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…
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?
