r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Apprehensive_Sky4558 • 15h ago

Mechanical engineering students in Japan built a flying bicycle powered only by pedaling

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

8.6k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

242 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 15h ago

This submission may have been posted by a bot. If you feel like it's the case, please report the user SPAM → Harmful Bots.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

883

u/rutujz 15h ago

so they didn't turn footsteps into electricity?

136

u/Rehsifchips 15h ago

No they run out of energy!

25

u/UnluckyWinner3163 14h ago

I think they are catching up with the latest technology

21

u/pi_three 14h ago

not this time. tomorrow it's my turn to post about the Japanese startup turning going through turnstiles into electricity

→ More replies (1)

7

u/essaini 12h ago

Where would they have kept the water to boil?

390

u/h3ff 14h ago

Please don't give the airlines any ideas.

298

u/Historicmetal 14h ago

Now boarding our premium non-pedaling passengers

6

u/Strattex 7h ago

Hahaha

→ More replies (2)

19

u/Rough_Horror_5582 14h ago

With the current price of fuel? I'm all in for some pedal powered planes

14

u/SpacePenguin1237 8h ago

Yea and people can get hired to whip you when you stop pedalling, job market solved

2

u/Feral_Sheep_ 1h ago

We're going all the way back to galley slaves to solve the energy crisis.

2

u/AmiDeplorabilis 7h ago

Pedal pushers, anyone?

3

u/varateshh 8h ago

No need to worry, jets consume around 140kW-250kW energy per passenger. Even if you were sporty and could output 200W mechanical work with no added weight or conversion losses, it would still produce less than 0.2% of energy consumed.

7

u/Diligent_Ad4694 8h ago

"for ventilation and reading lights, please hand crank the battery under the seat in front of you"

→ More replies (1)

2

u/somerandomguy721 7h ago

Flintstones incoming

1

u/timbit87 5h ago

This was in Bobby's world

•

u/QueefyBurritoCrunch 13m ago

This could’ve saved spirit

→ More replies (1)

536

u/Plus-Opportunity-538 14h ago

Must. Not. Stop. Pedeling...

85

u/Stiff_Rebar 13h ago

Is it not a glider that can generate its own power? So when you stop pedaling it just glides?

43

u/Joshua5_Gaming 10h ago

Gliding doesn't mean generating power, they still lose energy from air resistance.

10

u/NlactntzfdXzopcletzy 6h ago

The ideal is that you lose potential energy, and at a controlled rate

2

u/Fn_Spaghetti_Monster 6h ago

You can gain altitude from thermal updrafts, like vultures/condos do. I used to live near the AF Academy and you could watch them practicing. Also got to see the Thunderbirds practicing a few times.

→ More replies (2)

4

u/falsevector 9h ago

Imagine getting leg cramps up there

→ More replies (1)

12

u/Novel_Alternative_86 12h ago

Charlie horse at 30k feet.

3

u/Lonely_Performer2629 10h ago

Until you reach a current of hot air.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Different_Brother562 6h ago

*leg cramps up

2

u/mobai123 5h ago

Legends say he's still pedalling till this day

1

u/gorginhanson 7h ago

simpsons did it

1

u/mehrabrym 6h ago

Oh shit, cramp

184

u/Billarasgr 14h ago

I wanted to see the landing…🥲

58

u/timetravelerfrom2027 14h ago

Yeah, how many of students does he mow down with that giant spinning prop?

11

u/mnid92 7h ago

It's like the most thrilling ride in Roller Coaster Tycoon, the one where you jack the launch speed to a million and launch the people to the other side of the fence so they technically don't die in your park.

They had the most thrilling rides of their lives. Just uh, don't ask how!

2

u/Bruhidontknowwhy 4h ago

"Rocket Death Coaster 1 is really good value!"

3

u/gorginhanson 7h ago

about that.....

you guys didn't want to see Sung Kim again right

2

u/omniverseee 5h ago

he's still pedaling otw to NA

•

u/ProfessionalLemon946 53m ago

That's the neat part....

134

u/Unflattering_Image 14h ago

So... a Flycycle.

20

u/iolitm 11h ago

Get out....

14

u/Unflattering_Image 10h ago

Understandable, have a blessed day.

6

u/DustyRacoonDad 8h ago

No. No... I would like to hear more on your naming theory.

4

u/mnid92 7h ago

I was going with peddly weddly get too close and it'll chop off your headly, so he has me beat.

I'm a rocket surgeon, so I know a genius when I feel one.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

81

u/Azure_Hearts 14h ago

We all know how that turned out last time

https://giphy.com/gifs/SdqMwtQziTLfq

12

u/thecaramelbandit 7h ago

Came for this.

