California-based Schiller Bikes is a company dedicated to the creation of awesome bicycles meant for our planet’s most common, yet least utilized surface – water.
Improving on an earlier project called the BayCicle, the X1 Water Bike is basically a 45-pound bicycle made from anodized aluminum and stainless steel kept afloat by two inflatable pontoons. Its twin oscillating propellers are controlled by a rudderless handlebar steering system, allowing the X1 to not only turn left and right with ease, but also go in reverse. The water bike uses a highly efficient, multi-speed, pure rotary drive train with Gates Carbon Drive Belts, allowing it to reach a top speed of about 9 mph (though, of course, the figure is highly dependent on the rider), which makes for a very exciting, very safe experience.
Easy to put together and disassemble, easy to transport, completely environmentally friendly, the X1 Water Bike is something you might want to put on your shopping list if you like cycling and are up for a thrilling ride on the water’s surface.
[designboom]
