A bicycle built for . . . Bond? James Bond?

It is to laugh . . . A British bicycle insurance company (well, they insure other means of transport as well, but they take pride in being 'green' and insuring bicycles) has come up with what it calls the 'B.O.N.D (Built of Notorious Deterrents) Bike'.




It'll be officially unveiled at the Earls Court Motor Show in England this week. According to the developers:

Cycle insurer ilovemybike.co.uk was inspired to build the bicycle after asking 800 cyclists to name their least favourite aspect of life on two wheels.

The B.O.N.D Bike bristles with special features designed to address the most common of these gripes.

• Flame thrower: 52% of cyclists named ‘cars and lorries passing too close’ as their number one complaint, so the bike’s handlebars are fitted with a specially-designed flame thrower to fire towards vehicles that get too close.
• Caterpillar track: 25% cited poor road conditions such as potholes as a problem, so the bike is fitted with an all-terrain caterpillar track in place of its rear wheel.
• Ejector seat: 7% worried most about their bicycle being stolen, so the bike is fitted with an ejector seat to catch out any thief that gets past a conventional lock.
• Ski blade: 2% of respondents felt cold weather conditions were the most irksome aspect of cycling, so the bike carries a ski blade that can be interchanged with the front wheel.
  

A spokesperson at ilovemybike.co.uk said: “Wannabe James Bonds will be disappointed to hear that we have no plans to sell the B.O.N.D. Bike, but it shouldn’t be necessary for cyclists to resort to flame throwers to get a little consideration on the roads. Correct road positioning and an assertive riding style can dramatically reduce cars and lorries passing too close.”

There's more at the link.

Here's a video clip demonstrating the B.O.N.D. bike's features.

I notice they don't actually show it in motion, which may be because the prototype isn't mobile - or it may be to avoid giving conniption fits to poor, unsuspecting British bobbies!



Peter