Focus - YES

The Yikebike is a sensational product - I called it the first "transportation appliance" when I rode the miniature electric penny farthing last year. Funnily enough, when I wrote about the ingenious range-extender earlier this year, I wrote that the Yikebike ticked all the boxes but one - its range. Now that the company is to offer a slightly heavier version at roughly half the price, you can probably bury the last objection that could be aimed at the Yikebike.

Christchurch, New Zealand – June 13^th, 2011  – YikeBike Ltd., creators of the world’s smallest, lightest, compact electric bicycle, today unveiled the YikeBike Fusion, a lower-priced yet uncompromising version of the original YikeBike Carbon Fiber electric bicycle that has captivated the imagination of consumers and bicycle enthusiasts around the world, and earned awards, accolades and acknowledgements from Time Magazine, the Guinness Book of World Records, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and other international organizations.  The YikeBike Fusion retails for $1,990 USD, which is half of the price of YikeBike Carbon Fiber, and can be ordered online starting June 13 at www.yikebike.com

“We created the YikeBike to dramatically change urban and suburban transportation, providing users with a fast, safe, cost-effective, eco-friendly way to navigate their cities and towns,” said YikeBike CEO Grant Ryan.  “The original, upscale, carbon fiber YikeBike generated tremendous interest among early adopters when we unveiled it in late 2010. This led us – in record breaking time - to design the more mainstream YikeBike Fusion, which uses conventional materials to make it more appealing to both cost-conscious and energy-conscious consumers.”

At about half of the size and weight of other electric bicycles and many regular bicycles, the YikeBike Fusion is the perfect vehicle for urban and suburban use, especially for commuters.  Similar to the original, the YikeBike Fusion travels at a maximum speed of 14 miles per hour, with a distance of up to six miles between charges, or up to eighteen miles with the optional extended batteries. 

The YikeBike can be folded or unfolded in about 15 seconds, and is light and portable enough to be carried onto a bus, train or elevator, or stored in the trunk of a car or under a desk.  Its portability also means that consumers need never to worry about the storing, securing, or possible theft or vandalism of their YikeBike – as they would with a regular bicycle.

The YikeBike is also incredibly fun yet safe to ride.  Its side- and rear-mounted LED lights are always on for greater visibility – especially at night.  Its 20-inch front wheel can easily handle bumps, potholes and similar road obstructions, and its anti-skid, regenerative brakes provide faster and safer stopping capabilities.  The YikeBike’s innovative frame design and slower top speed make it safer to ride than an ordinary bike, and its ergonomic, upward seating and handlebar configuration makes it more comfortable to ride as well.

For the environmentally conscious, the YikeBike emits zero carbon emissions, and its use actually helps reduce the carbon emissions normally generated by other motor vehicles for shorter trips.  The YikeBike fully recharges in about 40 min, and at a cost of approximately five cents per charge.

YikeBikes are in demand from celebrities such as Jackie Chan, to major corporations such as Google.  However, ordinary consumers and cycle enthusiasts appreciate the innovative and sexy design and “green” features of the YikeBike. Wayne Sander, a [70+-year-old] YikeBike owner from Jamul, CA, feels that riding his YikeBike is safer than his street bike and more fun as well.

“From uber-cool teenagers to conservative senior citizens, I love the overwhelming positive looks and “thumbs up” comments I get when people see me riding my YikeBike.  Its design is one of a kind, and it’s so easy that even someone of my age can quickly learn to ride it.  From a safety standpoint, the 14 mile-per-hour top speed is less than half of what I often achieve on my street bike, especially on downhill stretches.  YikeBike’s anti-skid brakes work similar to a car’s anti-lock brakes, which brings me to a faster, more controlled stop.  And if the YikeBike were to stop suddenly, say in an accident, riders can avoid any painful contact with the handlebars, crossbar or other bicycle parts that would otherwise prevent them from landing on their feet.”

Since its creation, the YikeBike has received numerous international accolades.  Most notably, YikeBike was ranked 15th among the 50 Best inventions of 2009 by Time Magazine.  It was also listed among WIPO’s most notable inventions next to the likes of BlackBerry, Google, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), SpaceShip One, Viagra, and an anti-HIV vaccine.  The YikeBike was also enshrined in The 2011 Guinness Book of World Records as the lightest and smallest compact electric bike in the world.

