http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6375259.stm
An inventor has made a bike that travels sideways. How does it work?
It has been hailed as the first major development in bicycle design for 150
years. The Sideways Bike has a steerable wheel with a set of handlebars at
either end.
The cyclist sits sideways and operates a wheel with each hand, and pedalling
makes the whole bike travel sideways.
Its key advantage is that it's more manoeuvrable than a conventional bike,
says its inventor Michael Killian, 46, a software engineer in Dublin.
"The strange thing about it is it's very like snowboarding or sailing
because you're moving sideways and operating on a different balance system
in your head.
"It's a front-to-back balance not a left-to-right like a normal bike. That
affords you tremendous grace and motion. It's dance-like.
"The advantages are in the motion. It's never going to win you the Tour de
France. But it's mesmerising and entertaining."
1: The back cog drives the back wheel chain, which unlike on a normal bike
can turn either way when the back handlebar is steered.
2: Back handlebar which steers the back wheel and has a rear light.
3: Front handlebar which steers the front wheel and has a light and
rear-view mirror.
4: Pedals are at right angles to the wheels.
5: The seat is shaped like an upside-down crescent.
6: This frame goes over the lap of the cyclist, but can go under if
preferred.
A modified version, which has two sets of handlebars, smaller wheels and
upon which the cyclist faces forward, could be in the shops at Christmas
priced at £150, if negotiations with a supplier in Taiwan prove fruitful.
And Mr Killian hopes the Sideways Bike will follow it into mass production.
He has already taken it to Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne, New York and Boston,
to test it on the streets. Riding it around the Arc de Triomphe was a
particular challenge, he says, which drew looks of bemusement from
Parisiens.
But the Sideways Bike would need amending before riding on the UK streets
because riding the current model would mean the cyclist had his back to the
traffic.
"It's a kids' bike, from seven up to teenagers. Some adults will like it but
it's for play and you need to be co-ordinated enough to ride it."
After testing it on volunteers, he estimates only about six out of 10 people
are able to master it. And he recommends getting a cyclist's helmet with a
rear-view mirror attached.
A motion Mr Killian much enjoys is "drifting", which is when both wheels are
parallel. The biggest difference to a normal bike is in turning, which is
usually done using both wheels.
A left-hand corner, for instance, will be approached with a move to the
right, as it would on a normal bike.
Then the cyclist leans into the turn to take the corner. The front wheel is
usually the first to turn and the back wheel follows to modify the angle.
He had the idea four years ago, while spending his Saturdays in his shed
"working on nonsense".
"The first prototype nearly killed me and I still have a scar on my leg. I
took it to a slope and went 330m downhill.
"That was the Eureka moment and it felt like picking up a glove and finding
that it fits perfectly. It was a wonderful feeling."