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Ditch the Saddle for a Harness with the new Flying Bike!

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Flying Bike 1

Inventors are always targeting the bicycle saddle as an area of improvement – after all, for non cyclists they always seem to be a source of complaints. For Architect and engineer David Schwartz however, it wasn’t how he could redesign the saddle, but how he could remove it completely. That idea drove him to create the first proof of concept for the Flying Rider, a bicycle with no seat.

David says he came up with the idea for almost the exact opposite reason you would expect. Instead of eliminated the saddle for pressure relieve, David thought that if riders had something to push against with their back, they could generate more power to the pedals and be more efficient. The final result is a prototype with a cage that surrounds the rider who is suspended in the middle with a harness.

Strap into your new flying machine, next…

flying bike 2

flying bike 3

Using what David calls an upside down mountaineering harness, riders are clipped into the surrounding space frame. The design has been patented with mulitple frame designs which all accomplish the same end goal, but the prototype was build using a 1988 Schwinn road bike.

Riders have the choice to pedal normally, or to try and mimic the sensation of flying  by taking your feet off the pedals, hence the name. We probably won’t see the Flying Rider in production immediately, though companies interested in licensing the technology should contact Flying Rider.

Would you give up your saddle to fly?

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42 Comments
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Paul in VA
Paul in VA
10 years ago

No.

pfs
pfs
10 years ago

This is really dumb. How do you even get into it? And why is he wearing bike shorts if there isnt a saddle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RLUP2lLsVg&feature=kp

Zach D
Zach D
10 years ago

Just stop.

jimmy
jimmy
10 years ago

That’s a really spacious yard for Williamsburg. Musta costa fortune.

Randall
Randall
10 years ago

I’d like to be the first one to fall over and have their arm amputated by that pipe… wait, that doesn’t sound good at all…

Hotep
Hotep
10 years ago

What in the hell is that?

Greg
Greg
10 years ago

@Jimmy
You win.

Daniel
Daniel
10 years ago

Wow! I thought my idea for a unicycle recumbent tandem was a great idea until I saw this!

I hope it comes with an option to suspend your child in a child harness behind you.!

Fun wedgies for the whole family! You can put your junk to sleep quicker than the shark fin saddle we saw earlier this year!

Chader
Chader
10 years ago

“David thought that if riders had something to push against with their back, they could generate more power to the pedals and be more efficient. ”

So, he had an almost good idea/concept about generating power, then abandons the idea for a hanging harness that is no different for power transfer than a seat.

Now that’s seeing an idea through 😐

josh
10 years ago

One word “Dumb” how are you supposed to put any pressure on the pedals without moving around?

Pete
Pete
10 years ago

What’s with all the crazy home built things lately Bike Rumor? Just cause you don’t have a post every few hours doesn’t mean you need to post stuff like this and that wing/spear thing.

dl
dl
10 years ago

That reminds me of the IT from South Park.

anonymous
anonymous
10 years ago

Looks like the IT bike from South park: http://youtu.be/J1y4RRWm3xw

Shawn
10 years ago

I miss the basement exhibitors at the old Anaheim Interbike venue. This kind of stuff was dime a dozen down there- the Ri-Si-Go, the Rohloff bike mounted chain lubricator…

Taylor
Taylor
10 years ago

That’s a climbing harness worn backwards.

You know how good that feels?

Also the awkward pressure you would be fighting on your upper thighs.

I want to see a cyclocross dismount and remount.

Chain Driven
Chain Driven
10 years ago

The “wild bike designers” need to hear this. Bicycles like sharks and canoes have reached “final” form. They are perfect as they stand. Any changes will only reduce what is already there. Sharks cannot be improved. Canoes can be tinkered with but not much. Bicycles should be left as they are. The worlds most efficient machine Get a grip already

Ben
Ben
10 years ago

Much less embarrassing to ride this than a mountain bike.

Paniagua
Paniagua
10 years ago

With this and “Wings’ wing” Bike Rumours’ credibilty is disappearing – Fast

Vern Frier
Vern Frier
10 years ago

I like people that think outside the box. But I say put this idea back in the box and close it for good. On to the next idea please.

m
m
10 years ago
collyer
collyer
10 years ago

Yeah……… no.