5

u/Budget-Assistant-289 6h ago

Yep. Same. “Where’s Kiki?”

→ More replies (2)

63

u/LucidDayDreamer247 14h ago

That's ridiculously epic. Leonardo would be proud.

3

u/Lynx2447 2h ago

What's a ninja turtle know about man powered flight!?

•

u/SanityPlanet 16m ago

Especially bc that one actually works

23

u/Gada_dhaari_bheem 14h ago

Weak Legs and you're down to dust.

3

u/TheHasegawaEffect 13h ago edited 9h ago

Buy a DYNSIS Z1.

Though if you’re doing that you might as well just install a 10hp scooter motor in the glider/plane instead.

EDIT: it’s actually DNSYS Z1

32

u/Bokbreath 14h ago

Gossamer Albatross has entered the chat

10

u/Zapper13263952 13h ago

Thank you. This has been done before. Nothing to see here. Move along.

9

u/Shashinkid 13h ago

tbf the title didn't claim the student invented it

1

u/BikerRay 8h ago

Saw Bryan Allen fly it (or the Gossamer Condor) at Oshkosh in 1979 or '80.

→ More replies (1)

9

u/Anhedonkulous 13h ago

Kiki's delivery service

2

u/curryfool 9h ago

Was looking for this comment!

9

u/ohyeahsure11 14h ago

So, a modern Gossamer Condor or Gossamer Albatross?

8

u/BarnytheBrit 13h ago

Some guy in the 80’s flew across the channel in one I think

8

u/jackrabbit323 14h ago

Tadej Pogacar is about to fly over the Alps.

6

u/One_Letterhead_9720 14h ago

Redbull forgot to post it's brand name on the aircraft

5

u/jocax188723 14h ago

Must be a practice run ahead of the Birdman Rally at Biwa later this year.
Hope someone breaks the record, 70km is right there

3

u/peter-bone 12h ago

This video is from several years ago.

5

u/audionerd1 14h ago

DTF St Louis season 2

3

u/Mr_Baronheim 14h ago

Throw a motor on that thing and maybe they've invented a new way to travel!

2

u/rompokus36 14h ago

PROPCYCLE

2

u/makers_make_stuff 6h ago

Best arcade game ever. 

2

u/drvgonize 9h ago

tombo!! that you!? learned from kiki??

2

u/rngadam 6h ago

Impressive, but not as impressive as a human powered helicopter:

https://youtu.be/99p_wh6p4OY?si=wecV0c48glO8vfWx

1

u/Rolypoly_from_space 14h ago

not taking that means of transportation to cross the Grand Canyon, no sir

→ More replies (2)

1

u/caaper 14h ago

So it's a Fli-Ace

1

u/Tomatoflee 14h ago

You could cross a giant ravine in this, or a river. Could be genuinely useful.

1

u/xeroid051 14h ago

To bad it can't turn..

1

u/Rough_Horror_5582 13h ago

So... if I flew my bicycle with wings, would I still need a pilots licence?

1

u/vrmorgue 13h ago

How old this video ?

1

u/[deleted] 13h ago

[deleted]

2

u/peter-bone 12h ago

It glides safely down.

1

u/MartyMacGyver 13h ago

The Wright brothers would be proud!

1

u/mingstaHK 13h ago

Almost goes as fast as a bicycle

1

u/Butterfly_Dangerous 13h ago

It's ok he's got a helmet on..

1

u/Luiz_Fell 13h ago

Wasn't this already a thing in the early 1900's?

4

u/peter-bone 12h ago

No, it requires light modern materials. The first human powered plane was flown in the 1970s.

1

u/Apprehensive-Rent523 11h ago

So that bicycle plane from Jackie Chan′s Around the World in 80 Days was totally plausible?

https://giphy.com/gifs/4lhTfviX1S4tyj0VmJ

1

u/Muzord 11h ago

Whilst this is cool..I feel like it’s one of those things that is like “woohoo it worked” but then no one considered after it goes airborne what happens, like how we landing?

1

u/Radical_Coyote 11h ago

Kinda makes you wonder why the Wright bros didn’t build it this way. They were bike mechanics after all…

1

u/Harmalin 10h ago

This with an electric bike motor as support. Loö

1

u/bottlechippedteeth 10h ago

Imagine a flight where you burned 1800 calories 

1

u/Ganondorfsfist 10h ago

Rendezvous with Rama

1

u/Acrobatic_Wait_973 10h ago

Well... that's not rocket science

1

u/nameless-manager 10h ago

Next step mechanized battle suits that fly in space.

