@Lupison: how do you jump up onto a curve? Unless it has a berm in it but you dont see many of those away from motocross tracks. Now ive seen people jump up onto a curb which this looks a little unsuited for.

venomous_duck41

@bjacobel: but then you'd be riding a razor scooter...

venomous_duck41

You hit one bump in that thing... hell that thing couldn't even jump up onto a curve.

Lupison

@92BuickLeSabre: Oh, for sure my first impression: "Why does that guy have a toilet seat on his back?"

And are they using "plastics" to mean, well, plastics, or as a generic proxy for "not metal?" Because that would allow for graphite epoxy - which would be what I would use. A design like that would be a snap (no pun intended) in graphite.

ps61318

You cant use flamingo to render now, it just looks bad.

hu_hu_cool

The more pressing danger for the person wearing it would be if someone else mistook it for a toilet seat.

frigg

@GeekyNerdGuy: The expected lifespan of the product drops from a week to about 15 mins.

@92BuickLeSabre: The designer might cry.

Gann

make one with a bell and tassles and I'm in!

groverdog

Folding bikes are great for throwing (carefully) in a car trunk or portaging in a paved urban setting. Here in Toronto bikes are forbidden on buses, streetcars and subways during morning and evening rush hour. If for any reason a cyclist with a non-folding bike like this needs a public transit lift ... SOL! Here is where the folding bike comes to the rescue. Some bike racks are being tested on buses and in storage compartments under commuter trains, but this is a painful process of integration, and one that has to happen if healthier commuter lifestyles are to be realized. This kind of bike I hope is just a stop-gap in that transition.

ANoel

Plus, if it wasn't on your back all the time, I bet this would be harder to lock/secure than a regular bike. What would you do, put a chain through the straps? I'd much rather put my 3lb bar lock through the frame of my Trek and leave it where I rode it to with some peace of mind.

bjacobel

Should be named Bike-Pack.

arekkusu82

What if they combined this design with not-a-toilet-seat design?

92BuickLeSabre

What if they combined this design with the cardboard bicycle design?

GeekyNerdGuy

Or.... you could just buy a Razor scooter and put it in a real backpack. Then you could disguise it as a katana, and challenge Ben Stiller to a walk-off.

bjacobel

@bjacobel: I used a Xootr scooter for years for casual short-range commuting and loved it. The only real problem with it was that when I'd arrive at my destination and fold up the scooter, it would be gunked with road dirt and inevitably get schmutz on my clothes as I carried it. Although it's hard to be certain from these pictures, if this does indeed feature an integrated waterproof bag that would completely enclose the wheels and such, then it could be practical for use with business clothes.

@arekkusu82: Yes!

@92BuickLeSabre: Or, flip the backpack upside down, hold it over your head and look like you've got really big bright ideas.

By the looks of things, this bike could be deadly to someone weighing over 150 pounds.

bosskev

I'm gonna ride the MS150 on that next year. Then when I'm like 500 yards from the finish, I'll fold it up and hide it under my Camelbak. Everyone will think I ran the whole thing!

Geisrud

Where do I plug in my Ipod on this thing?

VideoVampire

@bosskev: My bad, I wasn't paying attention. I meant to ask that question to @Geisrud:

GeekyNerdGuy

@GeekyNerdGuy: Not meaning to mislead, "short-range commuting" on a scooter for me means, like, six blocks to the parking garage and back. Just a bit less than Houston to Austin.

bosskev

@microe: "I think a better idea would be a toilet backpack...Think about all of the gay sex you can have just about anywhere."
Umm...based on the escapades of so many of my friends, I'd say that was already happening without any such gadgets. (Not me, of course, my friends. Yup. Just my friends.)

* sadly, is telling the truth *
* sighs *

bosskev

@ps61318: @bosskev: Which one did you guys do? I did Houston to Austin this year via the Park Route (extra mileage through one ridiculously hilly state park).

GeekyNerdGuy

@Geisrud: I did that ride a couple of times. Ours was actually had a 175 mile option - a full century on day 1 and 75 on day 2 (different routes out and back, obviously).

They try and make the ride as accessible as possible, so the road is usually pretty good, but there are exceptions. Gets a little choppy in spots. I would be worried about major bruising in that area twixt my pubic bone and my butt - which has a name, which I forget.

In fact, for anything longer than a quick jaunt, same issue. Gonna hurt.

ps61318

I think a better idea would be a toilet backpack. Looking at the design sketches, the designer is about 63% there. Imagine, being able to shat anywhere! And then carrying your own feces with you into the different public places you go. Think about all of the gay sex you can have just about anywhere. Think of all the senators from Idaho you will meet.

Seriously, finding a decent bathroom in an urban environment is a non-trivial experience.

microe

@GeekyNerdGuy: @Geisrud: Cleveland to Sandusky (Cedar Point Amusement Park). But it's been probably fifteen years.

I'm finally getting on the bike more - had a couple of good rides this year. Got older and blobbier - need to work on that.

I love to ride, though.

ps61318

This could work, with some improvements. I've seen more people using the razor scooters than I thought I ever would (in NYC). For those people this would probably be a good option.

RE-L

Just learn how to ride a unicycle. It should be just as easy to strap it to your back, at half the weight.

yougottabekidding

@yougottabekidding: you gotta be kidding.

ithcy

As per usual, this design looks like it was conceived by someone who's never been in the same room as a real, practical, reliable bicycle.

alpacalypse

@ANoel:
Yeah, but this thing looks like it would be so much more effective as a backpack than it ever would be as a mode of transportation. More like it was designed for lifelong mass-transit users who are terrified that they might suddenly find themselves needing to transport themselves by human-power at some point.

Purple Dave

@Purple Dave:
Ya, true enough.
On second glance it does look like a Paddle-wheeler.

= )

ANoel

concepts are great, too bad they don't include any of the fine details like movement.

Speaking as an engineer, that concept would take a lot to keep it strong and actually function without something stripping.

toyotaboy