Flying Electric Bicycle Debuts In Prague, Will NYC Ban These Too?

File this one in your goofy folder!

New Yorker? Own an electric bicycle?

You're probably pretty angry right now, since the city has just banned the use of electric bikes on its streets. Which would be fine, had you not just bought one, still entirely legally, from a shop.

It's okay though, we have a solution--turn it into a flying machine.

It's doubtful the illegality of electric bikes is what spurred three Czech companies to invent the unusual contraption you see above (discovered via TreeHugger), but it would certainly eliminate some of the issues raised in NYC's e-bike ban.

Pedestrian collisions? Thing of the past. You'd simply sail above pedestrian heads. The shorter ones, anyway. And the flying bike certainly isn't as quiet as a regular e-bike, nor likely to travel as fast, at least on a horizontal plane. So they'd hear you coming and have time to dive for cover.

Trees might become an issue, however, as might traffic signals, power lines, skyscrapers and any other solid object still present above head-height.

And we're not sure it would stop the problems associated with fast food delivery riders either. They're bad enough on the ground, let alone given a whole other physical dimension to play with. We can't quite shake visions of your Chinese food being delivered, at quite some speed and with little finesse, directly through your third-floor apartment window. Along with the person delivering it and the grizzly remains of a startled pigeon.

It's enough to petrify, something you initially suspect happened to the flying bike's pilot, until you realise it's simply a remote-controlled dummy. Given that the bike's creators are apparently unwilling to demonstrate it themselves, we're even less keen on the idea.

Once back on earth, we do see one final problem with the flying bike--it probably wouldn't work that well as a bike. You couldn't slot through traffic, and parking would be a nightmare.

On second thoughts, New Yorkers, don't bother turning your electric bike into a flying electric bike. It may be a little harder getting about, but your city will be a whole lot safer...

Source: Green Car Reports