Frequently Asked Questions - Safety

One of the key aims of the YikeBike design was to make it very safe and safer than a bicycle:

• Electronic anti-skid brakes give it smooth braking and a short stopping distance.
• Built in brake lights and indicators mean you don't have to take your hands off to signal.
• The rider is in an upright position to allow better visibility in traffic – easier to both see and be seen.
• Short wheel-base means it is more manoeuvrable.
• Speed limited so that it can never go faster than 20 km/h.
• Super-fast acceleration to allow you to avoid trouble if necessary.
• Distinctive  sound so people know you are coming.
• Built in lights that are on all the time, making you more visible to others.
• The handlebars are at the side rather than in front so in the event of  an accident or need for an emergency stop the rider’s head or body is not catapulted into an obstacle.

The advantage of starting with a blank sheet of paper was that we could apply the necessary engineering principles to provide a very stable ride, right down to the tracking of the steering. The best way to see just how easy it is to ride is to look at the videos of people riding for the very first time. Most people learn in the first few minutes that they lean differently (and more intuitively!) than a when on a bicycle. After 10 minutes they can’t stop smiling. However, just like learning to ride a bicycle, we recommend you practice until you are very confident before going out into traffic or other congestion.

With a bicycle you stretch forward to reach the handlebars – there is nothing inherently natural about that, it is just what you are used to. The upright position on a YikeBike is remarkably comfortable and safer too because it is easier to both see and be seen. At a top speed of 20 kph you are never going fast enough for wind resistance to be an issue (and the electric motor is doing the hard work anyway).

The YikeBike is the first in the world to have electronic anti-skid brakes, giving smoother braking and a shorter stopping distance than a bicycle. It is likely that you will jump off the front of a YikeBike in an emergency braking situation – this is very easy as there are no handle bars in the way. Check out this test video that shows braking in different scenarios.

The YikeBike is different from other vehicles and we do not know how countries and local authorities will classify it in terms of legislation, licensing, insurance, and helmet laws. You can ride the YikeBike on private property. Whether you could also ride it on public streets or bikepaths or footpaths remains to be seen, and if you choose to do so it is at your own risk. We have designed the YikeBike to be safer than a bicycle - with anti-skid braking, speed limited to 25 km/hour, turn-signals, and upright riding position, so our hope is that authorities will recognize the inherent safety and classify the YikeBike as a bicycle or e-bike. If you agree, please make your voice heard with your local or national authorities.

You should use a cycle helmet riding a YikeBike if you would use one riding a bicycle.

Each of the latches has been designed with safety in mind to minimize the chance of failure.

• the rear leg has been designed so the bike can be ridden even without the latch being done up (not recommended through)
• the seat latch is a double acting over centre mechanism. This is the only latch that has ever broken in testing and because it only causes the seat to go down a few inches this did not cause the riders to hit the ground. This has been redesigned and tested to destruction at double the force
• the front wheel latch has no force on it in normal riding position but it is under load on braking - it is a double acting over centre cam mechanism to avoid unlatching. This braking and accelerating has been tested over 10,000 cycles with a 100 kg load. 
• the handle bars would feel loose if the latch became undone but the YikeBike would still be ridable.