Yikes! Electric YikeBike like barstool on wheels

Well, it's an improvement on the dorky-looking Segway, which has never taken off as its inventor hoped. This U.K.-designed electric, motorized - can we call it a bike? - will surely turn heads when it gets onto the streets next year (pre-ordering has begun). But the YikeBike, though it is foldable - a big plus - and sleek, and zippy, suffers some of the same pitfalls as other street-ready motorized stuff such as Segway and GM/Segway Puma.

Safety and integration with streetscape
YikeBike's founder Grant Ryan says the bicycle is the 'most commonly owned form of transport in the world today' with over 2 billion two-wheelers worldwide and 130 million being sold annually. And since the 1870's when the safety bicycle first appeared, bike design hasn't really changed that much.

There's a reason for the that. Prior to the safety bike, penny farthings, with their huge front wheels, were faster than predecessor bikes, but also difficult to mount and a bit unwieldy, and off limits, of course, for skirted humans. YikeBike has some similarities with the penny farthing, though the steering perches behind you, instead of in front.

But can it really be called a bike? YikeBike's pedals are more properly called foot rests - the 1.2 kw electric engine does all the work, while brakes and controllers are located on the steering. YikeBike's designers followed the idea of bicycle to help them get street-use approval in the countries (not the U.S. but the U.K., Germany, and New Zealand, among others) where it will initially be distributed. Read more