Uniquely designed Halfbike gets new round of interest with 2.0 model
Halfbike, a reimagined bike design that was first funded on Kickstarter last year, is back in a new-and-improved edition that's enjoying a new round of funding success.
The brainchild of start-up company Kolelinia, Halfbike was designed "to bring the joy back to urban mobility."
While the core driving mechanism of a bike -- a wheel connected to a crankset -- remains the same, just about everything else has been redesigned. The result: a standing rider position that the company says trains balance and reflexes and allows you to control the bike with your whole body, making it "a sort of extension to the body that allows a smooth and intuitive ride."
The bike has three wheels, and the pedals are placed much lower down than on the standard bicycle. A brake is located at the top of the vertical handlebar.
The original Halfbike was successfully funded a year ago this month, and bikes were shipped in October. But the design was still experimental and left room for new ideas and improvement.
Enter the Halfbike II, which is the result of additional testing and innovation, resulting in a sleeker-looking bike that functions on the same principle as before.
The Halfbike II's $50,000 Kickstarter goal was reached in less than 24 hours and, having surpassed $250,000, the bikes will now be equipped with lights and fenders. In fact, it now has more than $350,000 in funding with 18 days to go.
Shipping is to begin in July and will roll out in several production runs. First- and second-run bikes have already sold out, but bikes from the third run -- expected to ship in September -- are available for $399 and can be shipped anywhere in the world.
The Halfbike II on Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/774841427/halfbike-ii