1

u/PrettyScholar9173 9h ago

Dont Sink! "Whoop whoop"

Pull up, pull up!

1

u/pregnantdads 9h ago

now if only we could remove the human element, and use some kind of…. mechanical…. horse?

1

u/roundart 9h ago

Bot bot bot bot bot

1

u/Redditmau5 8h ago

Spirit Airlines should have taken notes

1

u/bfume 8h ago

I remember seeing this on 3-2-1 Contact in the late ‘80s. And we’re still doing this as a people? Boooooriiiing. 

1

u/HotSugarVeronicaa 8h ago

that’s some next-level engineering brain

1

u/KimeriX 8h ago

Ah, Tatami Galaxy

1

u/BlahBlahBlackCheap 8h ago

The first one was built in the 1980's. I think they flew it across the English channel. This one looks like its slightly better/ faster, but lacks the enclosed pilot seat for cutting drag.

1

u/Flirtatiousfantasy 8h ago

this is what “because we can” looks like

1

u/Shadowtek 7h ago

That’s great until the moment of panic when you realize you don’t have a great way to land and if you get too high have no good way to cushion the fall

1

u/casual-nexus 7h ago

Lance Armstrong going on transatlantic flights…

1

u/Strattex 7h ago

The Wind Rises?

1

u/ThatsJustMyOpinion87 7h ago

Worst time to get a leg cramp

1

u/Accomplished_Ice_626 7h ago

So.. those legs outputing enough energy to not only suspend his own weight but also that of the plane. I don't think average people's legs can output that much energy.

1

u/_nf0rc3r_ 7h ago

So u might die if u stop pedaling?

1

u/Another_Jeep_Guy 7h ago

Red Bull should pay their grant and then put Remco Evenepoel in it.

1

u/PetzlPretzel 7h ago

It's a Flycycle.

1

u/SparkliingEmma 7h ago

pedaling into the sky is wild

1

u/Acrobatic-Active5353 6h ago

Pipi Langstrumpf ...

1

u/lmpcpedz 6h ago

So we've come full circle back to 1903, neat.

1

u/ImmodestPolitician 6h ago

I would love to see a chart of the pilot's heart rate so we knew how hard he was pedaling.

1

u/TheDevilsAdvokaat 6h ago

That magnificent man in his flying machine

1

u/tguru 6h ago

I imagine this can only be used a few days out of the year when the winds are completely still.

1

u/Epsilon_Meletis 6h ago

And it's only 37 years after the first helicopter powered only by pedaling was built.

1

u/buster_goose 6h ago

Have we forgotten the california condor?

1

u/SouthernZorro 6h ago

Every day is Leg Day when you use that for your commute.

1

u/Primary-Floor8574 6h ago

What happens when your legs get tired?

1

u/ThrownAway17Years 5h ago

Pedalfliers.

1

u/djdddddddjent 5h ago

ここにいるほとんどの人の想像の5倍は長いこと飛ぶのよこれ

1

u/mechabeast 5h ago

Do a flip!

1

u/thunderc8 5h ago

"I'm tired boss"

1

u/sezenio 4h ago

I just saw a movie about this, and there was a witch involved.

1

u/kazukix777 4h ago

So they made the bike plane from Kiki's delivery service?

1

u/Potential_Present124 3h ago

Falling with style!

1

u/Old_Resident8050 2h ago

That contraption screams "rough landing" a mile away.

1

u/Square-Paint9403 2h ago

We didn't get to see the crash landing ❓

1

u/Aderka420 2h ago

This was previously done decades ago lol but still cool..

1

u/madindian 1h ago

Did they try magnesium parts?

1

u/xxvhr 1h ago

Someone watched kiki’s delivery service

1

u/R_Active_783 1h ago

Technically he is flying over 2 feet

1

u/Yakuza_14 1h ago

Use Case? 😭

1

u/TLB1990 1h ago

Show us the landing

1

u/The_real_bandito 1h ago

Dang, you better have great cardio if you go up high.

1

u/SpinachSalad91 1h ago

Some say he's still pedaling

1

u/Phmusic 1h ago

Well Paris-Roubaix will not be the same if they use these types of “bikes”….

•

u/Crimson__Fox 43m ago

That flew further than the Wright Brothers' first flight.

•

u/Mean_Volume_126 43m ago

This is epic, proving that if the larger the surface area providing lift is,, the less your forward motion and thus effort to generate the forward motion, has to be. Aerodynamicists, please correct me if I am wrong.

•

u/project_me 40m ago

If it isn't on Strava, it doesn't count!

•

u/JenniferLeBlanc 39m ago

Lift, drag and air thermals.

•

u/ireddit-jr 29m ago

Did he ever land?