Bent but upright !

[HLaB]

Apologies if this has been aired before but I thought this idea was good :-)

 

[Shaun]

That's really clever ... maybe not all that practical, but really clever ...

 

[TheDoctor]

I like the articulation, and there's clearly a lot of clever engineering gone into it.
But.
I don't get it.
There's no compelling argument telling me I need a bike that can be an upright or a 'bent, depending what I want.

 

[Globalti]

Everyone seems to be ignoring it though! And the weight....how much must it weigh?

 

[2Loose]

It makes me think of the old swing-wing aircraft like the Tomcat...start off and its an upright, get going a bit and then make it more streamlined as you move

- very clever.

 

[vernon]

A solution looking for a problem?

 

[byegad]

Makes a kind of sense if you have a long commute into town. Recumbent riders have to take more care in town as they can't see over cars and also have to stick the front of the bike out further at junctions. So you ride to town in low drag mode and sit up for junctions and traffic jams.

Downside? Extra weight, more bearings to wear out and expense I'd say.

 

[661-Pete]

It's widely reported that horses spook at 'bents. How would they take it if they saw one of these in the act of 'transforming', I wonder?

Someone spent too many of their early years at the Meccano, I reckon...

 

[downfader]

Love the level of engineering that went into that... though I think its more of an oddity than anything that solves problems.

..and what is it with commenters leaving the "gay" insult? Have they something to hide?

 

[sheddy]

But can it swap from bent to tandem - that could be useful for picking up a friend ?
(These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking - Pink Floyd)

 

[downfader]

But can it swap from bent to tandem - that could be useful for picking up a friend ?
(These are the pros and cons of hitchhiking - Pink Floyd)

 

[Campfire]

Someone made one in around 1997, it looked a lot lighter, more normal bike tubes. I saw it at one of the CycleFests at Lancaster. The guy used to race on the recumbent scene and came from the Wirral. I'll look out my photo albums and scan it in if I can find it.

 

[HLaB]

Someone made one in around 1997, it looked a lot lighter, more normal bike tubes. I saw it at one of the CycleFests at Lancaster. The guy used to race on the recumbent scene and came from the Wirral. I'll look out my photo albums and scan it in if I can find it.

Cool, for me its a good concept but the weight would put me off I just don't know how they'd market it (as you've probably guessed I'm not Alan Sugar). Its probably something I like to try rather than buy.

 

[Hilldodger]

Someone made one in around 1997, it looked a lot lighter, more normal bike tubes. I saw it at one of the CycleFests at Lancaster. The guy used to race on the recumbent scene and came from the Wirral. I'll look out my photo albums and scan it in if I can find it.

Yeah, I remember that too. It was featured in one of the Bike Culture/Encycleopedia films IIRC.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Makes a kind of sense if you have a long commute into town. Recumbent riders have to take more care in town as they can't see over cars and also have to stick the front of the bike out further at junctions. So you ride to town in low drag mode and sit up for junctions and traffic jams.

Downside? Extra weight, more bearings to wear out and expense I'd say.

This^^^

Interesting bit of engineering.