Remember the Varibike? It's a bicycle that can be pedalled with both the arms and the legs, allowing for more of a full-body workout. Well, if an upcoming crowdfunding campaign is successful, it'll soon have some competition … in the form of the TwiCycle.
As with the Varibike, TwiCycle riders can pedal with just their arms, just their legs, or with both at once – the arm-cranks can be locked in a horizontal position to form a regular(ish) handlebar when not needed.
There is at least one key difference, however.
On the Varibike, a chain running from the arm-cranks down to the crankset ultimately delivers the rider's arm power to the rear wheel. By contrast, the TwiCycle has a chain running directly from the bars to a derailleur and cassette mounted on the front wheel. This gives the bike two-wheel-drive, allowing for added traction when both arms and legs are used – and yes, there are plans for a mountain bike version.
The front-drive arrangement does place a bar-mounted chainring near the rider's face, although a stem-mounted chest pad (not pictured in all the photos, but seen above) should keep them from accidentally making contact with it.
Inventor Boyan Rista plans on launching a crowdfunding campaign this summer (Northern Hemisphere), and tells us that he hopes the TwiCycle will be priced "very similarly to normal road bikes of similar performance characteristics." In the meantime, check out the prototype in the video below.
Source: TwiCycle
