Crazy trike with rear wheel steering! - The Halfbike
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- čas přidán 21. 09. 2016
- So do you guys remember the tall bike I rode last week? Yeah, that thing is normal compared to this. Meet the half bike, which was hatched from a very successful kickstarter campaign last year.
So first of all, the Halfbike arrived fully assembled in a box. All I needed to do was unfold it and pump up the tires. It’s like a reverse trike. You steer the Halfbike by leaning left or right, which flexes the frame and compresses the springs on the rear axle. The frame is made of aluminum and the-stem we’ll call it, is made from wood. The engineers also went as far as to add a 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub… totally unnecessary but awesome nonetheless. There are also brakes which end up coming in handy.
Instead of making bold claims about it revolutionizing human powered transportation, the inventors have taken the honest route, saying on their website that the true advantage of the Halfbike is the fun you’ll have riding it. I can certainly get behind that. I also like the fact that it’s compact enough to easily throw in the trunk of a car or carry up some stairs. So before you make arguments about it’s practicality, you need to understand that the Halfbike is built for fun.
The day I received the Halfbike it was raining, but it cleared up late in the afternoon. The plan was to ride it for a few hours and get footage for Friday’s video. I neglected to account for the learning curve.
At first glance the Halfbike looks like it would operate like a scooter, but it feels like nothing you’ve ever ridden before. I immediately hated it, and regretted my commitment to ride 2 miles to the park. Look at how I hunch over the bars, and struggle to steer it. Look at how I’m dripping with sweat after less than a mile. I thought, why not just use a bike, or a skateboard? Hell, my unicycle is easier than this, but that’s when it clicked-my unicycle took me over an hour to even get a few feet on. To pass judgement on the Halfbike after 20 minutes wasn’t fair. At the park I let some people try the half bike, and most could barely go a few feet on it.
As more people tried the Halfbike I realized that the engineers really had created something totally new. This felt nothing like a bike, or a scooter, or anything. Imagine if you had never seen or tried a bicycle before, how skeptical you would be about staying up on it. Just like a bike or a unicycle, the Halfbike becomes second nature once your brain figures out how it works.
So the real question is, what is the Halfbike like once you get comfortable on it? Well first of all it’s nowhere near as tiring. On day one I would have rather walked than ride the Halfbike, but that’s because I wasn’t standing up straight and relaxing. Steering is also a lot like a skateboard, where you lean your body first and naturally let the board follow. The rear wheel steering lets you make some pretty sharp turns, and it actually reminds me a bit of the swing bike. Although I’m not a pro yet, I think you could pump the Halfbike by zig zagging fluidly.
I was able to go pretty fast too, but I rarely shifted out of the lowest gear on the Sturmey Archer hub. That tells me that the Halfbike has plenty of headroom once you get more comfortable on it. I’m sure I’ll get faster as time goes on.
As you could imagine, my ultimate plan was to jump stuff. Because its design is so simple, the Halfbike is pretty rugged. I also crashed it quite a few times with no issues.
I made an executive decision to stop trying 360’s on the Halfbike, for now. But, I think a 360 could absolutely be done on a Halfbike with some practice.
As for getting around town, it’s really not too bad. The fact that it’s so compact does make the Halfbike convenient to grab and go on. The only problem is that it’s hard to ride with one hand for any distance, so if you like to sip a coffee while riding around town there’s no easy way to do it. On a bike or skateboard this isn’t an issue, but I think I found a solution.
The Halfbike does in fact deliver on its promise of being a totally unique experience. Most human powered transportation devices claiming to be new are really just variations of bikes and scooters, but your brain actually needs to write a new algorithm to ride a Halfbike. Just like the other freak bikes on this channel, the Halfbike doesn’t solve any problems or revolutionize transportation. It’s just a new way to have fun. So kudos to the Halfbike team for creating something that’s actually original. Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.
The Halfbike: halfbikes.com/ - Sport
OK, this is why I love this channel. other people would've just rode it once or twice and called it a scam, but you actually tried your best and gave quite some insight instead of just trying it for the camera. kutos to you
Yea
He gets paid for it ofcourse
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put mountain bike handlebars on it
no, do this to a bmx!
Was thinking that too, would it make it easier with more stability from wider bars?
I think it would be harder, scooters have narrow handlebars and on my Razor A4, I couldn't imagine using wider bars. For me it would make me crash a lot.
Ryan LeFevre pro scooters have wider bars
yeah ryan, pro scooters do infact have wide bars, only Walmart scooters have narrow bars. i know this and don't even ride a scooter haha i skate and i'm in a wheelie group called oneway, look us up, oneway corey rides for se bikes, gets thousand dollar bikes for free. i'm not as good as him tho not yet haha.
James : "it looks easy.. it looks easy."
