An upright tricycle developed to inject fun into short city commutes could reach production if the public pledges enough money to the project.
The Halfbike is essentially an aluminium pedal-powered tricycle with a plywood handlebar, designed to be ridden in the upright position. It was invented by Martin Angelov at the Arizona-based design collective Kolelinia. Halfbike is intended for short commutes and could even be an alternative to jogging at weekends. It is also designed to be wheeled onto trams, metros and buses.
Last week, a crowd-funding campaign to raise US$80,000 to put the Halfbike into mass production was launched. More than 60 backers have already pledged their support.
The Halfbike sell on Kickstarter says: 'Halfbike is light, compact and simple. You stand upright and turn simply by leaning your body. The ride is smooth and sometimes feels like gliding.' They even suggest it could be used as an alterntive to jogging.
The Halfbike weighs 7.8kg (17lb) is 40cm wide and 100cm tall. Handily, it is mostly constructed using standard components, meaning repairs should be straightforward.
Kolelinia hope to be shipping the finished article by August this year for around US$900 (£540). The crowdfunded cash will be used to develop the commercial production process.
For more information, visit the project's Kickstarter page.