“Time” magazine included the Yike Bike in their list of the 50 Best Inventions for 2009. The Yike Bike is an electric bike which folds. It weighs about 9kg and has a battery which charges in about 20 minutes. You sit up straight on a Yike Bike holding on at the sides. Maximum speed is 20 km per hour.
Grant Ryan, a Christchurch inventor, designed this bike. He was lucky to get half a million dollars from Tech New Zealand to develop the bike and take it to Europe for the German Eurobike show. He said the bike will be useful in cities and especially for people living in apartments. It’s easy to carry it in a lift or in a train, it’s easy to park and you can ride it on the footpath or cycle path. It is good for the environment.
The first Yike Bikes will be on sale in the middle of 2010. At the moment, they are made of carbon fibre so they are expensive, about $7,000; however, some will be made from cheaper materials later. If the Yike Bike becomes very popular, prices will come down.
Look at the website: http://www.yikebike.com. Click on gallery to see the pictures.