The Bike

The Cheetah Bike, by www.JackBellis.com

There are more "ab" exercise devices than you can imagine. And every week you can see them out by the curb being discarded. Why? Because despite the incredible demand for them, they're not a real activity so no one can keep using them.

And why do we have so much trouble winning the war on flab? Because we stand upright. This means we don't use our bodies for locomotion the way they were intended. We don't use the frontal plane and full back... we only used a few leg and hip muscles.

Take a look at this leopard. Point the mouse at the picture now.

He fully stretches his body, reaches for the ground and pulls his body toward it, fully flexing his body.

I'm a normal, healthy guy with a nice physique, but once I hit 40, I can't eat food anymore. My body only needs about 1/2 of the calories that I want because I don't use my full body for locomotion the way most animals do.

The Solution: The Cheetah Bike

Only by getting our bellies and backs to accomplish locomotion will we solve this problem. Below is the solution. No it's not a "recumbent" bike, but quite the opposite. A recumbent bike seeks to make bike riding as leisurely as possible.

Nor will it emulate a recent style of "row bikes" that emulate a rowing motion, also in a recumbent position. Row bikes attempt to employ the full body, like rowing. But picture the final body position at full "extension"... the arms are in front of the torso. There's no comparison to the cheetah, above. (For the engineers and designers out there, both bikes and rowboats have their current designs, not because their purposes, but because of the limits of what we could manufacture. Sooner or later, serious rowing will be done with a design that enable full extension of the body.)

Frankly, the Cheetah Bike—when you use the entirely optional cheetah mode—will make bike riding as "hard" as you want it to be. But it could be exhilarating and might revolutionize transportation in the way that Dean Kamen thought that the Segue would. Why?

Point the mouse at the picture now, to show 180K animation.

Because it will extract so much energy from the body that people can enjoy food without flab.
Because it will reduce backaches since we'll be using our backs.
Because men will have six-pack abs and women will loose the flabby thighs and triceps.
Because at full extension, once you're strong enough to fully extend, it will achieve terrific mechanical advantage. Like a Vice Grip® (a 'toggle' pliers), which exerts thousands of pounds per square inch, as your body becomes almost straight you can apply a lot of force. I predict being able to travel very far with this bike and it will be effective for longer travel distances. Gas consumption will be reduced.

Bold, visionary, swell-headed expectations, right? But what's the alternative?