Lure of the Yike Bike

[goldwing_midland_tx]

I thought it looked a little unstable while riding. Maybe it was because they are sitting on the handlebar and going slow. Like others have said, I wouldn't want to stop too quick or I would be getting thrown off. Of couse, if the Segway stops too quick you can get thrown off also.

[KSagal]

Originally Posted by goldwing_midland_tx

I thought it looked a little unstable while riding. Maybe it was because they are sitting on the handlebar and going slow. Like others have said, I wouldn't want to stop too quick or I would be getting thrown off. Of couse, if the Segway stops too quick you can get thrown off also.

Gary, here I will have to differ with you. The very act of stopping a segway requires you to shift your weight to the rear. This makes if very hard to fall off, as long as you have a clue what you are doing.

If a segway hits a curb, you surely can fall off, but that is hardly the same as trying to come to a controlled stop at the bottom of a hill.

On the Yike Bike, and most other conveyances with binder breaks, you stop with your body in whatever position you want, and the machine stops from the wheels. If you are going down a steep hill at the time, you will flip off forward.

There is no shift in weight as part of the mechanism of stopping.

I suspect that if you hit a curb with this as well, the outcome would not be pretty, but neither machine is built on the premise that you will ride into things.

Erratic behavior on any device can be dangerous. I was speaking of operation within reasonable everyday parameters. (Small mamals not withstanding)

[goldwing_midland_tx]

Originally Posted by KSagal

Gary, here I will have to differ with you. The very act of stopping a segway requires you to shift your weight to the rear. This makes if very hard to fall off, as long as you have a clue what you are doing.

Unfortunately I wasn’t talking about a controlled stop which is why I had the little surprised face.

I agree with you otherwise.

[Tx-Rider]

Originally Posted by KSagal

(Small mamals not withstanding)

Thanks Karl. Thanks a lot.

[homey]

Originally Posted by goldwing_midland_tx

I thought it looked a little unstable while riding. Maybe it was because they are sitting on the handlebar and going slow. Like others have said, I wouldn't want to stop too quick or I would be getting thrown off. Of couse, if the Segway stops too quick you can get thrown off also.

I think if i could choose which machine to be ejected from after looking at a dozen Segway crashes i would much prefer to fall forward on the YikeBike or for that matter sideways just not backward LOL.

[KSagal]

Originally Posted by Tx-Rider

Thanks Karl. Thanks a lot.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself...

[KSagal]

Originally Posted by homey

I think if i could choose which machine to be ejected from after looking at a dozen Segway crashes i would much prefer to fall forward on the YikeBike or for that matter sideways just not backward LOL.

I understand what you guys are saying, but I think you are missing my point.

In the normal course of operation, there is no particular reason to get ejected from a segway.

In the normal course of operation, there is every lilkelihood of being ejected from a Yike Bike.

Even in their video of how it works, a hard stop (not a panic or accident) includes being ejected from the bike.

I have had segways for 7 years now, almost 8, and there is not much reason to get ejected that do not include several mistakes on my part.

It is true, if I glide straight into a brick wall with either device, I will not be quite as pretty as I am tonight, but that is not my point, and even so, I will take my chances on the segway, because it is controlled intuitively. A big ole' scary thing is ahead, we instinctively lean back. On a segway this protects us, on a Yike Bike it does not.

A couple responses have compared falling from a Yike to falling from a Segway, and that is my point. You WILL fall from a Yike. You need not from a segway. If the point is that you will fall from either, that point is faulty, because of all that I have pointed out in the control systems. If you still expect to fall from either, then you do not control your machines as I do.

I drive cars a lot. I drive as a matter of work, and for pleasure. I suspect that all of the cars I have bought in the last 15 or 20 years have had airbags. (in addition to the driver himself)

Airbags are a good thing to have if you have an accident. They protect you after you have proven that you do not know how to drive.

I suspect that they all also had antilock brakes. (Since I usually go thru a car every 2 years, I have had too many to account for here) I like antilock brakes because they help you to avoid needing to use the airbag. A person can drive, and be a good driver, and use antilock brakes. This makes them different from airbags.

The control of a segway is comparable to using antilock brakes.

Preferring to fall off a yike bike is comparable to wanting a pleasing scent in your airbag.

[homey]

Karl... wasn't really giving it that much thought. I just noticed in the vid when the guy braked sharply or if as you say (hit a wall) or bigger pot hole your natural body defensive motion un-obstructed by anything wrapped around our feet or positioned in front of us (like a segway) keeps us from extending our limbs when we sense we are about to collide or fall. In a pefect world no one would push the limits of either machine but given human nature and knowing myself as well as riding street bikes for 20 years I stand by my statement... better to ditch on this screwy looking YikeBike than my segway, i would sustain less injury. I can't believe i'm defending it now, it's so ugly looking

[GadgetmanKen]

I'm with Homey on this one. If you notice in the video at the end , the Yike Bike stops abruptly and the rear wheel lifts. Propelling the rider upward and onto his already outstretched legs. So he's on his feet. Question is would leather soled shoes or tennis shoes be better in a sudden stop? Aren't most Biker boots leather soled? Would it be better to slide standing up and then slip and land on you tail or grab with tennis shoes and possibly twist, stick and stumble and then bust a knee or something?

What really bothers me is what happens when you are turning and the one wheel slides out from under you, say in pea gravel or water, etc.? It also showed him stopping quickly. I want to see him start from stopped and slowing gradually to a stop. How tricky is it then?

Karl, I kept thinking of windbags for some reason ? JK

[Gihgehls]

I've leaned back hard enough on my segway that it wasn't able to stay up. I didn't lose traction, but it did deposit me on to my rear end. I stopped hard enough that the Segway shutdown because of too much angle. So, it is very possible to stop too fast on a Segway and fall off. The difference between this and a Yike is that you fall off the back and not the front.