I have mixed reactions to this German-designed FLIZ bike, as described on the James Dyson Award website, where you can view a short video and see stills.
A part of me is attracted by the "shiny keys" aspect. An other part says, "Why re-invent the wheel?" Or in this case, why re-invent the two-wheeler.
One of the reasons that the velocipede was left in the dust was because the cranks, chains and later, gears, gave a mechanical advantage. The average cyclist can out-travel the average runner.
And really, all the FLIZ does is support the body while running.
Having said that, the FLIZ does get around the problems of saddle compression of the groin area (and underscores how important the groin-saddle contact is controlling the bicycle). It's cool, and the 21st century is all about cool. And it does make us re-consider our concepts of what exactly a bicycle is.
Truly, an ideal Friday time-waster.
I don't really think anyone but the guy in the picture would say that a swing on wheels is cool.
That looks incredibly uncomfortable and I imagine it handles like crap. Imagine if your foot got caught in the wheel... lol.
Posted by: clasher | September 01, 2012 at 10:56 AM
If you could put your feet up on pegs, and the whole thing was powered as an ebike, I could see it being kind of fun.
As it stands though, the idea of wheels pushed by feet-on-pavement seems rather Flintstonian to me.
Posted by: jc | September 09, 2012 at 03:35 PM