The Yike Bike

[rickoff]

Check out this new, collapsible, fold up electric bike design.

This is truly innovative.

YikeBike - The world's first super light electric folding bike. | Urban Freedom

[Athena]

Very interesting design. I don't know if I could do without having regular handlebars. Loved watching the people in the video gawk--that was hilarious!

[Farrah Day]

Brilliant... I want one!

I'll be amazed if this does not become an instant success and the future of electric bikes - possibly even the Dyson of the electric bicycle.

[Cloxxki]

Excellent! As a self-proclaimed bike innovator, I can totally appreciate this!

I have a gripe with 20" wheels though. A 28" wheel would add only a little bit of weight, save some good drag, increase mileage and allow for an ever larger rear wheel, like 16". Mostly, larger wheels add comfort, grip, and stability. I have searched for years, but could not find many situations where larger wheels were not worth it.

I am very impressed that somehow, they pulled off to make this thing. Smart design is one, making it happen, is so much more difficult. Most regular cars see less innovation for a new model than this little thing.

And the hubless front wheel is not even mentioned. Gotta love that. No spokes to stick your toes into.
I wonder how they constructed it, it's not the easiest thing to do. If someone knows a lot about sealing technologies, contact me, I want to make off-road skates that are one step beyond a hubless wheel.

It's a summer-only vehicle though, in the wind and rain, you don't want to sit on that, no amount of rain clothing will keep you warm or dry. The next Yike generation may be a 20kg folding 4-wheeled 2-seater verhicle with a roof tent of sorts. These folks sure have the inginuinty to make a thing like that. And it would still fit nicely on the bus. If an infant in a cart fits, anything does.

[vrand]

I like

Thanks for sharing Rick

Mike R.

[theremart]

Impressive.

Some people talk about making devices.

Some make a proto type.

They gone beyond have one working and selling.

That man should be making more than bikes, our cars should be so innovative.

Nice find Rick. Not for everyone, but amazing.

[sseti]

And here is something from my region and I think a litle bit more advanced :

What

For my taste it is a litle old design, but ...

tadej

[jibbguy]

This is a "mind-changer".

Pretty cool link, Rick

As for how the front wheel works; it appears the foot pegs allow the person's feet to stabilize and stop the counter-rotation of the inner hub assembly that would otherwise happen with a centerless hub like that.... So the rider's legs act as the "wheel struts" and are an "integral part" of the design. Thus probably one of the reasons the rider is semi-upright; so the high percentage of the person's weight pressing on the pegs is enough to do that "naturally" . It's a brilliant design and i hope the guy gets a lot of credit and sales, he deserves much success for it!!

All it would take for these things to start really taking off, is seeing folks taking this and similar devices to work in the city in significant numbers. And that will in turn do incalculable "harm" to the oil paradigm. Once folks start to see for themselves that:

"There is a different way!! We don't have to live like this!"

> Every major city on this planet suffering from Traffic Jams, in which millions of barrels of oil are wasted every day. This "unsolvable problem", will be "magically" solved once the easy profits from oil are removed. Think about that!

> Pollution from fossil fuels, not even counting "carbon dioxide", that is ruining the planet's ecology and oceans.

> Paying a significantly large portion of our incomes (especially the lower working classes), for "energy"... Paid to private corporate monopolies who control a huge section of our economy (and nearly our entire society). This is a "secret tax", larger than any other, that NO politicians ever complain about... where the corporate monopolies over-charge us by a factor greater than 100% for the true cost of energy. Totally "regressive", this secret "Easy Profit Tax" in reverse hurts the working poor and small businesses most: Stifling free enterprise and entrepreneurs, and perpetuating the corporate monopolies.

When the Publics' minds' open to many energy possibilities they did not consider before, it will spell the END of the energy cartel's power to greatly control this society and planet (..which is remaining in place now largely because of "inertia" and ignorance.. A deliberate ignorance that is being propped-up by the governments, the "gate-keepers" of the scientific mainstream, and the tight control of the mainstream media in most countries).

That is why, i suspect even especially-effective and clever conventional devices such as this may be hindered from getting to market, too... the same as "free energy" devices have been (...or at least blacklisted in the US mainstream media for as long as they can get away with it); because of this factor of:

"Awakening the Public to Realizing There Are Viable Alternative Possibilities".

Which will quickly make the current energy paradigm look rather foolish, very dangerous to all of our futures, and inherently corrupt.

[Cloxxki]

Semi-offtopic on fossil fuel exhausts.
I am in europe, no air traffic due to vulcano ashes in the air.
Yet, the view from my window, despite even a good overcast, was never clearer than now. I can see details on buildings 12-13 miles away, and closer to the ground, than I never could before.
And that's just without the AIR part of traffic, which is tiny compared to cars and non-transport fossil burning.

[rickoff]

Semi-offtopic on fossil fuel exhausts.
I am in europe, no air traffic due to vulcano ashes in the air.
Yet, the view from my window, despite even a good overcast, was never clearer than now. I can see details on buildings 12-13 miles away, and closer to the ground, than I never could before.

That's interesting, Cloxxki. And from what I understand, there was a similar result of clearer skies after the grounding of flights due to the 911 incidents.

Rick

[Cloxxki]

That's interesting, Cloxxki. And from what I understand, there was a similar result of clearer skies after the grounding of flights due to the 911 incidents.

Rick

I failed to say that over the past 1-2 weeks, I had already been commenting to colleagues that view had improved. Today was another step in clarity, and the overcast was a factor to consider.

9/11 is another rare case of limited flights, and signicant dust spread.
But who ever claimed that air is the clearest when "clean"? I'm sure various colored liquids are known to clarify others.
The sulfer in the ash (some fellow countrymen claim to smell it, I only overheard) might clarify the air chemically, or the glass particles could conduct long distance light better than the usual level of moisture in the air.

I did not take readings on moisture today.

EDIT : that was easy, I'll attach a graph from maybe 30 miles south of my location.