TheEEStory.com

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/03/video-electr...

http://yikebike.com

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-...

Last edited Tue, 08 Sep 2009, 12:57pm by eestorblog

Great compact design. Looks like it would take a little time to get used to the handlebars located behind you. I would think getting the bike started would be challenging. There would be stability issues. I would add knee pads, helmet and gloves in case you get launched forward in an accident.

All they need to add is a small drive motor and a small EESU.

Last edited Tue, 08 Sep 2009, 1:03pm by Tombeme

Definitely a forward-thinking idea. I'm not sure if I personally "yike" this vehicle so much myself, but it certainly is interesting!

This will be bigger than the Segway. We'll design cities around this thing.

chance20_m wrote:

This will be bigger than the Segway. We'll design cities around this thing.

Amusing post, chance. But it does make you wonder if a technology in this space has a weight tipping point. SEgway is anywhere from 95 to 70lbs. Not an easy option to put in a car.

at 22lbs, this is lighter than most bicycles.....someone correct me if I"m wrong on that.

so, combining car and ebike...is it a winner in the USA....is some other combo more relevant.....dunno, i'm curious though.

Just apply full brake on the front wheel and see what is going to happen.

eestorblog wrote:

chance20_m wrote:

This will be bigger than the Segway. We'll design cities around this thing.

Amusing post, chance. But it does make you wonder if a technology in this space has a weight tipping point. SEgway is anywhere from 95 to 70lbs. Not an easy option to put in a car.

at 22lbs, this is lighter than most bicycles.....someone correct me if I"m wrong on that.

so, combining car and ebike...is it a winner in the USA....is some other combo more relevant.....dunno, i'm curious though.

I agree, I thought this bike was pretty dumb up until I saw it fold up and slip into that tiny cover. That's the ticket right there and (one) of the reasons the Segway couldn't get traction. Yes, at 22lbs it is lighter than most bikes. Think of the places that size and weight can now make possible.

Good point, jam.

Reverse the wheel positions?
Littler one up front, bigger one (with brake), in the rear?

Maybe something a notch more like a chair, with arm rests?

wonderful !! just watching the promo was fun at 4,000 euros a bit steep

One of the problems you run into with this and the Segway and just bicycles is the infrastructure. For safety and travel efficiency we need a place for automobiles and pedestrians and alternative forms of transportation.

In China they just intermingle and everything else be damned. Here we need to protect everyone. Makes it hard to have room for new forms of transportation.

Its 5 Grand...
End of story...

jam wrote:

Just apply full brake on the front wheel and see what is going to happen.

I think if you applied full brakes to the front, locked up, or hit a curb, you would just basically leave the bike behind and be thrown forward onto your feet in a running ejection. It's not like a bike where your weight is all forward behind your hips, you are very upright so the yike won't immediately change your center of gravity and rotate you forward.

Edit: and the video here looks like it takes no learning curve for average people: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP3r2L8CaB4

Last edited Tue, 08 Sep 2009, 2:44pm by xcgeek

It will never take off in China, no way to balance a 50" HDTV on the (missing) rack over the rear wheel. ;^)

Yeah, that's not a safe vehicle. Hit a little curb or something and you'd get launched.

Agree with Nekote - big wheel in front. Then move handle bars back to front. So a different take on a bike, and if you can still fold it up in the bag, and get the price under $1K, you might have a winner.

Segway would be considerably more popular if they could get the price down to less than $1,500. Either that, or if they could double or triple the range, it would be good at the current price.

Maybe an EEStor power source could help achieve either/or.

eestorblog wrote:

chance20_m wrote:

This will be bigger than the Segway. We'll design cities around this thing.

Amusing post, chance. But it does make you wonder if a technology in this space has a weight tipping point. SEgway is anywhere from 95 to 70lbs. Not an easy option to put in a car.

at 22lbs, this is lighter than most bicycles.....someone correct me if I"m wrong on that.

so, combining car and ebike...is it a winner in the USA....is some other combo more relevant.....dunno, i'm curious though.

My snark aside, the problem with this thing is that, like the segway, most of it's functions can be replicated by an electric scooter or bicycle, for significantly less cost.

Even besides those (which are dealbreakers IMO) I see a safety issue right off the bat. You're too low to the ground! On a scooter I'm standing, and on a bike I'm at or above my normal standing height. Unless it's an illusion created by the video, you appear to be well below the eye level of the average driver while on this thing.

Last edited Tue, 08 Sep 2009, 3:28pm by chance20_m

There are several folding e-bikes on the market, so there is competition in the market segment of Yike.

Traditional folding e-bikes win in speed, range and cost.

Yike wins in weight and fancy design.

An EESU would make something like a Segway much lighter and more practical. It could be about the size and shape of a sideways Razor scooter.

On the other hand, why does it have to be sideways? Put a small fraction of the computational power that goes into keeping a Segway upright, and put it into continually adjusting the wheels of a two-wheeled vehicle so it remains upright. I've seen a couple of people in my life who could keep a bicycle standing up while it wasn't moving—briefly. With electronic stability circuitry it would be easy. The wheels could be smaller, because you wouldn't need the gyro action to keep you upright.

It could look quite a bit like that Razor scooter, just stand on it and you never have to put your feet on the ground. It's much narrower than a Segway, and the handle folds against the base so you can stand it up in a few square inches. If it had even the range of a Segway (15 miles, about?) you'd sell millions of them.