, man vet aldrig kanske han fått en bailout med ökade resurser vilket kan behövas med det facila priset av $5k (antar att det inte är US dollar) om han ska ge en till mig så rasande snäll som jag varit hela året.
Kiwi Yike Bike one of top inventions in world
Tue, 24 Nov 2009 7:25p.m.
By Hamish Clark
The Kiwi-made Yike Bike has made the front cover of Time magazine's Asia edition and has been touted as one of the world's best inventions this year,The Yike Bike is a kiwi invention and one making world headline.
This is no mere parochialism; the Yike Bike has just made the front cover of time magazine's Asia edition and has been voted one of this year's top inventions in the world.
The bike was designed and developed in Christchurch.
It is environmentally friendly, incredibly portable, and gets along nicely at up to 25kmph.
The Time magazine recognition is a coup for the Canterbury company with the first of these bikes expected to hit the market in the middle of next year.
It is touted as the world’s smallest and lightest folding electrical bike.
Its revolutionary design is all Kiwi made and now it has achieved what few Kiwi inventions have done, made it on to the front cover of Time magazine and is ranked the world’s 15th best invention for 2009.
“We are thrilled to get on the list let alone get as high as 15 and getting on the cover was pretty cool too, wrapped,” says Grant Ryan, Yike Bike founder.
Mr Ryan is an inventor and one of the founders of the Yike Bike, a Kiwi idea that first sprouted six years ago and has ultimately turned into one of the coolest looking electrical bikes.
“We have designed it to be super small so it folds up to a third of the volume of any folding bike with similar size wheels that's the key thing so you can take it anywhere,” he says.
“It’s got an electric motor that can go for about half an hour, 10km, so it is designed for those short journeys its super easy, you can charge it anywhere, its super safe, its got built in electronic anti skid brakes, its got built in lights and indicators brake lights, very stable and it is a heck of a lot of fun to ride.”
The bike looks like a modern day cut down version of a penny farthing, it is made of carbon fibre, the battery takes just 30 minutes to charge and is easy to use.
“It’s pretty simple you have an indicator on each side, you have got a little horn and an on off so it is pretty straight forward really,” says Mr Ryan.
“It is much simpler than a normal bike. No chains, cogs, gears, its all done electronically with a very powerful motor and some smart electronics.
“It literally stops people in the street, turns heads, and at the show they were like ‘what is this thing?’”
Weighing just 10kg, the bike is portable and takes just seconds to unfold
The bike has been put through its paces; comprehensively tested on various kiwi roads, even over a cattle stop and through a pot hole.
“Moving people around a congested city is a huge problem in a clean green safe way and this is dramatically different to anything else out there. It is half the size of any electric folding bike so it is a dramatic urban transport solution,” says Mr Grant.
“It’s turned out way better than we thought. We thought it would be a bit of a novelty to start off with but people seem to get it particularly in our key markets which are European markets.
Orders are flooding in and the first 100 bikes will be ready mid 2010, fully endorsed by Time magazine.
“It certainly adds a lot of credibility as there are a lot larger companies even on this list further down trying to do similar things, so it certainly gives us a big stamp of credibility when we are talking to partners and people wanting to buy it, so it’s great,” says Mr Grant.
At over $5000 a pop, it is a small price to pay for one of the best inventions in the world.
MP's med Daniel Helldén i spetsen och S/V/FI i släptåg, krig mot moped klass 1 och uppåt i Stockholm med förorter, läs mer här --- 
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