YikeBike

Type of Article:

News (legacy)

Brief Description:

Transportation

When someone says ‘New Zealand’ you probably think, “Aotearoa” the Maori name for New Zealand, which means the land of the long white cloud. But you probably wouldn’t think of environmentally sound and compact means of travel. New Zealand company YikeBike have created a ‘Mini farthing’ 100 electric scooter. It’s compact, easy to fold, light (just over 30lbs), has a 55 minute charge, or about 6 miles; perfect for most city commuter needs.

As impressive as these little beauties are, there are some draw backs: 1. Applications beyond commuting: These are strictly ‘point A to point B’ items, you couldn’t make a day of errand running with this unless you planed on staying for at least a half hour for the battery to recharge. 2. The price: YikeBike will set you back just around $3,000, which is what you would pay to commute on the CTA Metra for almost 2 1/2 years (give or take holidays and vacation).

http://www.yikebike.com/media/wiredcom-yikebike [2]

http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2010/02/does_yike_bike_fit_portland.html [3]

For a fraction of the price you could buy a very nice bike, a full set of riding attire and a waterproof bag to put your work clothes in. You would save money, shed a few pounds, and have a much more versatile means of transportation.