I don't think I want one of these for Christmas, thank you.
According to the Daily Mail:
A young inventor has created a motorbike with a twist – it uses two wheels but they are positioned right next to each other, giving it the illusion of being a powered unicycle. And even better, it might help save the planet.
Ben Gulak has spent several years building the electric Uno that uses gyroscopic technology - like the infamous Segway commuter device - to stay upright.
The bizarre-looking contraption has only one switch - on or off - and is controlled entirely by body movement.
The rider leans forwards to accelerate to speeds of 25mph and back to slow down. It has two wheels side-by-side and has been turning heads wherever it has been ridden.
Don't get me wrong - I like motorcycles. However, I prefer to have my wheels fore and aft, with my feet forming the remaining corners of a nice diamond formation on the ground. They call it 'stability' - something I'm not sure I'd have astride that thing!
(Besides, local drivers would probably be so wide-eyed at seeing it they'd run into me!)
Peter
4 comments:
I just wish that people would stop saying "It'll help save the environment." every time an electric-powered something comes out. Untill we start using Nuke plants for electricity generation, instead of oil and coal plants, electrically powered cars/motorcycles are just inefficient ways of using that coal/oil.
All they're coming up with are different ways to STORE energy. Not generate it. Oil is an energy source. Batteries are just a form of storage for energy you made somewhere else. Same goes for Hydrogen Cells...
All that said, yes the bike does look cool.
An electricity powered vehicle powered by coal plant generated electricity is still several times more enviromentally friendly than one powered by petrol. They ARE more efficient, on an order of magnitude somewhere around 3 to 1.
Hmm. The first thing I notice is the awesome face-planting potential should the gyro fail. At least with the Segway, you're situated in an upright position, but with this thing, you're already halfway to the face-planted position.
I'm a little late getting in on this... But I think you all have points. Generating electricity isn't only for large corporations anymore. You can rig up your own wind mill for cheap, or even set up a solar collection array, for less than the cost of a car. So, the argument that all energy needs to be generated by "unclean" means, isn't at all accurate.
The face planting potential of the design is a little freaky. Perhaps some sort of Fore-stop bar could be implemented to stabilize the design in the event of a gyro failure. Like he has on the back. The thing isn't going that fast afterall. Just 25MPH.
Just a thought.
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