1Pro
1Pro
10 years ago

people wonder why there is so much hate on BR well this is enough fuel to keep the bunch going for a while.

the people who developed this, are they in WA or CO? because as far as i know recreational use of weed is banned everywhere else and these guys just exposed themselves.

1Pro
1Pro
10 years ago

Ps, another vote for NO!

briderdt
10 years ago

So, in order to be able to touch the ground when you stop, the harness has to be set low enough that the knee angle is too closed up… Yeah, that’s the ticket! Sponsored by a local surgeon who does knee replacements…

steamcat
steamcat
10 years ago

Better carry a can opener with you – because you’re going to need it to extract yourself the first time you have an encounter with a car. Enclosed (read – trapped) between those two curved tubes – just downright f****** scary.

Alex
Alex
10 years ago

@Pete – Bike Rumor posts this stuff because there’s no reason not to, it’s fun to see what people come up with and the comments are even better (makes coffee break interesting). It shows how much ‘deep user understanding’ matters in any industry – it’s always non-participants in almost every sport who come up with these ‘great’ inventions. When I worked for an inline skate company, we met with every inventor who wanted to pitch to us because somewhere in there might be the occasional great innovation. And yeah, some of it was downright scary, but really fun to watch the inventor try to prove to us why his gadget was such a great improvement on our current products. Keep it up, Bike Rumor, find us the weird and the wacky in between real product reviews!

Mindless
Mindless
10 years ago

Wut?

Stephen
Stephen
10 years ago

@chaindriven what if sharks could fly?

David E
David E
10 years ago

one crash, two shoulders (dislocated)

Phil
Phil
10 years ago

Absolutely brilliant, this guy is going to make bazillions.

aaron
aaron
10 years ago

can i get a fat bike version?

1Pro
1Pro
10 years ago

if the clip to the beaner fails will i need a proctologist or urologist?

The Guy
The Guy
10 years ago

What the hell is wrong with these people??

Speshy
Speshy
10 years ago

Show me the duck tape!

EpicThroatBeard
EpicThroatBeard
10 years ago

i hope he Kickstarts ™ the electric recumbent fat trike version. I would wait through dozens of apologetic emails about unforeseen delays for one of those.

Jack
Jack
10 years ago

Finally a product that the public has been screaming for. Now as soon as they do a carbon fixie enduro fatbike version… I’m in.

John
John
10 years ago

April 1st was two months ago.

Topmounter
Topmounter
10 years ago

The recumbent version should be likened to a magic carpet ride.

pete
pete
10 years ago

reminds me of the circular-frame bike that somersaulted when you grab the front brake:

http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/news/52119/video-viral:-the-fantastic-bike-somersaulting-machine

Charlie Jumpoffdabike
Charlie Jumpoffdabike
10 years ago

I would hope you’d be riding it on bike only facilities and without any hazards.
the rider’s best defense against hazards it the ability to remove yourself from the bike if deemed necessary- I’ve been hit by cars hooked to pedals I could at least pull out from and ditch the bike. NOW figure how well of a road carcass you would make if you got tangled in that mess.
plus being suspended would make you to have to transition your energy into your torso to turn unlike a conventional bike where your body’s energy is able to be localized. I good attempt at alleviating the pressure points contributing to groin pain and possible damaging prostate issues.
Stick with making the bike as simple of a device it already is

Chris
Chris
10 years ago

Vaguely reminds me of “it” from South Park.

Jake
Jake
10 years ago

The girl looks good on the bike – is it a bike? Sadly I think most of us ain’t good looking enough to pull this off.
Now for something completely different…seems like hang-gliding 3 feet from the ground sorta misses the point.
Weirdly the guy on the bike-hang-glider-cycle-elliptical-thingy looks fit, and he is wearing a kit worthy of a cat-1 dentist.
Basically my point is that there are more dichotomies going on here than comparing a bike seat to a dildo…

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