VIDEO: Hover Bikes Might Be Here Sooner Than You Think

A California company has been working on turning our Star Wars fantasies into realities. The Aerofex may just be the first commercially available hover bike with a projected release date of 2017. Right now they expect that a commercial unit will cost you around $85,000 and for those itching to get one you can already pre-order for an initial deposit of $5000. The commercial version not only looks cooler than the prototype, it can also reach a speed of 72 KPH. Impressive and frightening.

The company says that they’ve managed to engineer the bike so that when the driver moves forward or backwards the thing doesn’t spin left or right causing the passenger to get flung off their high, hovering horse. This problem, known as the coupling effect, has been a huge hurdle to get past in making these things possible. They can also withstand high winds with the help of smartphone chipsets that have gyroscopes and other sensors embedded in them.

Finally, the thing can carry up to 140 kilos and can go about an hour on a tank of gas. Also, they will include sensors and an on-board computer to make sure that you’re not going too high up or fast. It will also include a rollover bar and possible an air bag system. Although it’s still up in the air what the law will say about this the founder of Aerofex says they will try to get The FCC to regulate it so that it doesn’t fall into a legal grey area. Cool, lets just hope its not the next segway.