Over the weekend, I saw the future and it looked like a bright green and black elliptical bike. The Elliptigo is like an elliptical machine from the gym that's been streamlined and put into bike form. And they can go fast. Sorry Segway, but there's a neater way to move around while standing tall.
On Sunday Boulder held an event called Green Streets, where the city closed part of a main street to traffic. Green businesses and organizations set up booths, held workshops, and offered demos. Locals strolled, rode skateboards, and biked. I even saw a guy on a Segway. As I rode my trusty bike, I spotted two women riding Elliptigos. They whizzed by me.
This was my first time seeing one in person, and it looked not only like fun but also a vehicle that could coexist with bikes in the lane. That was always a problem with Segways -- they needed a dedicated lane. At the end of the day I saw my neighbor riding along on one. He stopped to show me how it works. The base has two little half-baskets where your feet go and then, just like the gym, pushing down on one pedal and then the other gets it going.
It turns out that the Elliptigo was developed in California by former triathlete Bryan Tate and mechanical engineer Brent Teal. According to the company's history online, by age 32 Tate had injured his hip and knees so badly doing athletics that he was limited to low-impact activities. He hated being stuck in the gym so he enlisted fellow athlete Teal to help him build a device he could ride in the street. They were able to get a license to an earlier elliptical trainer patent and worked on a prototype.
Two years ago, they entered a prototype dubbed "Charlie" in a 50-mile bike race. It performed well, finishing in the middle of the pack. The two continued to work on the design and came out with a version that survived the "Death Ride," a 129-mile bike course through the Sierras. At one point the prototype went 40 miles per hour downhill, according to the company's site.
The Elliptigo hit the market earlier this year, retailing at about $2,200. That's certainly nothing to sneeze at, but then again I've seen cyclists here with bikes on car racks that are worth more than the cars. The Wall Street Journal's Gwendolyn Bounds featured the Elliptigo in a column on workout gear that's easy on the joints, but I think elliptical bikes will spread beyond the fitness fanatic set. My hope is that other companies enter the arena, prices go down, and Baby Boomers pedal off while standing up. The more enticing biking is, especially for people who otherwise wouldn't consider it, the greener our streets will be.
Photo: Elliptical bikes take on a hill. Credit: Elliptigo.
Tags: Bicycles, Design, Green Tech, Transportation, Vehicles and Equipment
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