For those of us whose ups and downs in the saddle depend only
on potholes, the Paravelo might sound like an exciting way to rise
above the daily grind. But is taking to the skies really the answer?
The British duo behind the "flying bike"
promise an end to the daily drudgery of traffic jams, parking fines and
road rage, as well as a taste of adventure. One half of that duo,
Yannick Read, is no stranger to manufacturing weird and wonderful bikes,
being the man behind the Hornster bicycle, which carries a horn louder than Concorde.
"If
you have a thirst for adventure, but are without the storage space or
bank balance large enough for a helicopter, then the Paravelo is for
you," said Read. "It works by combining the traditional folding bicycle
with a lightweight trailer carrying a powerful fan." The parts can be
used together as they are in the video above or separately and Read said
the entire assembly is small and light enough to carry into an office
or flat and taken on public transport. It can take off from any open
space, he said, reaches 4,000ft altitude and travels at 15mph on land
and 25mph in the air.
"The Wright brothers were former bicycle mechanics so there's a real connection between cycling
and the birth of powered flight that's recaptured in the spirit of the
Paravelo" said John Foden, co-designer of the flying bike.
However,
there are a number of restrictions on air travel in urban areas, which
mean that your daily commute is unlikely to include flight for the
foreseeable future. Although technically the Paravelo can be flown
without any licence or training, Read suggests that taking to the skies
with little or no experience would be "ill-advised".
Read said the way to get the most out of the Paravelo is to use the
folding bike throughout the working week, then when Friday evening
arrives, hitch the trailer to the back and cycle out of town, ready to
take to the skies when enough open space presents itself. "Really what
it is is an extension of how you can use a bike, in quite an adventurous
way," he said.
The Paravelo's fabric wing helpfully doubles as a
tent and the trailer can carry everything that you'd need for a weekend
of "flamping", the term coined by the bike's designers to describe what
they hope will be a new trend combining flying in the Paravelo and
camping.
The Paravelo project is still in its early stages as far
as manufacturing goes, they can be ordered and produced as bespoke
items. But the long-term plan, if the project raises the £50,000 needed,
is to produce a range of the flying bikes which will retail at £10,000.
If
your pockets aren't deep enough for the Paravelo itself, there's always
a mug which sports the slogan "My other bicycle is a flying bicycle",
which is available as a reward when you donate to the Paravelo's Kickstarter funding page./.
XIN VÀO LINK NÀY ĐỂ XEM VIDEO CLIP XE ĐẠP BAY THỰC SỰ:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2013/jun/19/flying-bike-rise-above-daily-grind
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