Hydrofoil water bike ready for takeoff
New Zealand’s first hydrofoil bike is about to lift off.
Manta5 is the six-year dream of a couple of Waikato entrepreneurs.
Guy Howard-Willis and bike designer Roland Alonzo, who have set up shop in Cambridge, have produced a motorised bike which can be used in fresh and saltwater.
A passion for cycling led Howard-Willis to believe that whatever you do on land, you can replicate on the water.
The hydrofoil bike can do nearly 20kmh now but with a bit more research and development, the pair hope to get it going a lot faster. ‘‘I would like to double that speed but maybe that is wishful thinking,’’ Howard-Willis said.
He believes it has much more potential than just as a pleasure vehicle. ‘‘I’ve got a dream that it could become an Olympic sport. Is that a dream too big? I don’t know but that is what I’m aiming for.
‘‘Someone asked me would they would be able to ride it. I asked them, can you ride a bike, can you swim? Then you can ride this.’’
There are two prototypes. One is manually operated and one is a pedal-assisted motorised version. Howard-Willis hopes the latter will be the more popular.
For the first two years, the pair’s wives were the only ones who knew about the project.
‘‘I didn’t want people to put me off, whether it be family or friends,’’ Howard-Willis said. ‘‘People can put you off if they don’t understand the idea. They may think it won’t work.
‘‘Also, if it didn’t work, then noone would know.’’
Their testing was largely done undercover. In the early stages, they used the Wintec swimming pool in Tauranga at night.
They then shifted their base to Cambridge.
‘‘We often go to Karapiro, as that is a good testing place for us.
Howard-Willis would not disclose how much he has spent on the prototypes but admitted it was a lot.
‘‘It’s very much like a plane. ‘‘The propellers are on the front of the wing, so same principle, really.’’ They also employ two carbonfibre hydrofoils similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes.
The manual bike is about 14kg and the motorised one about 20kg.
The foils come off and the bikes can fit in the back of a stationwagon.
Howard-Willis said water cycling would provide great exercise and would be safer than road cycling. The pair hope to officially launch the Manta5 before the end of the year but the production team will display the product at the Big Boy Toys convention in Auckland next month.
They haven’t determined price yet. a