Rides a few feet
"IT'S NOT EASY" LOL
Lol
I liked his honest opinions both before and after experiences
Totally true. Tried one a week ago. Nearly crashed into a parked car.
I'm sensing an electric half bike.
+Haeral ya
canceled ;_
Would be awsome
No it wouldn't work really it would kinda counter what it is made for and if you have electronic drive it would probably turn into some wierd Segway
Dragontastic you must be fun at parties... not
Okay change of plans, I might post videos on Thursday night SOMETIMES...
can you wileelie it or endo it
I don't mind when you upload I love your videos either way! :D
I loved your facial expression at :5:30
Seth, I /neeeed/ to see you manual this thing!
Maybe a manual on the rear wheels?
i love your comitment to jump everything with wheels! :D
AHAHHAH
No one will steal this bike, because no one will be able to ride it.
But anyone could carry it
now go to the trails with it :D
no way!
@@_.rex_vau._ then why the hell someone would buy bicycle in 21th century? For city transportation we have much better, faster, compact solutions...
Bicycle is for sport and trail fun only.
For transportation from point A to point B they're suck. They're huge, easy to damage the rims, and you sweat while riding it, so arriving in the Office after riding the bike - is not the best idea. Just go for electric scooters - they're super cheap this days.
Or, if you really want more fun, speed, range - get top EUC.
Sergey Faynitskiy I use a combination of bicycle and commuter train. Saves me about 30 mins every day (15+15) by now having to walk to/from the stations. I like speed this nerdy gadget is not for me but I’m sure others would like it.
In my city, there are so many weird bicycles: Small cabin bikes, cruisers, a bunch of different electric concepts, box carrier bicycle, cargo bicycles, some where the saddles is basically a leather hammock, apart from the normal kinds of bikes. Fatties, however, never really caught on for some reason (I think they’re cool).
Sergey Faynitskiy have you heard of a fixed gear? shit's fun to commute on
Finally a REAL and not COMMERCIAL REVIEW, opinion. I had one and struggled for long. Good looking, hard to drive, hard to feel safe, insecure for turns and STOPS. And heavy. After many many weeks I sold it. You see videos/ads/experts and you feel in person how amazing it would be, swinging, jumping. My reality, the opposit. My congratulations for this video.
Love these freak bikes! I really want to get on one of these and prove my bicycle manhood is strong.
Yea same those bikes are sick
"It looks EASY"
gets on it...
*"It's not easy"*
"it looks easy - its not easy" 😂
Much respect to Seth, he started a very successful Mt biking channel living in Florida. Just shows what is possible when you dont see lack of mountains as a limitation. Much respect.
I was in Pittsburgh today.... saw a guy riding a half bike! I've never seen one before, but it looks like he was struggling! It was pretty funny. Reminded me of this vid
My wife just got one. Its really intuitive, after 20 minutes we were both fairly comfortable riding it. Learning it was a lot of fun because you get better by the minute.
I have about 400 miles on my HalfBike and I love it. I ride mine to work everyday. Lucky for me I only live a little over a mile away..
Former marathon runner rehabbing a torn meniscus here...bought this for a more intense but still low-impact cardio workout. It delivers in spades...an hour on this makes me feel like I've just run 2-3 hours at race pace! Wonder if it will feel easier as I get more used to it, as the fatigue could also be caused by all the stress hormones, lol
You're a trooper... you really stuck with it and gave it a legit, well thought out review. Awesome man. 👍🏻
me: I want one
*looks at price
me: fml
Since no one has said it over the past 4 years, this is the first time Kevin is ever seen at 2:35 😯
I’m old and my lower back is destroyed, so I can’t ride a bike anymore. My halfbike lets me exercise without bending over. The trick to riding it is to keep low and level while pedaling, and crank your opposite abs. This keeps it dynamically-stable. It is a full-body workout. Took me the better part of a year, on-and-off to start enjoying it. Good purchase secondhand.
I can’t believe we got to see Kevin as a roadie and now he shreds on a mountain bike
Just finished assembly! Your video helped me believe I will be able to ride it once my brain and body GROK the Halfbike. Onward to fun! Mahalo nui loa!
This video was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for making it.
this is my favorite mtb channel. I'm glad I got into mtb at a young age!
Relatively new to your channel, and I'm really enjoying it. Your videos are informative and fun to watch, and 6 minutes is pretty optimal for a runtime. Nice work!
I freaking love this channel. Keep up the awesome work!
“Just a new way to have fun” - that’s exactly what it is. At first I was wondering why investors would dump money into a less efficient machine, but now I realize that there is more to life than logic & reason.
thanks for sticking it out and giving an honest review some could have dismissed it right away
I know I'm creeping up on 4 years late here but you jumping those stairs on that thing was absolutely insane. You don't ham up your cycling talents at all I feel like but you are so incredibly good. Glad to have your content, Seth
I was waiting to see if you jump with it and then BAM! Nice work! This is by far the best biking channel!
