French company Seabike has developed a swimming device that uses your own leg power to accelerate you through the water at superhuman speeds. This crank-driven pusher prop looks a bit like an underwater unicycle… We’d love to take one for a spin!
I can’t say I’ve seen anything like this “underwater mobility device” before. The idea is simple enough; you extend the Seabike’s pole to the appropriate length, then strap it to your waist with a belt. Then you find the pedals with your feet, and start turning the crank, with the waist strap to push against.
This drives what looks like about a 15-inch (38-cm) propeller. At this point, you start gliding through the water with the splendid, gracious ease of a cruising dugong with an outboard up its bum. You can swim with your arms as well, which creates a surreal visual effect somewhat akin to watching somebody walking along an airport travelator:
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Or you can laze along, arms held out Superman-style. Or indeed, you can angle your nose down, go fully underwater and make like a pedal-powered fish. It’s fully compatible with a SCUBA setup if you want to really go nuts down there, although you wouldn’t want to take it down too deep and overexert yourself.
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Propellers work both ways, too – so you can also flip the thing upside down, hold the propeller out in front of you, stick some handles on in place of the pedals, and drive the thing with your arms instead. Mind you, this looks a lot less fun.
Seabike says the prop turns slowly enough that you can safely use it at the local pool – although you’ll certainly cop some dirty looks from the Speedo brigade in the fast lane. It’s also buoyant, so you won’t have to dive to find it if the thing comes off somehow.
It looks like an incredibly fun way to cover distance in open water, too. Seabike runs its own snorkeling tours out of Cannes, and also sells it with snorkel boards and spear fishing kits. Does it pack down for easy storage? You know it does.
Best of all, you can instantly charge this device by eating a hot dog. In an age where everything is going electric, something so simple and mechanical is a welcome change.
It appears Seabike has been making these things for at least a year, selling for prices starting at EU€290 (US$310). The idea doesn’t seem to have received much attention yet, but that strikes us as just a matter of time; it’s a simple, clever gadget that looks like a ton of fun.
Personally, I’ve never really known what to do with my legs on a swim. Nobody’s ever properly convinced me that kicking my feet around is worth the effort, absent a set of swim fins. This jigger, according to the manufacturers, makes you handily quicker than an equivalent swimmer with fins on. Sign me up, I’d love to give one a crack!
Source: New Atlas
