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Kwiggle folding bike: Attention, the driver swings out!

2020-09-21T06:04:59.061Z


The bicycle boom sometimes produces completely new models, for example the Kwiggle folding bike. Its construction and the way of moving around on it are initially strange - but offer some advantages.


The first impression:

attention, the driver swings out - with his butt!  

The manufacturer says:

Karsten Bettin stands in front of us and wiggles his bottom.

The Kwiggle inventor shows how the folding bike teaches its riders mobility in the hip, casually and carefree thanks to a saddle device that swings to the side.

Four years ago, the trained mechanical engineer quit his job at an energy supplier in Hanover and from then on worked on getting his unusual bike ready for the market.

"My aim was to find a bicycle geometry with which you can ride upright, just like you move as a person," says Bettin.

The Kwiggle is a record-breaking compressible folding bike that attracts attention: you ride it standing up, supported only by a mini saddle that moves to the right and left in the rhythm of the pedal movement.

Below where a normal bike has a seat tube - just air.

Bettin: "It's really strange at first, for everyone. You sit on it and think, woahaha, what is that?"

Helps against hip blockages and neck tension

Then start a learning process in the brain.

After around 3500 repetitions of the sequence of movements - around 20 kilometers of driving - the movement was "also felt up above".

From that moment on, this new way of cycling feels normal.

On the Kwiggle, the entire body stays in motion, which can also help against hip blockages and neck tension.  

Whether the bike actually delivers on such sales promises depends not least on the body and health of the individual rider.

In any case, the difference to the rather rigid, stooped posture on a racing bike is enormous.

There, says Bettin, the lower back, for example, often remains tense - which tire and tense muscles.

In addition, there is an efficiency-increasing effect: the lateral movement of the saddle always brings the downward leg in an optimal position above the pedal.

In this way, the driver can use his weight better and save thigh strength.

It is like a built-in kick, except that the driver does not have to keep lifting his body weight with every half turn of the crank.

He conquers vertical meters more effortlessly than on a racing bike, says Bettin.

We noticed:

How you appear in public, you don't have to care.

The duck dance that is performed in the swinging saddle provokes unprecedented reactions.

Sometimes there is only interest in the faces, sometimes amusement, sometimes astonishment according to the motto "I'm probably not looking right".

In fact, everything seems wrong at first.

With our buttocks swinging out, we cling to the narrow handlebar to get a bit of support - and cramp first.

After a few hundred meters, your arms and legs are tired.

Apparently our brains are not yet ready for the Kwiggle.

We didn't drive 20 kilometers, so it clicks.

Suddenly the bicycle-human-machine harmonises.

Swing right, swing left, it's going.

But is that really less strenuous?

There is at least one indication of this: our companion on a normal bike begins to gasp early - unlike us.   

As a racing bike replacement, the Kwiggle, on which the creator Bettin once raced down a mountain at a speed of 58 km, is of course not suitable.

Rather, caution is required.

The reason is the small 12-inch wheels.

It is true that the aluminum rims made from one piece run free of flutter even at higher speeds.

But every pothole is a trap in which the wheels could get caught.

And every higher curb becomes a wall for the 12-inch model.

"We have to see where we're going," admits Bettin.

Balancing the front wheel on the handlebars to overcome obstacles of this kind is not recommended, as the Kwiggle could rear up.

Unintentional wheely can be prevented if you lift your bottom slightly during such maneuvers.

Because the wheelbase is very short at 70 centimeters and you sit far back over the wheel, the front wheel does not hold the ground much.

Even those who push too hard on the pedals on the mountain will quickly take off.

You have to know that:

Many things are smaller on the Kwiggle, so it can be folded up to the size of hand luggage.

On the plane it travels overhead in the overhead locker.

The pack size is 55 x 40 x 25 centimeters.

That is smaller than the competition from Brompton or Riese & Müller, for example, who mount 16- and 18-inch wheels.

The removable plug-in pedals make a decisive contribution to the shrinking treatment.

So the folding bike from Hanover remains within the framework of the recommendation of the International Air Transport Association IATA for hand luggage dimensions (56 x 45 x 25).

But if you really want to take the Kwiggle with you, you should look closely at the airlines: Lufthansa states 55 x 40 x 23 centimeters and a maximum of eight kilograms.

There and with many other airlines the Kwiggle would be a bit too big and heavy.

With Easyjet, Iberia or British Airways, however, it goes through as hand luggage according to the information on the airline websites.

The larger target group is likely to be among the commuters anyway, who remain on the ground.

While other folding bikes have to be in the aisle depending on their size, the folded saddle swivel fits under the seats in the S-Bahn or ICE, tram and bus.

For Bettin, this is a contribution to solving urban traffic problems: "When I think about the traffic turnaround, I need mobility to take with me."  

The Kwiggle itself can also take something away.

Bicycle bags from Ortlieb, Vaude or other manufacturers can be attached to an aluminum bracket on the steering column, which the manufacturer calls the luggage rack.

If you want to intensify the strange external effect of the Kwiggle while riding upright - that is also possible.

Karsten Bettin has come up with an inconspicuous accessory for this: a 19 centimeter long strap (11.60 euros) that you can use to drag a trolley suitcase. 

We'll keep that in mind:

Popo or not?

At some point we didn't care because the "Kwiggeln" made us totally relaxed - even if one is always worth a laugh for one's environment.

Icon: The mirror

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2020-09-21

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