"The Big Idea", new SKY ONE show will feature Dublin inventor of the Sideways Bike

[sidewaysbike]

A DUBLIN INVENTOR will be plugging his invention on TV next weekend in
a bid to win £100,000.
Michael Killian, inventor of the Sideways Bike, will pitch his
invention to the audience on Sky One's The Big Idea showing on Saturday
November 18 at 9pm on Sky One.
The Big Idea is an exciting new prime-time series on Sky One which, in
partnership with Vodafone, is aiming to discover the next great
British/Irish invention or business idea. The audience will decide if
the Sideways Bike, the first new bicycle invention in over 200 years,
is the next Big Idea.
The 47-year-old, who beat hundreds of competitors to make it to the
final 36, is up against five other inventors.
continued...
In order to get to the semi-final he had to pitch his idea to three
entrepreneurs in two minutes.
All three experts, Ruth Badger, a finalist on BBC 2's The Apprentice,
Lord Karan Bilimoria of Cobra Beer fame and Craig Johnston, who
invented the Predator football boot, put him on the shortlisted 36.

SKY ONE www.thebigidea.tv

www.sidewaysbike.com

 

[Daniel Barlow]

sidewaysbike wrote:
> The audience will decide if
> the Sideways Bike, the first new bicycle invention in over 200 years,

The pneumatic tyre is newer than that, no?


-dan

--
http://www.coruskate.net/

 

[PhilD]

sidewaysbike wrote:
> The audience will decide if
> the Sideways Bike, the first new bicycle invention in over 200 years,

Is this true? I mean, surely changable gears and pneumatic tyres are
less than 200?

Perhaps the TV people all ride hobby-horse things. Or am I
misunderstanding something?

PhilD

--
<><

 

[dkahn400]

Daniel Barlow wrote:

> sidewaysbike wrote:
> > The audience will decide if
> > the Sideways Bike, the first new bicycle invention in over 200 years,
>
> The pneumatic tyre is newer than that, no?

The safety bicycle?

--
Dave...

 

[Dave Larrington]

In news:[email protected],
dkahn400 <[email protected]> scribed:
> Daniel Barlow wrote:
>
>> sidewaysbike wrote:
>>> The audience will decide if
>>> the Sideways Bike, the first new bicycle invention in over 200
>>> years,
>>
>> The pneumatic tyre is newer than that, no?
>
> The safety bicycle?

The killfile?

--
Dave Larrington
<http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk>
Ernesto, give me that Kit-Kat, or I will kill you.

 

[Alan Braggins]

dkahn400 wrote:
>Daniel Barlow wrote:
>> sidewaysbike wrote:
>> > the Sideways Bike, the first new bicycle invention in over 200 years,
>>
>> The pneumatic tyre is newer than that, no?
>
>The safety bicycle?

In fact every single known invention in the entire history of the bicycle is
less than 200 years old: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_bicycle

But I did recently happen to see a newspaper article which answers the
obvious question that sidewaysbike doesn't, i.e. "isn't this competely
and utterly pointless?". Allegedly using front-back balance instead of
left-right makes it more fun, and this is why some people find snowboards
more fun than skis even though skis are faster and more practical.
Can't say I found it terribly convincing myself.

 

[Peter Clinch]

Alan Braggins wrote:

> But I did recently happen to see a newspaper article which answers the
> obvious question that sidewaysbike doesn't, i.e. "isn't this competely
> and utterly pointless?". Allegedly using front-back balance instead of
> left-right makes it more fun, and this is why some people find snowboards
> more fun than skis even though skis are faster and more practical.
> Can't say I found it terribly convincing myself.

