This is not an ordinary bike ride through town.
And this is not an ordinary bike.
It doesn't have just one back wheel but two - and they're both tiny.
And forget about the saddle!
This is not about comfort.
You have to use your whole body to ride a halfbike and it takes a bit of practice!
"It's a cross between a bike and a skateboard but when you ride it it's a completely different feeleing.
It's a whole new experience."
Meike Krüger went to Sofia in Bulgaria to meet the inventors of the halfbike.
So far, all halfbikes are made in this workshop and sent around the world, mainly to the US.
A halfbike costs 500 euros.
They're easy to fold up which is great for people who live in big cities.
The designers are originally architects who love to invent things.
"I like to simplify things to an extreme, so I started to think about a bike, which
is very minimalistic, very compact and very light.
This is how we came up with the idea of the standing bike.
I wanted to create something like a unicycle, but for everybody.”
The prototypes consisted of half a bike and a mini back wheel.
Many attempts featuring two mini wheels followed but they all lacked stability and balance.
The breakthrough came when they started using two skateboard wheels and a structure made
of aluminium and wood.
Then, the back wheels got bigger and thicker.
The designers raised over 70-thousand euros for their first 100 models on the kickstarter
crowdfunding platform in 2014.
The year after, they launched another campaign to raise 900-thousand euros for 2000 bikes.
And since then it's been simply non-stop.
Our reporter first learnt the ropes.
The designers explained that she could only brake using the back wheels and that there
were three gears.
They pointed out that the handlebar can't be twisted.
You have to shift your weight to go around the corner.
Then it was time to put the theory to the test.
„The bike will start to turn either direction, just try to keep it in a straight line.
Try to balance with the handlebar and try to be as relaxed as possible.”
At first she wasn't at all relaxed.
She thought she wouldn't make it at all.
It was a bit rough to begin with.
But she got the hang of it after 10 minutes.
Although she didn't dare try the tougher courses - leaving those to more experienced halfbike riders.
She practised a little bit more before venturing out into the world.
Since there are few cycle paths in Sofia, she preferred to hone her skills in the park
before confronting the urban jungle.
She was able to go straight quite fast but it took a while to master turns.
Then she decided to see if others were quicker at learning than she was.
It seems that hardly anyone can really ride a halfbike without a bit of practice!
But those who master it can sometimes ride two at the same time!
"It looks so easy but it really isn't.
It takes quite a lot of effort and every muscle is needed.
You have to be quite fit to ride a halfbike but if you are then it's really quite good fun."
While Meike was having fun and beginning to master riding the halfbike, the team in
Sofia was already working on new ideas - since there are many ways of reinventing the wheel.