I love ur honest reviews man!!
Your explanation of how the brain needs to write a new algorithm for how to balance and ride was so perfect! And, the honesty you showed in your vid gives me hope that I can, indeed, learn to ride my Halfbike (used). Thanks for the encouragement! ❤❤
Another great vid Seth and nice work jumping plus riding down the big staircase, I wouldn't have thought it possible on that beast 😎
Another great product expiation and test ride!!! Great stuff, totally dig checking out your videos! Great job!!!!👍🏽
cool vid! Balanced, informative, thorough. And pleasant to watch and listen to!
Your videos have such a great flow to them
its impressive what a pro can do on a bike like that! great vid!
Awesome dude. Doing jumps, couple good stacks.
Some fixie stuff coming would be nice aswell! You're doing a great job and the amount of videos is just perfect!
Can't believe no one commented on Drama looking out his own personal cut out silhouette on your front door!
ive had one for two years cause i was one of the first to back it. i love it and i ride it everyday. after about a month of riding you master it
it's the shit
I think your Unicycle experience helped with your quick learning on that thing
Thanks for getting me into mountain biking!
So exciting to see bulgarian engineering on your channel man. Cheers!
I liked this, looks convenient for short travels around town
This is the best half bike video on the inter webs!
Scared me at the end there! haha It was funny seeing you start to jump stuff. Sweet video Seth.
love the bmxing on the half bike!
A human being is such a beast that can master anything, some can walk on tightrope,some can climb the skyscraper's wall with bare hands etc, all it takes is will, aspiration, courage, persistence...🤔🧐
best halfbike video on the internet, you rule!!
Oh boy, this thing will send so many people over the bars flying.
I just bought one 😬😬. I am really excited to learn this new way 😍😍
4:26 that looks so trippy
Thanks for the review. I was thinking about to buy one but now I understood that it’s not for everyone.
another dope vid from seth!
Thanks man, was going to buy one of these
Rode one of these for the first time yesterday. Very difficult. Definitely want one of my own.
Nice Video, Keep Up The Good Work!
Bunny hopping that HalfBike is like hopping on a scooter. Must be pretty light weight. When you tried to 360 off that ledge, I thought you were going to do a 180. Laughed so hard at that part. Keep up the daily content Seth
Wow, this thing looks super cool, I would love to try one of those! Looks frustrating as all hell at first haha
Tthis has to be the funniest looking bike-related thing out there
proper sick, I want one
great bid again love it
...LOVE THE SEAT!
half bike seems do dope. I just posted my first video and still trying to figure out what i want my channel to be about but there will deferentially be future mountain bike videos because of your channel.
Dude Seth, I love the way you record, very nice. Keep it up, love watching your videos!!!
This is awesome. I sooo want one man
Reminds me of a Trikke 12. (Loads of fun.)
That looks pretty fun
You are an expert at 'dismounting.'
To the trails with the Halfbike!
Please more vids on this bike
I've seen an increased quality in this video.. Super cool
The 360 attempts had me laughing!
take it to the trails!
this was so worth my six minutes. subbed
this looks a lot of fun lol
That is crazy!
Kind of cool if the rear wheels were bigger and spaced wider could eliminate the balancing issues most folks have. Looks like it folds up pretty compact so could likely be a nifty little commute bike. They’re priced pretty high though currently $700-500 give or take for that I’d buy a Fubi folding bike.
DUDE THATS DOPE
Btw without the three speed is around $600 with shipping to the U.S. and with the three speed it's an extra $50
Lol @ "You guys know what you're doin'?" at the end.
Looks fun.
Nice vid!
great vid
Did anyone else think the Bowjack horseman song was gonna come on at 4:04
Yep, I did
QUIX I did
They should make a mountian version of it!
Add wider bars, bigger tires, carbon stem thing, raise it and reinforce it.😁
Whats up seth?? Love your
videos!!!
Hope i get to try one
2:32 that throne tho 👌
Love ur vids
I want all these cool bikes 😅
I want to try this!
has my favorite tyre. crazy bobs are the best
Love the content bro I'm planing on getting a bike soon to I might get a carerra vengeance
Muy buena bike!
Buenos tus vídeos! Saludos!
4:54 😂😂 the tires whiggle at least he’s ok
Died at the grass flying up with the 360s.
I tried a half bike in Woodland Hills California, it felt rickety and felt like a death trap. It only had brakes on the back wheels and since the bike balance and thrust are forward if you fall forward the brakes are useless. The handles are very small and tight. There is a market for anything, and with time it looks like folks are having fun on it, but it was not for me!
Since I was looking for a seatless bike that could go 30 or 50 miles, I bought the Elliptigo SUB and also the MSUB and have never looked back.