Luxury Urban Transport In The Form Of A Carbon Fiber Electric Folding Bike: YikeBike

A Carbon Fibre Folding Electric Bike Available For Pre-Order


The YikeBike is a a super high–end all electric folding bicycle made of carbon fiber that weighs less than 10 kg. Currently designed and assembled in New Zealand, the bike is available for pre-order now and the first 100 orders are expected to be delivered mid 2010.

Initially the YikeBike will be available in the UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium and New Zealand.








More information and FAQs after the following images.








hi-res photos below, please click to enlarge:




Answers to some of the important questions:

How fast does the YikeBike go?
The YikeBike is electronically limited to 20 kph, even down-hill. It accelerates to top speed in just a few seconds.

How long does it take to charge the YikeBike?
This depends on the amount of battery discharge, but a typical time would be 20 minutes for 80% charge.

How much does it cost to charge?
It depends upon your electricity supplier, but in most cities the cost to charge would be less that €0.10 equivalent.

How tall/short do you have to be to ride the YikeBike? Is the seat adjustable? Is there a weight limit?
The YikeBike can comfortably be ridden by anyone from 160cm to 195cm (5’3” to 6'5"). There is no need to adjust the seat because you do not pedal – your height relative to the seat is only important to how much your knees are bent when riding. The YikeBike can comfortably take a rider (and personal effects) weighing up to 100kg. Beyond this weight we do not warrant performance. Over time we may make different sized ones - particularly for children.

What is the battery life and cost of replacement?
The YikeBike has latest Lithium Phosphate (liFePO4) batteries that are good for at least 1,000 charges. We will share the exact details when they become available closer to the start of YikeBike production.

How quickly does it fold?
With a bit of practice, folding takes less than 15 seconds.

Can I have a colour other than black?
‘Carbon fibre black’ is the only colour that will initially be available for a YikeBike. After initial production has begun we will look at different colours and options to accessorise your YikeBike.

How heavy is a YikeBike?
The YikeBike weighs less than 10kg with a full battery and air in the tyres

What are the folded dimensions of a YikeBike?
The folded dimensions are 150mm by 600mm by 600mm. The total folded volume is 40 litres. The folded YikeBike is considerably smaller than a typical folding bicycle and the fact that all of the mechanicals are enclosed reduces the risk of marking or staining clothing or furniture.

How far can YikeBike go?
Currently the YikeBike can travel a distance of 9 - 10 Km.

How much will the Yike-Bike cost?
The price for the first YikeBikes will be between €3,500-€3,900. You can pre-order one now here with a deposit on your credit card.

for complete information, visit YikeBike.

About the inventor, Grant Ryan:

YikeBike founder, Grant is an addicted inventor and entrepreneur. He has founded a number of companies including GlobalBrain.net (sold to NBCi), RealContacts, SLI Systems (profitable fast growing SaaS search company) and Eurekster (North America Red Herring 100 in 2006). He is on the board of Canterbury Development Corporation and has also served on the board of the New Zealand Government's $140 million Venture Investment Fund and $430 million Foundation for Research Science and Technology.

Grant has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Ecological Economics from the University of Canterbury. The YikeBike perfectly combines his love of mechanics, environment and innovation.



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. More on the history of the development of the concept can be found at www.minifarthing.com

all images and information courtesy of YikeBike.com


Related Posts:

Another Folding Electric Bike; The Capella


The Brammo Enertia Electric Motorcycle:


The Mission One EV Electric Motorcycle:


The Fastest Electric Bike:The KillaCycle which has been clocked at a top speed of 168 mph:


The Uno Electric Unicycle:


Purisme Carbon Fibre products:

The Capella: Vietnamese Student Designs Electric Folding Bike

Capella, as Truong Minh Nhat calls his creation, is an electric bike made with light composites that the Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture student says can be folded and put into a backpack.

Capella can have its wheels, chain and chain-ring bolt folded into the body:


Users can take the bike along when traveling and escape the crowd anywhere, Nhat says, adding that it can travel at 30 kilometers per hour with a battery that will run for 12 kilometers after it is charged for two hours.



Nhat says most of the designed components are not available in the market, like a semicircle top bar.

"I had to convince and explain a lot to bike component makers, although I was making only one and offered them high prices", he says. Starting the project more than half a year ago as his graduation thesis, Nhat put a lot of time and effort into it. He spent one month sketching out the design, which was inspired by the Unicorn that controls the star Capella in Greek mythology.

"My product targets teenagers who want to ride bicycles, so I paid due attention to its stylish design", Nhat says.

To ensure that all the parts followed the design, Nhat had to stay with the people making them all the time and because they were more than 30 kilometers apart, he had to shuttle back and forth many times everyday.

Two days before the deadline, Nhat was overwhelmed with separate components, electricity systems and batteries. Although he submitted his product just two hours before the deadline, he obtained high marks for it.

He invited some workers to his house to assemble the bike. "All of them then slept for only two hours each night until the bike was complete", Nhat says.

"My application for intellectual property right has been approved, says the graduate of the university's Industrial Design Department. I am now studying ways to improve the bike's eminent functions before seeking partners to launch the product in the market at a price reasonable for Vietnamese people."

Since the first bike was made manually by assembling separate components, it still has certain shortcomings, he says.



Nhat expects to replace some of the bike's components with even lighter materials to reduce its weight to around 10 kilograms.

source: QUỐC LINH for Tuổi trẻ

Remember the student designed Uno by Ben Gulak?

Read about that one here.