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Technology

Yikes, the future of urban freedom?

Technology

Yikes, the future of urban freedom?

Written by Suze Chalmers

As Australian bicycle sales continue to outstrip motor vehicle sales¹ and prove resilient in the face of a slowing economy, the next evolution – the Electric bike or E-bike – is taking off around the world.

“Australians are not just buying bikes, they are using them increasingly frequently. Census figures show a 28% increase in riding to work across Australian capital cities, with Melbourne’s growth soaring to 48%. This growth is largely centred upon the inner-city, with superior levels of bicycle infrastructure,” says Elliot Fishman, policy advisor with the Cycling Promotion Fund.
Meanwhile E-bicycle use and sales have also seen significant growth around the world, particularly in countries with high bicycle use, as a growing number of people are searching for convenient alternative transport options. It seems the age of electric mobility is getting closer to an increasing number of people and technology is ready to change to a new era––from oil to electricity.

Last year 23 million E-bikes were sold worldwide, and the number is expected to double by 2012, says Electric Bikes Worldwide Reports, a biennial publication tracking the industry, with markets flourishing in China, India, Europe, and the U.S.

Enter the YikeBike

A result of five years of research and development, the YikeBike is the smallest, and at less than 10kg, the lightest electric folding bicycle available in the world. It’s designed to give people freedom to commute easily and quickly in crowded urban environments with a minimal carbon footprint.

"It came out of a vision for a transport revolution - asking the question about what sort of radical new transport device would help address the challenges of people navigating our increasingly crowded, polluted cities,” says inventor Grant Ryan.

The YikeBike also has a radically different riding position, steering mechanism and wheel configuration, giving a safe smooth ride while folding up to a super small size. It does this by replacing chain, gears, pedals, brake pads, cables and levers with a powerful light, 1.2 kW electric motor and smart electronics.

More and more people in the world now live in cities and can’t easily take their cycle with them on a bus, train, car, up an elevator and store in their apartment - the YikeBike solves these problems by being much simpler, smaller and lighter.

Will this new ride revolutionise urban travel? Perhaps not… but it certainly provides an entertaining glimpse at what the e-future might hold!

To find out more visit www.yikebike.com

1 Bicycles Sales 2008

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More information about this topic in our cycling section.

Written by Suze Chalmers

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Michaelc 2009-09-12 13:47:28

A vision of what the future might hold? $5k electric scooters? Yikes is right.

I can get behind an electric scooter, but I really don't see how this is so much
better than a regular folding electric scooter that costs 1/5th as much. It is a
bit lighter, but any electric scooter over $400 can go faster than the 12mph the
Yikebike is limited to and in the $1k range some can go twice as fast and have
full suspension. I will give it props for being cool looking and innovative, but
even iPods only cost about twice what the competition does.

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