Elf Bike Is Half Car, Half Bicycle [Video]

The ELF bike is a cross between an automobile, a bicycle, and something out of the Flintstones.

The ELF Bike, known as an Organic Transit Vehicle, generates power via foot power. There are also solar panels to help charge the vehicles battery.

The vehicle was developed by Organic Transit in Durham and currently sells for about $5000. It can hit speeds of about 30 mph and gets, wait for it, “1,800 miles on the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline.”

That will make Mark Stewart’s 1200 mile journey pretty cheap.

Stewart purchased one of the ELF bikes from Organic Transit but didn’t want to pay the $1000 delivery charge. To avoid the fee, Stewart flew down to pick up his bike and is now on a 12000 mile journey back to his home in Massachusetts.

Stewart said: ”I spent three days in the shop hanging with the guys there and learning the vehicle. This is just an unsupported solo trip up here in a vehicle that nobody else really knows.”

According to Boston.com, Stewart purchased the 40th Elf Bike to come off of the assembly line.

Organic Transit CEO Rob Cotter said that he wanted to create a bike that could solve both environmental and transportation problems.

Cotter said: “A combination of environmental catastrophes, high fuel costs, climate change and a migration of people moving to the cities all combined for a trend of people looking for an automotive alternative. But not everyone can fit a bicycle into their daily life. Issues like weather, steep hills, lack of carrying capacity, falling over and safety concerns steer many away from bicycles. The ELF was designed to address those concerns, contribute to the rider’s health, cost savings and lessen their environmental impact.”

Here’s a video about the ELF bike.