About Grant Ryan
YikeBike founder, Grant is an addicted inventor and entrepreneur. He has founded a number of companies including GlobalBrain.net (sold to NBCi), RealContacts, SLI Systems (profitable fast growing SaaS search company) and Eurekster (North America Red Herring 100 in 2006). He is on the board of Canterbury Development Corporation and has also served on the board of the New Zealand Government's $140 million Venture Investment Fund and $430 million Foundation for Research Science and Technology. Grant has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Ecological Economics from the University of Canterbury. The YikeBike perfectly combines his love of mechanics, environment and innovation.
Why early adopters rock
This may seem a little of topic but it is a bit on an explanation of why early adopters that take a punt on new technologies play such a vital role in a modern economy.
At a macro level economic growth is reliant on technological progress. The only way to grow the economy is for us to all work harder (yuck) or get more productive. This increase in productivity is made possible by new technologies.
At a micro level any new technology is inherently expensive because it typically uses leading edge materials and processes that have yet to benefit from mass manufacture. The way these new technologies make it to mass manufacture is for early adopters to buy them and love them. Early adopters make it possible to get to the step of mass manufacture where everyone can benefit from new innovations.
So by being an early adopter not only do you help accelerate the collective progress of society but you also get to own all the cool new stuff first :-)
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Comments
this is real genious, great looking product
I wish you the best of luck. and realy hope to see it here one day
Tal Fuchs
Israel
Wonderful concept. Great design. Terrific outcome. Congratulations and best of luck. Hurry to the US.
Good day,
The Yike Bike is a genius idea guys, congratulations on this invention. It looks perfect for getting short distances to work, or to the public transit. I'd love to have one.
I am sure you thought of it, but I think supercapacitors would be a perfect energy storage solution for the Yike. They are more efficient and have a much longer life than any battery. They have a slow self drainage, but that is OK with daily recharging anyway.
I can't wait to see the Yike Bike in Canada, and have the price come down to my range. Understandably, they are expensive at first to pay for the R&D.
If you are looking for a distributor in Canada, I'd definitely be interested in distributing them here.
Best of luck on this,
Cheers,
Roger Zimmerman, P.Eng.
Owner,
Roze Company
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
www.rozecompany.com
I live in a fairly hilly coast city...the video shows the Yike operating on flat roads. Has it been tested on hills and how do a variety of inclines affect handling, speed, turning etc?
Check out the hill testing in this video
when will this be available in united states and how much will it be????
Sorry not sure when we will be able to sell in the US yet and not sure what the price will be there.
Get that price range down and it'll sell like hotcakes, guys. hope to see it available en masse soon!
I think this is a wonderful invention - elegant. Kudos. I only wish our bloated American transit "system," entirely based on autos, were better adapted to this cool vehicle. Sadly, most Americans live too far from work, rely too heavily on highways, and have such poor public transit that a vehicle like this is not practical for most here. Clearly, this design will be readily adopted in places like Europe that already have mass transit and pedestrian-based commuting. In such locales, I can see the Yike Bike reducing private vehicle congestion. Sigh. Great invention.
Is there a plan for a head light & taillights?
The YikeBike has built in front lights, tail lights and side lights.
What happens when you come to a stop sign? Is it easy to put your feet down and stop? In the video the riders seem to go through lights and signs, which wouldn't work in my area!
GREAT idea. Best of luck!
Not sure what videos look like we are going through stop signs??? Certainly not the impression we want to give. It is very easy to stop and just like a normal bike you put your foot down to balance when you come to a stop. Check out this video.
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