Meet the Latest Add Up in Paragliding Family & About Haibike

10/12/2018

It is a natural human desire to slip the surly bonds of Earth and move about the sky freely, climbing and descending at will. For most of us, it remains simply a dream. Many individuals are just plain afraid of it, which is a normal reaction to something that we ground -based mammals were simply not designed to do. But there are many others that are drawn to the sky and would give anything to learn to fly, however the largest obstacle of cost is enough to all but shatter that dream. A new form of aviation that happens to be one of the most exciting and yet costs less than golf called Speed Flying. No longer is an electric mountain bike an unusual, awkward, and often failed, combination of motor and bicycle.

Speed Flying:

Although the terms Paragliding and Parasailing are commonly mixed up, most people have an idea of what the two sports look like. As a quick refresher, paragliding is the act of non-powered, foot launched flight (not being towed behind a boat). To make things even more confusing, now there is a new sport thrown into the mix. It's called Speed Flying, and as of the time of this writing, most people will have no idea what this is. So let's shed some light on the subject and compare this sport to the more commonly known paragliding.

About Haibike:

The bike is absolutely a pure mountain bike, which happens to have a motor. Haibike is complete with all current features, such as hydraulic brakes, air fork and shock, tubeless ready and 650b wheels. The bike pedaled up and down hills, handled even aggressive terrain, just like my regular mountain bike. The suspension was plush, predictable and compliant. The weight balance is perfect. The biggest surprise was that, once acclimated, it did not feel heavy or sluggish. The gearing was more than adequate.