This is hands-down the craziest road vehicle we've seen in a long, long time. Dreamed up by four German design students and built like a cross between a Tron Light Cycle and our childhood tricycle, it accelerates to 18.6 miles per hour, powered by nothing but a pair of Bosch 18-volt screwdrivers.
Granted that's about as fast as, well, our childhood tricycle lumbering down a hill. But it's not nothing, especially when you consider that this thing a.) doesn't have a traditional engine b.) can be made (mostly) out of crap you find in your dad's toolbox and c.) has you staring straight at the frickin' road. We reckon any speed is more than enough speed.
The students -- Nils Ferber, Sebastian Auray, Ruben Faber, and Ludolf von Oldershausen, of HFBK University of Fine Arts Hamburg -- built Excentricity or "EX" for a screwdriver race competition held by another design school in Germany. (Those wacky Germans and their machines!) As Ferber tells Co. in an email, most other entries just rigged existing bicycles, whereas he and his classmates built their ride from scratch. They even designed their own parts in CAD, then had them CNC milled.
How Excentricity works: Battery-operated screwdrivers "screw" into the frame near the rear wheel, powering the bike chain, which then transmits juice to the gearing. The screwdrivers run in the same direction for max power, and overruning clutch gearwheels are used to transmit torque.
To accelerate and brake, the driver squeezes the handles. To steer, he wiggles his body, effectively tilting and bending the back wheel. "This is very different from holding a steering wheel or handle bar but makes the driving very intense," Ferber says. "The headlong position and being very close to the ground make you easily forget that you are still not exactly the fastest thing on the road."
COMMENTARY: If you don't mind being hurt or even killed, then the Excentricy road warrior bike is for you. Using two 18-volt portable Bosch (German, of course) screwdrivers for power is ingenius. This could start a new trend in wacky screwdriver-powered riding machines. According to Nills, the EX bike can go 30 km/h. The EX bike turns by applying body lean to an ingenius joint which is part of the rear wheel. This leaves me wondering how long the power will last before you need to recharge the portable screwdrivers batteries, but who cares when you are having so much reckless fun. Definitely wear a crash helmet and off-road padded outfit if you want to live to ride another day. Great job Nils Ferber, Sebastian Auray, Ruben Faber, and Ludolf von Oldershausen.
Courtesy of an article dated March 23, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design
I didn't know about this, seems amazing!!!
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Hmm i also agree with all others cycle is good in shape but back support is very essential.
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Posted by: diane | 09/29/2011 at 09:03 AM
Hello,
Nice design. Motorcycles are one of the most affordable forms of motorised transport in many parts of the world and, for most of the world's population, they are also the most common type of motor vehicle.
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i think it would be fun if we can use it for racing..:)
Posted by: Filipina Desire | 07/06/2011 at 07:36 AM
Is it for real? Looks good coz its unique. But I think that's kinda hurt at the back.
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