The inventor has suggested that "self expression" is the main reason:
wanting to do things a bit differently. If you don't believe the bit
about snowboards (and by extension skateboards and surfboards) and would
prefer a cycle-related comparison then note that it is, of course,
pretty much the entire reason for the existence of the unicycle. My
Muni is harder work and considerably slower than any of my bikes, and
since one of them is a Brompton it doesn't even win on ease of storage,
but I very definitely enjoy riding it.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>
sidewaysbike <[email protected]> wrote:
> A DUBLIN INVENTOR will be plugging his invention on TV next weekend in
> a bid to win £100,000.
> Michael Killian, inventor of the Sideways Bike, will pitch his
> invention to the audience on Sky One's The Big Idea showing on Saturday
> November 18 at 9pm on Sky One.
> The Big Idea is an exciting new prime-time series on Sky One which, in
> partnership with Vodafone, is aiming to discover the next great
> British/Irish invention or business idea. The audience will decide if
> the Sideways Bike, the first new bicycle invention in over 200 years,
> is the next Big Idea.
>
I think you mean the first new bicycle invention in 200 weeks, and even
that is probably stretching it. As for major inventions, the safety
bicycle is only about 150 years old and the pneumatic tyre as we know it
today is probably younger than that. Then came effective derailleur and
epicyclic gear systems, recumbents ...
A front-and-rear steering bike isn't a new idea either - there was one
on eBay a few months ago that looked like it was made in the 70s or 80s.
It seems to me that the original Killian sideways bike was really
sideways, and then started evolving into a Bickerton because the
original concept just doesn't work - you're desperately trying to
salvage something commercial from an idea that was at best a bit of fun,
something to try at a rally after a few beers like those backward-
steering bikes or the ones where the seat and handlebars have been
swapped around.

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>,
sidewaysbike ('[email protected]') wrote:

> A DUBLIN INVENTOR will be plugging his invention on TV next weekend in
> a bid to win £100,000.
> Michael Killian, inventor of the Sideways Bike, will pitch his
> invention to the audience on Sky One's The Big Idea showing on Saturday
> November 18 at 9pm on Sky One.
> The Big Idea is an exciting new prime-time series on Sky One which, in
> partnership with Vodafone, is aiming to discover the next great
> British/Irish invention or business idea. The audience will decide if
> the Sideways Bike, the first new bicycle invention in over 200 years,
> is the next Big Idea.

Oh, for heaven's sake.

If you talk arrant nonsense you lose everyone's sympathy.

The bicycle isn't yet 200 years old. In that time, there have been
literally thousands of new bicycle related inventions. The first new
bicycle invention in 200 minutes, I'd believe. In 200 years? If you make
it perfectly clear you've no idea what you're talking about, no-one will
take you seriously.

Not that I think they should.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; MS Windows: A thirty-two bit extension ... to a sixteen bit
;; patch to an eight bit operating system originally coded for a
;; four bit microprocessor and sold by a two-bit company that
;; can't stand one bit of competition -- anonymous

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, PhilD
('[email protected]') wrote:

>
> sidewaysbike wrote:
>> The audience will decide if
>> the Sideways Bike, the first new bicycle invention in over 200 years,
>
> Is this true? I mean, surely changable gears and pneumatic tyres are
> less than 200?

The pedal-powered bicycle was invented in 1839. Every refinement of the
idea is subsequent to that.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; single speed mountain bikes: for people who cycle on flat mountains.

 

[Sirius631]

Simon Brooke wrote:
> in message <[email protected]>,
> sidewaysbike ('[email protected]') wrote:
>
> > A DUBLIN INVENTOR will be plugging his invention on TV next weekend in
> > a bid to win £100,000.
> > Michael Killian, inventor of the Sideways Bike, will pitch his
> > invention to the audience on Sky One's The Big Idea showing on Saturday
> > November 18 at 9pm on Sky One.
> > The Big Idea is an exciting new prime-time series on Sky One which, in
> > partnership with Vodafone, is aiming to discover the next great
> > British/Irish invention or business idea. The audience will decide if
> > the Sideways Bike, the first new bicycle invention in over 200 years,
> > is the next Big Idea.
>
> Oh, for heaven's sake.
>
> If you talk arrant nonsense you lose everyone's sympathy.
>
> The bicycle isn't yet 200 years old. In that time, there have been
> literally thousands of new bicycle related inventions. The first new
> bicycle invention in 200 minutes, I'd believe. In 200 years? If you make
> it perfectly clear you've no idea what you're talking about, no-one will
> take you seriously.
>
> Not that I think they should.
>
So are we supposed to ride looking to one side to look forward? I have
a bad enough crick in my neck by spending the day looking at an off-set
monitor.

The circus will be interested maybe?

David