Bonkers folding bike-ish thing now available in the UK...
Posted:
12 July 2011
by
Jon
This is something called the Bergmönch, literally 'mountain monk' in German, an unusual folding 'bike' come scooter that converts into a pack for use on the climbs, then unfolds into wheeled form for the descent - the 'monk' bit, we think, comes from its kneeling riding position, though on techier stuff, you can also stand up.
The idea is that you can tackle mountain terrain on the ups that you wouldn't be able to take a mountain bike on, then get back down to the valley in a fast and fun way. In the UK, that might mean scrambling over Crib Goch then skimming back down the Llanberis Path in double-quick time to tuck into a mug of tea and a mega-omelette down in Pete's Eats while you'd normally still be slogging down the path to Pen y Pas.
Or if you're brave, you could always head down the Snowdon Ranger and ride some rocks... How well does it work? We don't have the faintest idea - it's deceptively sophisticated though - hydraulic disc brakes, front suspension, rear suspension and a telescopic frame.
We're intrigued - the good news is that the man from Bergmönch has promised to give us a go once we're back from sunny Friedrichshafen, so we'll let you know how it all goes in due course...
