People are constantly looking for new ways to move around. First, we crawl. Then we walk. Off land, we learned to swim. Then we made boats. After that, submarines. We slide around on waves on surfboards, boogie boards, and SUPs. We canoe and kayak and pedal those giant floating trikes. And of course, we hydrofoil. Well, we might not, but it’s certainly a strange little niche in surfing. And now look! We can do… whatever this is!
Manta5 is a company out of New Zealand, where, much like many other places on earth, there are rivers and oceans and lakes and lots of water in general. They recently developed a bicycle/hydrofoil for people who have always wanted to ride their bikes on water, much like Jesus did. Or would have, had he had access to a Manta5 Hydrofoil Bike. “Take courage!” he would have told Peter, who was stuck on a boat in the middle of a lake. “I have a Manta5 Hydrofoil Bike. We can double!”
“We can double!”
-Jesus.
The hydrofoil bike, which will probably end up being how Kai Lenny and Laird Hamilton circumnavigate the world, has carbon fiber hydrofoils, comes apart by taking out two screws, and–get this–has an E-Bike battery for assisted pedaling. Manta5 is planning on launching their pre-sales early in 2018, but you might be shit out of luck if you’re not living in New Zealand. “The Manta5 team is committed to delivering quality before we scale internationally,” reads the pre-order registration. “For that reason, we are choosing to initially release a small number of limited-edition models for New Zealand only. Those who live outside of New Zealand please continue to register your interest. You will still retain your place first in line once we begin distribution into your country.”
