Engadget gets some seat time on the YikeBike folding electric two-wheeler

When we're not dreaming about super-clean cars, we enjoy getting around town on our bikes. Who doesn't? We haven't had a chance to take the YikeBike, the 21st century version of the penny-farthing, for a spin, but the lucky punks at Engadget did, and it sounds like the crew's short hands-on time was enlightening. After just a few minutes on the bike, they managed to reach "fairly high speeds" and discovered that the hand controls are intuitive. While this first version of the bike wasn't the best size for the reviewer, YikeBike representatives told Engadget they're planning a smaller version of the $4,659-bike for the summer (in some European countries and New Zealand). Other changes since the bike was announced last fall include a higher top speed (all the way up to 15.5 miles per hour from 12.5) and a slightly longer range (10 kilometers from a 40-minute charge time). All this from a 22-pound thing that folds into a backpack of sorts in 15 seconds.

Do we think we'll ever buy a tiny folding bike with a limited range? Not really, but we wouldn't mind finding a YikeBike rental stand the next time we're visiting a tourist attraction like Suomenlinna and find ourselves short on time. See more YikeBike photos and videos here.

[Source: Engadget]