Lem -- an expatriate American in Chiba, Japan -- runs Kickbiking Japan!, an English language blog about kickbikes and bicycling in general in Japan.
Lem has lived in Japan, off and on, since 1982. In addition to the kickbike, he rides road and mountain bikes for recreation and transportation.
Kickbikes are kind of like a big scooter but with a lot more stability. Most kickbikers also have bicycles, but use the kickbike to have something different. According to Lem, "They exercise and develop different muscle sets; move at different speeds; position you at different heights relative to the terrain; and offer a very different set of benefits." Lem talks a little more about kickbiking in this podcast.
Lem got a kickbike to replace his Xootr. The Xootr:
"...was a lot of fun, but didn't really do all I wanted to do. Besides, the wheels were too small and turned out to be a perfect match for some of the road potholes in the neighborhood. Late one night when I was Xootring back home from the train station the front wheel decided to mate with a pothole. The Xootr stopped instantly. I didn't. No major damage, and no broken bones - just road rash and some serious bruising. The next morning, as soon as I could get my fingers on a keyboard, I started searching for something between the Xootr and a full fledged bicycle. Eventually, after a lot of research, talking to people on line, and a long distance telephone chat with Hannu in Finland, I bought and imported my Kickbike."
1 comment:
also looks interesting
time to bookmark and go home
see ya tomorrow
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