Pedal: 5 unusual and even strange bicycles

The first two-wheeled “iron horse” appeared in 1818. It was designed by German Carl von Dreze. Since then, however, the bicycle has been invented many more times. There are hundreds of unusual bikes in the world: without handlebars, without a seat, even without wheels. And all of them are full-fledged vehicles. Here are five of the most interesting ideas.

Cardboard Alfa Bike

Cardboard Alfa Bike is made of ordinary packing cardboard. The bike is light, maneuverable, and can support a rider weighing up to 136 kilograms. You can ride it even in rainy and snowy weather. All because the parts are soaked in resin before assembly and coated with water-resistant and fireproof paint. The tires are made from recycled car tires.

The cost of such a vehicle $ 10 – it is less than 800 rubles.

The creator of the cardboard bike – Israeli inventor Itzgar Gafni. This work took him several years. In addition to the final model was another five less successful. But Gafni did not stop and designed the world’s first cardboard bicycle-vehicle.

A pocket bike

The smallest bicycle of our selection is only 8.4 centimeters long. And it really can be ridden. The design consists of two wheels, pedals, chain, frame, handlebars and seat. But you can hardly sit on it.

The bicycle was designed by Sergey Dashevsky, an inventor from Krasnodar. In his collection there is an iron horse even smaller – 7.5 centimeters, but he has not yet been able to ride it. Sergey used to race velomobiles, became a three-time world champion and two-time USSR champion. And now he wants to popularize cycling with the help of his inventions.

The Pibal scooter bike

Pibal is created for those who cannot make up their minds. The hybrid looks like a regular bicycle, but between the pedals it has a scooter pad. It was added so that at low speeds you can keep your balance and continue moving by pushing off the ground with your foot. For example, if you were driving in the city and got stuck in traffic. Pibal can also be used as an ordinary scooter.

This model was developed by designer Philippe Starck together with Peugeot. In 2014, an exclusive collection of bicycle scooters went on sale in France.

Bicycle with a sail

Whike is an invention of Dutchman Frege Twite. It is a three-wheeled recumbent bicycle, on which a sail with a height of 1.6 meters is fixed. It allows you to gain speed up to 50 km/h in a crosswind. In Europe, the Whike is even registered as an official vehicle.

The bike weighs 23 kilograms, and the bike itself can withstand up to 115. The price of the model in the basic configuration is € 5500 – about half a million rubles. Manage the “sailboat” can be operated with the help of special levers. Do it is not easy, but if you learn, you can even travel on it. Blogger Dave Cornthwaite overcame 1600 kilometers on a sailing bike and filmed it for his YouTube channel.

A bike for underwater swims

SeaBike can quite replace the electric scooter for diving, while costing much cheaper – about 20,500 rubles. On the bike you can go underwater for 12-15 meters and accelerate up to 7 km / h. Its creators, brothers Alexei and Alexander Lukyanov, are engaged in shipbuilding in Yaroslavl, and now they produce water bikes. You can swim on them not only underwater, but also on the surface.

The designers promise that even an untrained swimmer can overcome several kilometers on SeaBike. And it will require no more energy inputs than walking on land.

The bike weighs 3.5 kilograms and is no more than 70 centimeters long. It is made of durable materials resistant to corrosion in sea water – glass-filled polyamide and titanium alloy.

Speed in the water can be gained only through the power of the legs – with the help of pedals. They drive the propeller, while your hands remain free. You can also attach inflatable boards or a scuba gun to the SeaBike hull.