Swimming is fun (whether with crocodiles or not). However, it’s also tiring as heck. making it difficult to swim at a sustained pace over a period of time. Even worse, most average humans only swim at peak speeds of 2.0 mph, while trained athletes and top Olympians often max out at 6.0 mph. That’s what makes the Seabike 2.0 such an interesting device.
What is it? It’s, basically, a bike pedal set that’s attached to a propeller, so instead of turning the wheels, all your pedaling causes the propeller to spin and create thrust. When done in the water, this spinning rotor automatically pushes a swimmer forward, allowing erstwhile normal individuals to swim at speeds of up to 6.0 mph at a sustained pace.
The Seabike 2.0 is, basically, a human-powered thruster that you can use to help propel you in the water without having to rely on batteries and motors. The device itself looks like a hybrid between a unicycle and a spear. Seriously. Instead of a wheel like you would find on a unicycle, it gets a rotor and propeller assembly on one end, with the other end sporting a spear-like tip. No, the tip isn’t actually pointed, but merely shaped that way for aerodynamics. There’s also a torpedo-shaped ballast in the center of the adjustable-length barrel to provide better stability, while preventing the device from sinking.
To use it, you start by strapping the top of the device to your waist using the included belt, then adjust the length of the barrel, such that the pedals are at the same level as your feet. From there, you just find the pedals while in the water and ride it the same way you do on a bike, with the 15-inch props providing thrust you can only dream of when swimming on your own.
According to the outfit, using the Seabike 2.0 doesn’t just allow you to swim faster, it also lets you sustain pace in the water, since you don’t exert as much as effort as you normally would. This makes sense, since people can pedal a bike for long periods without succumbing to fatigue, although it’s probably important to keep in mind that you will likely get a lot more resistance in the water compared to pedaling your bike on paved city roads, so it’s not exactly a cakewalk, either. What we like most about this, though, is that you can actually swim, using your arms to cover more distance while relying on the propeller to provide most of the thrust.
The device is collapsible, by the way, so it’s easy enough to transport on your vehicle and around the water. However, that means it requires assembly before you can use, so you can’t quite jump in immediately as soon as you get to the water. The company, by the way, claims this is safe to use around the pool. Personally, we’d only use it in an empty pool or a public one with swimming lanes, since that propeller is a bit too sketchy to use when there are people in very close proximity.
The Seabike 2.0 is available now, priced at €290 for the base unit. They have other packages with bundled accessories for different activities, including snorkeling, spearfishing, and more.