the kicking to ensure even muscle build-up.) And what do they typically cost?

Oh sorry I should have pointed out that they are seen as "sparkcykel" so they are only allowed on sidewalks and if there is not sidewalk then you should behave like a walker walking on the side of the street that makes you see traffic coming.

when there are others on the sidewalk the kickcycle must be used with care of the pedestrians so you don't hurt them.

I failed to reach Me-mover on such things. He seems very hard working to get his prototypes in shape for showing them to investors without any secret tech things leaking out. He is afraid the copies will be made before he has a financing scheme going. He is secretive about the spec features? and how he achieve it.

I really hope it is as good as he describe.

Bikes are in street and kickboards and such small scooters maybe are only allowed on sidewalks yes not sure what he aim for his Me-mover. Maybe that one will be a side walk only too? But who knows.

So a kickcycle is primarily used by the elderly in place of a bicycle during bad weather? What is the typical distance they are used for? And how fast can they go?

About the French guy: his name is Jean-Marc Gobillard and his HPV is called a Dreamslide. More info about it (including pictures) is available at http://www.dreamslide.com (in French). There's a great video of it in action at http://www.dreamslide.com/site/animation.htm

I want one. It looks like it gives a great full-body workout (unlike a bike) and would probably be easy to use for multimodal commuting. No carrying capacity, though--anything you needed to carry with you, you'd probably need to put in a backpack.

Mmm... what about adding a Rotor System Crank to your current folding bike? (if you have the money, of course)

http://www.rotorbike.com/nueva/pdf/RotorSystemCrank.pdf


The Rotor System is an innovative crankset that uses an ingenious cam system to accelerate the rising crank past the upper “dead spot”. This mechanism eliminates the power void that occurs with conventional crank sets when the cranks are oriented vertically, whilst simultaneously optimizing the rest of the pedal stroke The mechanism works because spider’s point of rotation is offset (forward and down) from that of the crank arms. By placing a linkage arm between the spider and each individual crank, the varying distance between cranks’ linkage anchorage points and those of the spider causes the links to pivot inward on the up stroke (accelerating the crank) and outward on the down stroke (decelerating the crank). As such the cranks are given pedalling dynamics independent of each other and dependant on the spider (being the regulative element with a constant rotational speed). This makes the effective chainring size each leg pushes vary constantly.

http://www.rotorbike.com/nueva/ingles/road_rotor_rs4xtri.htm

So a kickcycle is primarily used by the elderly in place of a bicycle during bad weather? What is the typical distance they are used for? And how fast can they go?

About the French guy: his name is Jean-Marc Gobillard and his HPV is called a Dreamslide. More info about it (including pictures) is available at http://www.dreamslide.com (in French). There's a great video of it in action at http://www.dreamslide.com/site/animation.htm

I want one. It looks like it gives a great full-body workout (unlike a bike) and would probably be easy to use for multimodal commuting. No carrying capacity, though--anything you needed to carry with you, you'd probably need to put in a backpack.

In 2001 this guy rode a kickbike across the US:
http://www.bntmedia.com/jim/kickbike.htm
It took him 35 days.

Also, if you think the dreamslide is such a great idea then why not just take the seat off your folder?


A trainer told me that when using a kick scooter, one should regularly alternate which foot does the kicking to ensure even muscle build-up.

Funny you say this because while skating the other day I realized that if I only put one skate on I would have a scooter. This made me consider the advantages of skating over scootering, such as:
1. You can more easily alternate legs and, in fact, always do alternate legs because alternating legs is better in every way.
2. You can push at an oblique angle instead of just straight back and, again, you almost always do do this because it's more efficient than trying to restrict your muscle power to a single direction.

The moral of the story is that kickbikes and scooters just aren't good designs for HPVs. Everything you can do with one can be done better with skates while simultaneously eliminating the frame. Scooters/kickbikes are gimmicks.

While I'm a big believer in new innovative HPV designs, I've still yet to see a best-for-purpose design that doesn't qualify under one of the traditional headings of shoe, skate, or bike.