From [here]:

“The genesis of the idea here seemed to be that, as bike suspension got more advanced, so too did the knowledge of the person tuning that suspension have to be to get it right. If you don’t know how to properly tweak fast versus slow damping, rebound, preload, and other like parameters you could easily create a machine about as much fun to ride as a wet noodle. Cannondale’s Simon takes care of that, automatically providing an initial configuration based on your weight (which you can override, if you wish)”

Now do I have an opinion? Of course I do but I’m keeping it to myself All I can think though is “I can’t ride today because my battery has gone flat and my suspension don’t work no more…”

I wonder what the retro-gooch fixe riders will think about this bit of techno wizardry?

Released at this year’s Eurobike, the YikeBike is a real life, working, electric mini-farthing. In my mind, while this does seem really odd at first, it’s far more appealing than the Segway (LOOK! it has two wheels, ok ).

In their words:

“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:

• What is the simplest way to get from A to B with the aid of a machine?
• What is the smallest wheel you can have to get a stable, safe, comfortable ride?
• Can you make something small enough to be able to go with you anywhere in a city?
• Wonder if we could make a unicycle dramatically easier to ride and fold?

We were intrigued by creating something that could dramatically change urban transport, enabling city dwellers a fast, safe and easy way to navigate their environment.

The result was the mini-farthing concept and its first expression, the YikeBike. It employs state-of-the-art technology, engineering and industrial design to create a new class of personal transport.”

You can find out a lot more about it here [http://www.yikebike.com]