About YikeBike Ltd.

YikeBike develops and manufactures the smallest, lightest, folding electric bikes in the world. The result of five years of research and development, YikeBike combines exceptional performance, design and safety with economy, convenience and portability.  YikeBike is backed by the two largest venture capital firms in New Zealand, Pioneer Capital Partners and K1W1, and the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. For more information, or to purchase a YikeBike, please visit www.yikebike.com.

Chani Garb

Switch180 PR

Ph: 201-245-4580

Email: chani@switch180pr.com

The Very First YikeBike, Released In 2009, Was The Smallest (6 X 23. 6 X 23. 6 Inches) And Lightest (22 Pounds) Electric Bicycle In Existence. But It Was Also Expensive --- Mostly Due To A Carbon-fiber Frame --- Costing Almost $4,000.

That Was, Until Inventor Grant Ryan Showed Up At The Daily Offices With A New Aluminum-framed Version That's A Touch Heavier (23 Pounds) But Also Far More Affordable At Less Than $2,000. Unconventional? Sure! But It's A Hoot To Ride, With Brisk Acceleration And Top Speed Of 15 Mph.

The Yikebike is a miniature, electric penny farthing made of carbon fiber and now it's on sale, it is quickly gathering a cult early-adopter following thanks to its weight of 10.8 kilograms, that it folds so small it can fit in a backpack, and that it will run at 25km/h (15 mph). Until now, it has ticked all the boxes except one – its limited range of just 10 kilometers. Now it has released an extender battery pack so you can add additional 10 kilometer increments to the range of your YikeBike.

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Each battery costs US$195 and weighs 1.95kg and there's a special backpack to carry multiple batteries so it becomes a very practical solution that offers the Yikebike unsurpassed bang-per-kilogram and versatility as a commuting appliance. Though it's hard to equate the US$3600 price tag with primary transport, the addition of a Yikebike to any automobile storage compartment significantly extends the capabilities of both vehicles. The facility to carry secondary transportation inside cars has been explored many times in recent years by Honda and General Motors in particular … and it makes a lot of sense.

Gizmag's editor Noel McKeegan and myself both rode the YikeBike in Koln last September and were both very impressed. Normally, it takes 10 minutes or so to get acquainted with the handlebars which sit behind your hips. Noel is a keen mountain bike rider and dirt bike enthusiast and he simply got on the Yikebike and rode away, even though most folks have a few false starts.

I fared slightly less well, but had it all happening within a few minutes - if you can ride a bicycle, you need to rewire the brain slightly, but it's going to be a simple job accomplished within ten minutes.

Once mastered, the Yikebike offers remarkably quick transport for something that is so small – only Honda's still-unreleased U-3X (right) and Toyota's also-experimental Winglet (left) offer comparable weight-performance figures and it will be interesting to see how long these devices take to reach market and at what price point they greet the public.

The Yikebike is in many ways a revolutionary device, as it is the first of a new class of vehicle which we're almost certain to see proliferate as congestion and travel times force us all to consider transportation options. It has won or been a finalist in just about every major design award on the planet for which it is eligible, including making it onto the cover of Time's Invention of the Year issue in 2009 and now a Guinness Book of World records citation as the most compact electric bike in the world.

Now it's on sale, it will be interesting to watch marketplace acceptance.

The electric bicycle is closer on the consumer devices family tree to a computer than it is to a motorcycle, and just as laptops have a limit to their battery capacity, small transportation devices will also have a form factor that limits battery size. While it is by no means an elegant solution, it is one to which we are accustomed thanks to laptops and cameras, and once exploited, enables much greater runtime.

The Yikebike sells for US $3,595, GBP2,422, EUR2,872 and AUD $3,909. If your commuting regime involves train or road and a spot of walking, the Yikebike could be the answer.

By Christopher Trout posted Mar 12th 2011 11:57PM

Okay, so you'll probably still look like a circus bear on a penny-farthing when you hop on the YikeBike, but with the introduction of the new extender battery backpack, you won't have to stop every six miles to juice up. You heard right, this otherwise inconspicuous knapsack is actually packing a second YikeBike battery, which can be hooked up directly to the collapsible bicycle to keep you riding for another six miles -- and if you like riding high on a tiny bike for long distances, it's got room for more than one.

