While there are a variety of ways to get around city streets, all of the effective ones — bicycles and motorized scooters for starters — require all-or-nothing decisions due to their lack of portability. As such, the opportunity to combine them with multiple forms of public and private transportation to cover longer distances isn’t really there.
FlyKly is attempting to cover that middle ground with the only legal kick bike on the market: the Smart Ped. The minimally designed scooter’s standout feature is its all-in-one kick assist system that propels riders farther with every kick. In combination with its 16-inch wheels, Smart Ped aims to provide a smooth, less intensive, more comfortable ride, reaching speeds of up to 16 mph while doing so.
A companion iOS or Android app tracks how users ride, suggests alternative routes, and even locks it up. The SmartPed is going for $851 and is due to ship March 2016. FlyKly’s Kickstarter campaign is looking for roughly $114,000 by November 27th, 2015 to make it happen.
The FlyKly is functional, speedy, and useful. Its small size when folded really lends itself to organic use throughout the day, but only if the user is open to lugging it around all day. Some sort of custom bag to carry it around might be in order in that case. Comparisons to the A-Bike and the Impossible are inevitable due to their common mission of simplifying commutes. Most similar is the PIGEON which features a unique, over-the-shoulder design instead of a folding one, but lacks the kick assist system that makes Smart Ped ideal for much longer distances.