Award-winning YikeBikes now in production
Posted on October 6th, 2010 by Sander - YikeBike
By Jessica Rowe
Kiwi-invented YikeBikes has finally gone into production and are being shipped to customers around the world.
The bikes are set to become even more popular, after winning a prestigious consumer award. Business commentator Rod Oram is the first privileged customer to receive his YikeBike, after a year of waiting. “It’s a wonderful sense of freedom and it is very manoeuvrable and looks, may I say, gorgeous,” Mr Oram says.
The ultra-light electric bike is not only genius for speeding between meetings, but folds up into a shoulder bag in just under 20 seconds.
Mr Oram says it is perfect for urban mobility. “It’s a brilliant conception of what a bike should be like,” he says. “It’s amazingly light and foldable and therefore, very easy to transport.”
The first batch of 20 YikeBikes on its way to customers in New Zealand and the UK, retailing at just under $5000. The mastermind behind the innovation is looking forward to seeing how it is received by the market. “It’s been about five years,” says YikeBike inventor Grant Ryan. “So we are really excited. Can’t wait to get people’s reaction to them.”
More than 15,000 people have registered interest in the design and some have already put down a deposit. “We’ve got TV tars, royalty, politicians lined up to get them. For whatever reason, there seems to be a lot of interest,” says Mr Ryan.
The YikeBike has just won the supreme award for New Zealand’s Best Product Design and is attracting growing interest in the US, Canada, Israel, Portugal and Spain.
