Wikipedia says that the bicycle is the most popular vehicle all over the world. It even has an official day. June 3. It was invented in the 19th century as an alternative to horse drawn carriages, which had been the most common for centuries. That you could afford. The alternative was to go on foot. The bicycle managed to make short trips more bearable. And the long ones. Already in 1935 the first documented trip by bicycle was made Europe, Asia and the United States. By sea it was by boat, of course. And another curiosity, the first bicycles were without pedals. Something that is back in fashion today. Or at least there are those who bet on it.
Today’s bicycles are all very similar in terms of their basic shape and structure. They change the Manufacturing materials, the gears, the braking system and/or the type of tire. But seen a bicycle, you could recognize them all. This was not the case in the early years of the bicycle, a time when ingenuity was not always practical. Models emerged with gigantic wheels, or with a gigantic wheel and a tiny one. Bicycles that were difficult to get on and off, but that were relatively successful. There were even more comfortable ones, with two rear wheels and one front.
Today we have bicycles for all imaginable land. To walk, to do pirouettes in the air, to climb the mountain without disheveled, to travel long distances, to break speed records… And they all use pedals. Thanks to the pedals, we reduce the effort needed to move the bike. That is why it is more comfortable to ride a bike than to walk. Unless you’re going uphill. Currently there are different types of pedals: simple, with grip, folding, magnetic…
It’s more. If you search the internet for bicycles without pedals, you will find models for the smallest of the house. Very comfortable models in which you sit and you only have to move your feet to move. But as we grow older, our parents provide us with bicycles with pedals. First with three or four wheels, so as not to fall to the ground in our first pedaling. And, finally, we learn with only two wheels. But the pedals are always there. So, if the pedal is so important to moving the bike, why do bicycles without pedals? Genius or extravagance?
fliz
We will start with Fliz, a model of bicycle without pedals born in Germany. Their page official, hosted on Blogger, is in German. The first time something was published about this bike was in the summer of 2012. There are also mentions of it in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2018. Since then, we know little else about the project. There was a prototype, which we have been able to in photographs. There is even the occasional video with the Fliz bike in motion. But if you try to buy them, you will have it complicated.
Those responsible for the idea are Tom Hambrock and Juri Spetter, two German engineers. As they say on the project page, they were inspired by one of the first modern pedalless bicycles, from the German manufacturer Laufrad. “We have created a velocipede concept of healthy and ecological mobility in an overpopulated urban space”. What the Fliz bike does is unite cycling with walking. And you have to move your feet to make the bike move. As it reaches a certain speed, you can put your feet up and save energy.
Although in videos and photographs we can clearly see what the Fliz is like, it is worth describing it. In the traditional, it consists of two identical wheels. The front, with the traditional handlebar with brakes. But everything changes in the central part. There is no seat. And the central bar is placed above us, where we find a harness we have to tie ourselves to to be more comfortable. Come on, if you ride a Fliz, you’ll be hung.
If you are interested in acquiring one of these bicycles without pedals, you will have it complicated. You can try your luck by contacting its creators. In its page official you will find an address of email. But looking in bike shops, it is impossible to find it. Moreover, in Quora, a question and answer platform, someone asks why it was not successful. And the answers put her back and a half. Basically they criticize having to walk with herits exaggerated size, that it does not have space to carry anything on it, the maneuverability…
laufrad
The name of laufrad it is relatively popular in Germany. This bicycle manufacturer has, according to its official website, more than 30 years of experience in the manufacture and sale of children’s, road and even electric bicycles. And in its catalog we can find bicycles without pedals. Obviously, for the little ones and not so little ones. But they also have a model for the older ones. Literally.
Its creator is the octogenarian Albrecht Schnitzer. Although he had the help of his son, Heinrich Schnitzer. The idea was so well received that they created their own company, sollsowhich manufactures this bicycle to laufradwho is the one who sells them in their physical stores and on-line. Is available in six colors and you can purchase add-ons like travel bags. I don’t know if they sell bikes without pedals outside of Germany.
The idea behind this bike without pedals, made of carbon fiber and with aluminum wheels, is to offer older people an alternative to facilitate their mobility and that do not imply a stigma as it happens with walkers. The result, a bicycle for which it is not necessary to know how to ride a bicycle. That is, since you have to move your feet to move it, there are no balance problems. For the rest, it is a normal bicycle, with brakes and a saddle to sit on. It simply has no pedals and no chain. It weighs approximately 4.5 kilograms and supports up to 100 kilograms of weight.
Levicle
Innovation has its risks. We have seen two examples. One that went wrong and one that went right. With Levicle It was also not as expected. It came at a bad time. But it deserves mention for being a pedalless bike that looks a lot like the electric scooters that we see today in many cities. There are those with a saddle that are closer to motorcycles than to original skateboards or scooters. Come on, the invention was on the right track but the electric motor was missing to have functioned in the market. The competition from the scooters was too strong.
The person in charge of Levicle is the New Zealand inventor and entrepreneur Tom Mackenzie. After several prototypes of bicycles without pedals, which recovered models from the 19th century with wheels of different sizes, he ended up designing a bicycle model very close to scooters. It was a bicycle in which you were sitting comfortably. You only had to move your feet from time to time on the ground to propel the bike Levicle. Ideal to move around the city and go to work or anywhere with little effort.
To find funding, the project Was published in kickstarter in 2015. And he got NZ$28,260, more than the NZ$25,000 he needed. All in all, he only sold 23 models of this bike without pedals. Those that corresponded to the 23 sponsors who put the most money in one total of 76 sponsors. The planned stock was 200 copies. There were two models, one for children and one for adults. Among their advantages, in addition to comfort, they were very compact and lightsince they were made of aluminum.
SitGo
In the Netherlands we find the company SitGoresponsible for two models of bicycles without pedals, the classical and the Ultimate. These are bikes that, at a glance, have everything any bike should have. They have simply removed the center bar, pedals and chain and placed a base to place the feet comfortably. Precisely in the Netherlands there is a long tradition of getting around by bicycle, thanks to its orography. And the bikes without pedals by level ground they are much more palatable. A little boost and enjoy the scenery. But they are also electric.
The idea of these bicycles was born in 2013 but under the name SitGo arises in 2018. And to make these bikes without pedals an electric vehicle, they joined forces with another Dutch company, W-Tec / EML. As indicated on its website, “it can be used in the public road and, thanks to its low step and its 24 inch tiresIt is very suitable for people with mobility problems”.
“Reinforced frame, 24 to 36 volt power supplyremovable battery in the luggage rack, the motor has been moved from the front wheel to the rear, which provides a better and more stable ride, and the automatic ignition of the lights in the dark. There are also many optional extras such as: suspension fork, wider footpeg including extra wide option, more powerful battery and bag holders for the luggage rack.
For the rest, these bikes are sold, mainly in the Netherlands itself. You can try to buy them online, but I don’t know if they ship the product to other countries. To this must be added its price. Approximately €2,575 in the model classical. and the model Ultimate appears in online stores at a price of €3,149. A good outlay for a bike without pedals. Of course, this time, electric.