Joystick-driven recumbent ebike gets street-legal for Kickstarter

Handlebars seem about as important as wheels in bike design, but Swiss inventor Yvan Forclaz has done away with them in favour of a mode of control you're more likely to associate with aircraft or video games - a joystick.

The Joystickbike ditches the handlebars in favor of a joystick (Credit: Joystickbike)

Forclaz's design is an electric-assist recumbent bike that's steered by way of a joystick mounted on the right-hand side, which has a direct mechanical link to the front wheel. A second stick on the left is used to manage the electric motor, with stats on power, speed, distance and autonomy displayed on a little LCD screen.

Motor-wise, the Joystickbike has been toned down somewhat since earlier prototypes, and the decision seems to have been made to allow the bike to be road-legal in different countries. While it once sported a 400-W electric drive powered by a 72-V battery pack and could reach speeds of up to 60km/h (37mph), the consumer-ready bike now has a 250-W motor, 48-V battery and a top speed of 25km/h (15.5mph).

The Joystickbike is currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, which has so far raised about $3,800 of its $53,000 goal, with 42 days to go...

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