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TwiCycle delivers two wheel drive and twice the workout?

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There’s a new way to get better exercise on your bike, without taking any longer to ride. I’d venture that for most of us, exercise is an added bonus to the fun that cycling delivers, but if getting fit in the least amount of time (or just working all the muscle groups) is your goal, the TwiCycle is an interesting machine. This is not the first bike we’ve seen that you can pedal with your legs or your arms, but it does bring some interesting features to the table…

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Quite simply, the TwiCycle is a bicycle that can be pedaled as normal, or it can be pedaled with your arms, or both. Unlike some of the other leg/arm pedaling bicycles we’ve seen, the TwiCycle’s hand cranks propel the front wheel rather than the rear. That eliminates a bunch of extra chain and complexity from running the drive all the way to the rear of the bike. In theory, that should also provide better traction on loose surfaces when pedaling at both ends, but the real goal here seems to be the ability to work out your upper body while riding.

After floating around in cyberspace for some time, the TwiCycle has gone through a number of revisions to get to the current version which is up for crowdfunding through indiegogo. Previously, the bike had sort of a bull horn handlebar with flat bar grips and nowhere to rest your chest. TwiCycle’s website then shows that same bike with an adjustable chest rest. Somewhere along the line, the bars transitioned to what is shown above with in-line handles and brake levers which rotate as you ‘pedal.’ There’s also a new chest rest which presumably makes it easier to support your upper body as you pedal away at both ends. The new design looks like it could be more comfortable for both sexes thanks to the t-shaped design, which would be important since the TwiCycle is considered unisex. Fortunately, there’s also an optional guard available for the front chainring since it’s basically in your face when you’re in the aero position.

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The mechanics of the thing have led to some interesting work arounds like downtube shifter mounted to the steerer so they don’t have to go around and around. The handlebars are constructed of multiple sections that rotate at the stem and at the grip.

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The chain from the front cranks then drives a rear hub mounted to a special fork which has provisions for a rear derailleur. Even though the bike is shown with a double chainring, there does not appear to be a front derailleur (in the rear), so both gear sets appear to be 1x, which makes sense since there are only two shifters.

In what seems to be a customary move these days, the TwiCycle is launching via indiegogo with prices starting at $899 plus shipping. Retail is expected to run about $1999, and delivery is expected for May 2017.

indiegogo.com

twicycle.com

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36 Comments
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Chris MacDonald
Chris MacDonald
8 years ago

I’ll allows this. Because Darwin.

strange
strange
8 years ago

Kill it with fire.

atlbikeshop
8 years ago

Hahaha. For what it is worth, handcycles are a hell of a workout!

kbark
kbark
8 years ago

ROFLMAO.

dirtrider
dirtrider
8 years ago

or you can do bicep curls and add some size to your arm so they don’t look like an extension of you wrist….

pmurf
pmurf
8 years ago

I think the funniest thing is that the chainring cover (read: chest chopsaw guard) is OPTIONAL

Von Kruiser
Von Kruiser
8 years ago

If I could only do burpees or maybe some bench press while riding a bike I would consider something like this. Maybe a stepper with two wheels for downhilling while climbing, now that would be something. Actually if you want to do a real outdoor full body workout, you should try this. I do it every morning. It’s simply amazing: https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=sfp&hsimp=yhs-fullyhosted_011&hspart=iry&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Do-50GjySwew#id=4&vid=dbbe9e11859f11f9617cb3433af641d2&action=click

HiNDry
HiNDry
8 years ago
Reply to  Von Kruiser

Time to cut the noose, and get loose!

Thunk
Thunk
8 years ago

It’s November 1st……..not April 1st?

mr. serious
mr. serious
8 years ago
Reply to  Thunk

Awwww, I was gonna say that!!!

Jami
Jami
8 years ago

Pretty sure bikeradar also collectively said kill-it-with-fire.

Flatbiller
Flatbiller
8 years ago

Fred, you’re up.

Justbikes
Justbikes
8 years ago

Paid for advertising anyone? Hope you cashed the check Bike rumor.

Justbikes
Justbikes
8 years ago
Reply to  Zach Overholt

Ha… well, in that case thanks for keeping us candidly updated on the weird

Fred
Fred
8 years ago

Yyyyyyyaaaaaaassssss.

Warden
Warden
8 years ago

There go all of the Strava KOMs

Nash
Nash
8 years ago

This makes me feel ill

matt
matt
8 years ago

I’d honestly like to try it. I think y’all need to stop looking at this as something trying to replace or reinvent the bike and look at it as a piece of exercise equipment. It looks pretty ridiculous, but it might be fun for all I know.

Jon
Jon
8 years ago

Can bike fitters charge double now?

Bill
Bill
8 years ago

Why do so many people try so hard to make bike riding more difficult?

ibcyclist
ibcyclist
8 years ago

I’ll put it in my spare room along with my betamax, segway, hover board, etc.

Rampa
Rampa
8 years ago

I think a shaft drive would be a better bet, and less scary/dirty.

Richard
Richard
8 years ago

Coming soon to a bicycle service department near you:
“Well, I got my rear rear derailleur properly adjusted, but the front rear derailleur sure is giving me hell.”

Mick
Mick
8 years ago

The advantage to this is: you’ll have some handcycle experience before you end up in a wheelchair

Muchachos
Muchachos
8 years ago

in theory, a Twicycle (TM) could be added to any road bike, and equally, each wheel could be power-assist with a BionX hub

Tulio
Tulio
8 years ago

April fools already?

Michael
Michael
8 years ago

UCI Legal?

Tim
Tim
8 years ago

Why stop here? With two more derailleurs added to the left side of the bike… whe can finally have that 44-speed we´ve always dreamt of 🙂

Campbell Macmillan
8 years ago

Because this wasn’t dumb enough.
https://gearjunkie.com/elliptigo-stand-racing-bike

Mateo
Mateo
8 years ago

Seriously has to be a joke. How do the cables not get wound up?

DaleCall
DaleCall
8 years ago

Hopefully that low limit is set on that front wheel. How many rear ders have we seen go into the wheel

peter
peter
8 years ago

And it’s only 2 grand, awsome!

Mike H.
Mike H.
8 years ago

Looks like someone took the front end of a handcycle and put it on a road bike. I don’t see it going mainstream considering how little play handcycles get outside of adaptive sports environments…but good luck.

galen
galen
8 years ago

Honestly I think this is an interesting product for people with limited lower body function. There could well be a few people for whom this product could add to their quality of life.

Robert Crowell
Robert Crowell
3 years ago

I’ve been riding my arm and leg bicycle (which I invented) for 30 years. I’m an avid cyclist and also ride a Specialized Tarmac. I like to compete with other cyclists and honestly rank pretty well especially in my age group ( I’m 66). Like most cyclists , I look for every advantage in cycling. I think arm and leg cycling ( a&l cycling) is going to be a popular cycling activity in the future. And that is due to the fact ( I believe) that they will be competitive with today’s highest performing “leg only ” cycling. That’s usually what it takes. Hopefully we’ll keep seeing it evolve like in these products. If I can help with my experience with a&l cycling let me know.

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