Chris asked:
“Why the big front tire? Does one really get going so fast that they need the centrifical motion of the tire to stay balanced? You have the big tires on regular bike mostly for the mechanical advantage, but I can't seem to come up with a reason for the two sizes of tires for this kickbiking vehicle.”
Good question. I’m certainly not an expert, but I won’t let that stand in the way of offering my opinion.
First, in answer to the speed part of your question, the simple answer is yes. The Kickbike is much faster than a kick scooter like the popular Razor. My top kicking speed on the flat, so far, is 17 mph, though my usual average speed is closer to 10 mph. The real kickbike fanatics achieve 20–30 mph consistently without any problem. There have been several people that have kicked from coast to coast (US), including crossing the Rockies, and quite a few long kicking journeys in Europe.
The Kickbike was originally designed by Hannu Vierikko who says:
“Originally, I developed the Kickbike for my summer training, in order to defend my world titles in the sport of kicksledding on ice and snow.”
And, as you might expect, the overall form of the Kickbike follows the same shape as a kicksled. The ‘purpose’ of the Kickbike wasn’t basic transportation – though you can certainly use it for that. It was intended to provide physical training and conditioning (Hannu’s specialty), and does an excellent job at that. Personally, it’s the best exercise device I have ever owned – bar none. I love it and use it frequently. There are lots of other posts I’ve made on this website that go into the benefits of kickbiking versus jogging and cycling.
There’s another reason for the big front tire. I used to have a Xootr – kind of a big brother version of the Razor kick scooter. I had a great time with the Xootr, and put a lot of miles on it. Then, late one evening after dark, I was coming back from the train station and hit a pot hole in the road. The size of the pot hole matched the diameter of the Xootr wheels perfectly, so the Xootr stopped instantly, but I didn’t. I went soaring through the air, and smashed into the roadway. I ended up with a lot of road rash and bruises, but no broken bones – thankfully.
After that experience, I sold the Xootr and bought the Kickbike. The large front tire makes it easy – a pleasure actually – to ride around without having to worry about dropping into any pot holes.
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