The Yike Bike is a personal electric transporter based on a new design of bike called the mini-farthing. It isn’t just a funny looking electric bike however, it’s packed with tech; there’s electronic anti-lock brakes, built-in headlights, turn indicators, brake lights and it’s speed limited to to 20km/h. It even has a distinctive sound so people know that you’re coming.

Made of carbon-composite materials the Yike Bike weighs less than 10kg and folds up small enough to fit into a shoulder bag so you can take it with you on the bus, train or upstairs to the office. It can handle people up to 6’5″ in height and a maximum weight of 100kg and the bike will travel between 9 and 10 km on a charge, it will even charge to 80% in as little as 20 minutes. Bikes from the first production run will cost around �3,700 for delivery in mid 2010 and will be available in most of Western Europe, the UK and it’s homeland New Zealand.

YikeBike is a statement about using smart technology to solve the problems of our increasingly congested, polluted, stressful cities. It is the first commercial expression of the mini-farthing concept, created up by a bunch of successful entrepreneurs, engineers and dreamers. We sat down to try and answer:

Tags: gadget, electric+bike, yike+bike, mini+farthing, electric+transport, electric+personal+transport