So go crazy, pack this thing full of batteries and hit the road, but if your keister starts smartin', don't say we didn't warn you. You can get your YikeBike juice on for $229 at the source link below.

Click here to see the engadget.com story and feedback

February 3, 2011, 2:30 pm

This week, most people on the East Coast were hunkering down indoors, prepared for this winter’s fourth Snowstorm of the Century. I, on the other hand, was riding around a hotel ballroom on a YikeBike. And I’ll be straight with you: I had kind of a Segway moment.

 Remember that? After inventor Dean Kamen first gave secret demos of his self-balancing upright scooter to industry hotshots, their awed reactions included remarks like, “They’ll redesign cities for this thing.”

Of course, the Segway never did become a as commonplace as the bicycle, and the YikeBike won’t either. But what a cool idea.

 It’s an electric bike. Top speed is about 15 miles an hour. The accelerator and brakes are smoothly controlled by buttons that are right under your thumbs on the handlebars. The handlebars themselves are at your waist level, which might seem odd but makes sense—you ride sitting fully upright instead of bending forward, as on a bicycle. That design also means that you can jump forward off the bike in a crisis; there’s no hardware in your way.

 Here’s the twist: the whole thing folds down into its own front wheel. You undo four stainless-steel latches, then snap the back wheel, seat and handlebars into the front one. It takes about ten seconds. (Watch the video embedded in this post to get the idea.)  

 The YikeBike is therefore perfect for covering that distance between your home and the train station. You can fold it down and set it next to you on the train, then unfold it and ride to your office at the other end.

In other words, this is not a bike you lock to a post in front of your office; this is a bike you fold down and carry into your office.

The YikeBike goes six miles on a charge (about 6 cents in electricity). That may not sound like much, but remember that you’re supposed to carry it inside with you. For example, you can just plug it in next to your desk at work. It recharges to 80 percent in 20 minutes, to full in 40 minutes.

 It weighs 22 pounds, less than half the weight of a typical electric bike. The balance point is different from a regular bicycle, because the front wheel is practically right under you. Grant Ryan, the New Zealander who invented it, says it usually takes half an hour to master; it took me four tries before I could ride without having to shoot out my foot to the ground to steady myself.

(Our original idea was for me to try riding the YikeBike in a hotel parking lot. Because of the nasty, frigid weather, we wound up migrating inside, to the ballroom. The hotel staff was either too preoccupied or too friendly to care about the spectacle.)

The bike is covered with safety features. For example, it lights up everywhere to remain visible to cars. The right and left turn signals, which both beep and blink, are controlled by buttons right on the handlebars, so you never have to remove your hands. Mr. Ryan says that the YikeBike is the world’s first electric to have electronic anti-skid brakes, giving it a shorter stopping distance than a bicycle with caliper brakes.

 The bike also makes a pretty loud whirring noise when in motion. Mr. Ryan says he could have muffled the sound, but thought it would be safer if the bike announced its presence to fellow travelers and pedestrians.

 So why won’t the YikeBike become a mega-hit? Well, first, because it costs $3,600 (you can buy it from yikebike.com). And it costs that much because it owes its light weight to a carbon-fiber body, which has to be handmade. Eventually, Mr. Ryan hopes to create an aluminum version that will cost far less.

 You also look pretty strange riding the YikeBike, too. It’s perfectly comfortable and very stable once you get the hang of it, but you’re going to get stares. It’s not for the self-conscious.
Furthermore, because it’s so small, there’s no basket or rattrap. If you want to carry something, you’ll have to wear a backpack. (Mr. Ryan did show me, however, an ingenious idea: the bike’s shipping suitcase will soon be able to hook to the back of the bike, creating a trailer.)

 Overall, it’s astounding that this idea, and this radical design, could work as well as it does. Every design detail has obviously been thought through. Acceleration and braking, for example, take absolutely no time to get used to.

 I’m not sure how many takers the YikeBike will have at $3,600. But I really admire Mr. Ryan’s lean, green folding machine, and I wish him the best of luck.